Church, West End, Hants.—Struck by lightning at 5 p.m., on June 12th, 1875. The church stands on the top of a hill with many trees near, it is built of brick with a lead ridge to roof, iron and lead gutters, iron rain-water pipes P, and two iron chimneys. The spire is of brick, with stone angles fixed by iron cramps; the spire was finished by an iron bar at the top, but was not provided with a lightning conductor. The damage done to the spire was considerable, as shewn in the engraving, making it necessary to pull it down, but the tower was not injured. Stones from the spire were thrown through the trees at B, which are 126 feet distant from the church, cutting off some of the boughs. The tree at A was untouched.
St. James Church, West End, Hants.
12. T. Hawksley. Several Steam Chimneys not provided with lightning conductors; upper portions knocked down, chimney split or often skinned by the lightning, i.e., the four and a half inches of brickwork taken off; details not given. Now uses Gray’s system of lightning conductors for such buildings, which is found successful.
13. A. Hill. In South Africa houses are generally roofed with corrugated iron, and protected from lightning by planting a circle of high trees round them.
14. G. J. Hine. All Saints’ Church, Nottingham.—Struck about twelve years ago; tower and spire 150 feet high, with one conductor of half-inch copper wire-rope, with platinum terminal, and secured by insulated brackets, but earth contact only two feet long at time of accident the rest having been stolen. The lightning passed down the conductor till within six feet from the ground, where it passed through a wall of solid masonry four feet six inches thick, displacing some of the stones, to an inch-iron gas pipe inside the church. In passing off along the gas pipes under the floor, it so far disarranged them as to cause a considerable leakage of gas, which was set fire to by a candle some hours after the accident and exploded. There were no trees, only a few shrubs near.
16. J. Jerman. Alphington Church, near Exeter.—Tower struck about March, 1828; the church had no lightning conductor. The tower was rent through the masonry vertically, damaging parapet and ungearing and injuring bells, which were being rung at the time; one ringer was killed, and some of the others had the heel-plates melted off their boots. There are few trees of any size near the tower, which surmounts all adjacent buildings; it had pinnacles and a weathercock on the top, and a lead roof with spouts, no down pipe. Very few casualties from lightning occur in Devonshire.
18. E. J. Law.—The tower, surmounted by a cast iron vane, of a house built under my superintendence, was struck; the slates stripped from the roof, and the charge apparently escaped down the rain-water pipe; it divided, however, and passed to an adjoining ridge, chipped a piece off the iron cresting and hurled it some twenty yards from the building. Lightning conductor ordered, but not erected; cast iron ridges to all the roofs. Large infirmary within two hundred yards and high church tower within three hundred yards, and houses nearer, of equal height to the one struck, and with cast iron crestings, none of these were injured.
18a. St. Sepulchre’s Church, Northampton.—Vane on top of spire struck by lightning, passed down the rod, then to frame of one of the spire windows, and thence to clock face, from clock face it passed down the gas pipe, leaving no further trace.
19. T. Hayter Lewis. Lewisham, 1872.—Zinc chimney of house struck; lightning went down flue A, thence to a gasalier (glass) B, broke it to pieces and passed harmlessly to the other end of the house where the pipe ended at C, broke through a partition there and the window D, and passed down the rain-water pipe E to the earth.
SECTION.
19a. Wandsworth, 1875.—Chimney of house struck and damaged as shown in sketch, lightning then passed along eaves gutter F, and down the iron water-pipe G, doing no further injury.
PLAN AND ELEVATION. PLAN.
19b. Addiscombe, 1878.—Chimney struck above H, the lightning passed down flue, slightly injured the chimney-pieces, and apparently passed through the two open doors to the road, as the tenant standing at J distinctly felt a shock.
19c. Forest Hill.—Chimney (K) struck, lightning followed gutters shown by dotted line in sketch, part no doubt escaped by pipe L, but some passed along gutter to M doing slight injury to brickwork there, the window N was broken, and the gilt bead under cornice in rooms K and O was blackened.
PLAN AND ELEVATION.
19d. University College, London.—A chimney has been struck on two occasions, but little damage done; the lightning passed off by gutters and rain pipes which enter the drains; the top of the dome, which is of stone, has escaped.
21. J. Murgatroyd. St. Mary’s, Crumpsall, near Manchester.—A lightning conductor from spire touched the eaves gutter, and a gas pipe touched the end of this gutter. The lightning passed from the conductor along the gutter to the gas pipe, melted it, and set the church on fire by igniting the gas.
22. T. Oliver.—Never had a building damaged during thirty years practice; uses ½ inch copper rope for lightning conductors, in contact with any iron work near, and buried 8 feet in ground in ashes.
23. Wyatt Papworth.—Tall spire struck. The church stands in an open position with no large trees near. It was provided with an iron lightning conductor ¾ in. diam., fixed with iron holdfasts, and carried down inside the spire and tower into ground; the top of it was said to be attached to a bold copper finial on the spire about 150 feet from the ground, and 50 feet above ridge of roof; the lightning is supposed to have first struck the finial, it slightly deranged some beds of masonry in upper part of spire, then descended by iron rod to belfry, melted a gas tube in the floor, and set fire to the belfry by igniting the gas.
23a. House in country road. The lightning struck chimney-pot, descended flue to fire-grate and there divided, one part passed to fire-grate below and damaged the gasalier, another part destroyed a box of clothes near grate, then passed out of door into another room, struck the grate and passed into room below doing no further damage.
23b. Another house situated at the corner of country road with high trees near, lightning followed bell wires, stripping paper, &c.
23c. At a third house, chimney pot struck, shaft and eaves gutters damaged.
24. J. L. Pearson.—Weathercock of a tall spire in an exposed situation struck.—There was a wire rope conductor attached to the bar carrying the vane and passing down inside the spire and out at the belfry window, the bells being connected with it; it was attached to the tower by ordinary metal hooks, and was carried 6 or 8 feet into the ground, and about 10 feet from the base of the tower, the strands being spread out. The conductor was bent about very awkwardly under copings, and in some places, at right angles, the damage was very slight, and was limited to projections of mouldings close to a bend in the conductor about 20 feet above ground. The conductor itself was uninjured. Some insignificant trees 100 yards distant.
26. E. C. Robins. St. Matthias’s Church, Brixton.—No conductor, although the church had previously been struck. I have now put one up, leading its lower end into a cistern of water. The portland stone terminal cross was shattered, and the stones of the cornice
