Storm Event
In the priory the water rose more than a foot above the high altar
Source
A storm surge, one of two in 1287 referred to as a ‘Great Storms’ combined with a high tide was causing flooding to the village of Hickling, Norfolk, similar conditions to the disastrous floods of 1953 (Hambling, 2019).
Pathway
No known sources of information.
Receptor and Consequence
The city of Winchelsea on Romney Marsh was destroyed as well as nearby Broomhill. A cliff collapsed at Hastings and blocking the harbour. Winchelsea in Kent also affected by the flood. The village of Hickling in Norfolk suffered most severely with great loss of life (180 died) and the water reached more than a foot above the high altar in the priory (‘Houses of Austin’, 1906), but this was minor compared to the damaged elsewhere. The infamously known as St. Lucia’s flood (the flood happened the day after St. Lucia Day) affected the Netherlands and Northern Germany killing approximately 50,000 to 80,000 people in the fifth largest flood in recorded history.
Summary Table
| Loss of life | 180 dies in the village of Hickling, Norfolk. |
| Residential property | The village of Hickling destroyed. |
| Evacuation & Rescue | * |
| Cost | * |
| Ports | Hastings harbour blocked. |
| Transport | * |
| Energy | * |
| Public services | Water rose a foot above the high altar in the church. |
| Water & wastewater | * |
| Livestock | * |
| Agricultural land | * |
| Coastal erosion | * |
| Natural environment | * |
| Cultural heritage | * |
| Coastal defences | * |
*No known sources of information available
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References
- Hambling, David (2018). ‘Weatherwatch: St Lucia’s storm, the flood that changed the face of Europe’. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/dec/12/st-lucias-storm-the-flood-that-changed-the-face-of-netherlands-europe (Accessed: 19 June 2019).
- ‘Houses of Austin canons: The priory of Hickling’, in A History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1906), pp. 383-386. British History Online. Available at: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/norf/vol2/pp383-386 (Accessed: 19 June 2019).