DAMAGE TO ST. PAUL’S.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 28, 13 November 1939, Page 3

DAMAGE TO ST. PAUL’S.

EARTHQUAKE IN 1580. The damage suffered by ISt. Paul’s Cathedral in recent gas explosions recalls the fact that the old Cathedral which was destroyed in the Great Fire, suffered similarly from underground disturbance in 1580, says the “Manchester Guardian.” Then, however, the trouble was due to natural causes, being one of the most severe earthquakes ever experienced in England. Not only was the Cathedral extensively damaged but part of the'Temple also collapsed, while on the coast one of the walls of Dover Castle was thrown into the sen. , The Elizabethans, not being inured as we arc to frequently bursting gas mains, water mains, and time bombs, did not display anything like the admirable calmness shown by Londoners recently. In fact, they were thrown into panic and were quite frank about it. One contemporary account gives an amusing description of bow thes. lawyers in the Temple, who were at- supper at the time, left their meal and rushed out into the street, their table knives still clutched in their bands. The authorities took the occurrence very seriously, interpreting it as a warning to the Londoners to mend their ways, and orders were given to enforce the laws against drunkenness and blasphemy with greater severity.