The Flood of 1879

In November 1897 a storm that caused many casualties at sea breached the sand hills at Horsey and poured onto the marshes. The only account of the flooding comes from a marshman whom William Dutt (author of the definitive book on The Norfolk Broads) met while walking along the marsh near Old Meadows Dyke. His criticism of the drainage authorities is of interest even over 100 years later.

“If yow’d ha’ sin th’ sea come in,” he said “you’d ha’ thowt we wor all a-goin to be drownded. It came in acrost th’ Warren for nigh three hours- till th’ tide went out; an’ if it hadn’t ha’ bin for the deeks bein’ pretty nigh empty at th’ time I don’t know what would ha’ happened. An’ mind yow,’ he went on, ‘sich a thing never ought to ha’ happened. There’s th Commish’ners; its their bisness to luke arter th’ merrimills, an if they’d a-done it as they should ha’ done, th’ sea ud never ha’ got tru. Kapin’ th’ sea out ain’t a one-man-an’ -a- boy job, as some o’ th commish’ners fare to think ’tis. Why, there was one Commish’ner he say tu me, “whats wantin’ is planty o’ faggots.” Says I to him, “Sir there wor faggots enow all riddy to be used long afore th’ storm come, but no one was towd to use ‘em” “Ah,” he say “that was werry wrong; it ought ter taach us a lesson.” Says I “some folks take a daal o’ taachin,” an’ he larfed; but, thinks I, it ain’t no larfin matter. But he didn’t own no land out this way; his property wor all out Norwich way. Another man what come to hev a luke round when th’ mills wor a-clear in th’ deeks fared a sight more consarned about th’ fish bein’ killed by th’ salts than he did about anything else. “Shocken’,” he say “shockin!” “That tis, sir,” says I, “some o’ us mash folk stand a gude chance o’ being drown ded if suffin ain’t done.” “Ah” he say, “that’ ud be werry sad, but I wor a-thinking’ about th’ fish!”.