03 - Near Newark 1753
-
Description
‘Family Annals by Road and Rail, By Flood and Field’ By Samuel Tuke Richardson Of Darlington c.1890 ‘Leaving home at Whitsuntide 1753 my Great Great Grandmother with her daughter my Great Grandmother set forth on their great drive to London taking with them the same post boy & horses for the entire journey. Nothing particular befell them till they arrived within a short distance of Newark but then they found the country, overwhich there are now far reaching railways & bridges, flooded for miles. Of the extent of the difficulty they were probably at first not conscious. After going through the water for some time F Haswell thinking there might be as much danger in turning back as in going on desired the post boy to keep good hold of his horses & encouraged him to go forward expressing the hope that they would get through which was providentially the case. At one time the horses were beginning to swim & it seemed as though they would be drowned but in their greatest danger as my G.Grandmother used to say her Mother never lost her presence of mind & they were favoured safely to reach the place of their destination experiencing a deliverance which my G.Grandmother with her sensitive mind could never refer to without tears. It was interesting to find after nearly 70 years that the identical post boy who had shared their danger was still living at a very advanced age & that he enquired after Miss Haswell & perfectly remembered their eventful journey which had doubtless been a great event in his life. He thought they went about 3 miles through the water before reaching Newark not knowing but that at any moment it might have been allover with them. He also said that Miss Haswell called to him at one time that the water was splashing over the chaise door & that on leaving Newark they had a guide who took them some bye road to avoid the deepest part of the flood. He did not think that the ladies manifested fear. In London the ancient post boy continued the horses were kept without Cripplegate & that he attended every day at a house near London Bridge where Mrs & Miss Haswell resided to receive instructions as to when the chaise would be wanted & that he sometime drove them into the country, once he remembered to Guilford’. -
Owner
Beamish Museum -
Source
Beamish (Flickr) -
License
What does this mean? All Rights Reserved (Seek permission to reuse)
-
Further information
Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/36275059@N02/9527777179/
Resource type: Image
Last modified: 8 years, 5 months ago
Viewed: 672 times
Picture Taken: Unknown -
Co-Curate tags
