1275 British earthquake

Strong medieval seismic event April 2022 1275 British earthquake File:Glastonbury tor (the final climb) arp.jpg In the background, a square stone church tower atop a steep and narrow terraced hill. The foreground shows a concrete path leading upwards to the tower. People are hiking up the hill, and in the midground is sheep grazing on the terraces. Glastonbury Tor (pictured in 2010) showing the tower of the rebuilt St Michael's Church (C14 14th Century) yes 1275 09 11 yes Morning 6 w y (hypothesised) London, Canterbury, Winchester, Glamorgan VII VIII None reported None reported Multiple fatalities On 11 September 1275, an earthquake struck the south of Great Britain. The epicentre is unknown, although it may have been in the Portsmouth/Chichester area on the south coast of EnglandNotes on Individual Earthquakes http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/historical/historical_listing.htm British Geological Survey 5 August 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20071119072210/http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/historical/historical_listing.htm 2007-11-19 or in Glamorgan, Wales.Musson Roger What Was the Largest British Earthquake? SECED Conference 2015 9 July 2015 3 https://www.seced.org.uk/images/newsletters/MUSSON.pdf 5 August 2019 The earthquake is known for causing the destruction of St Michael's Church on Glastonbury Tor in Somerset. Earthquake The annals of Waverley in Surrey report that the earthquake occurred "between the first hour of the day and the third" on 11 September 1275.Fletcher JR Short History of St. Michael's Mount Cornwall 2013 Read Books 9781447498544 It was felt in London, Canterbury, Winchester and Wales, and may have been felt across the rest of England.Musson RMW Fatalities in British Earthquakes Astronomy & Geophysics February 2003 44 1 1.14–1.16 10.1046/j.1468-4004.2003.44114.x free One account described how it was felt "chiefly in the west".Proctor Richard A Knowledge: An Illustrated Magazine of Science 1884 301 https://books.google.com/books?id=OeIEAAAAQAAJ 8 August 2019 Neither foreshocks nor aftershocks are reported as having occurred.O'Reilly Joseph P Alphabetical Catalogue of the Earthquakes Recorded as Having Occurred in Europe and Adjacent Countries The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy 1880 28 706 30079058 The earthquake caused the destruction of the 11th-century timber Church of St Michael atop Glastonbury Tor.Crossley John Glastonbury Tor, Somerset https://www.uksouthwest.net/somerset/glastonbury-tor/ uksouthwest.net UK South West 9 August 2019 It is likely that other buildings across the country were destroyed, and the annals of Osney reported that people were killed in the earthquake—"domus et ecclesiae in diversis locis Angliae subvertebantur et homines interficiebantur" ("homes and churches in different areas of England [were] overthrow[n]; the people being killed"). The annals of Winchester state that the tremors were felt across the sea, which may imply it was felt in France, although the lack of corroboration from French sources may suggest this is a confusion with a different event. One account described how "a great earthquake happened in many kingdoms, and chiefly in England, and floods of water also about maritime towns".Doe Robert K Extreme Weather: Forty Years of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) 2015 John Wiley & Sons 9781118949955 257 Similarly, Walter de Hemingburgh observed that "there was a general earthquake in London and in the kingdom of England, both in camps and towns, habitations and fields". It is possible that the coastal effects of the earthquake are better attributed to unrelated inclement weather, as the word "earthquake" may have archaically referred to thunder. The British Geological Survey hypothesises that the extent and spread of damage suggests an intensity of at least 7 on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale ("very strong"), or 8 on the European macroseismic scale ("heavily damaging").Musson RMW The seismicity of the British Isles to 1600 British Geological Survey 2008 Earth Hazards and Systems 37 http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/historical/data/studies/MUSS008/MUSS008.pdf 6 August 2019 Epicentre The epicentre of the earthquake is unknown. Despite contemporary reports that assume the damage at Glastonbury Tor prove a Somerset epicentre,Davison Charles A History of British Earthquakes. 1924 Cambridge Univ Press Cambridge 9780521140997 15 it is unlikely that the epicentre was in the county, and the destruction of the church is more likely attributed to the church's exposed position atop a steep and narrow hill. A possible location is in the area of Portsmouth and Chichester. This area is notable for frequency of earthquakes due to the presence of a deep north–south strike-slip fault.West Ian Earthquakes of the South of England – Geology Guide (new version) http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~imw/Earthquakes-South-England.htm University of Southampton 5 August 2019 This hypothesis is strengthened by the report of Thomas Wykes, who wrote that the shock was more intense on the south coast. A possible alternative epicentre is in South Wales. Edward Gamage, the rector in St Athan, Glamorgan, described an earthquake causing immense damage to Glamorgan and Somerset. Gamage, an antiquarian in the 18th century, wrote a history of the Strandling family of Bristol where he described the earthquake as occurring in the time of Sir John Strandling, which is probably the same as the 1275 event. This suggests an epicentre closer to Swansea and implies a magnitude of 6 Mw. Some sourcesMcCabe Helen Houses and Gardens of Cornwall 1988 Tabb House Padstow 978-0-907018-58-2 122THE CHURCH OF SAINT MICHAEL, St. Michael's Mount 1310728 6 August 2019 cite the earthquake as being a Cornish or French event, mistaking a reference to the destruction at "St Michael on the Mount" (the church on Glastonbury Tor) for occurring at St Michael's Mount or Mont-Saint-Michel. The annals of Waverley refer to an earthquake affecting the whole country and destroying the church called "St Michael of [the] Mount", although no specific mention of the location of the church is made. References Category:1275 in England Category:13th-century earthquakes Category:Earthquakes in the United Kingdom Category:13th century in England Category:13th century in Wales