DISTRICT SUBSIDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20520, 22 March 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

DISTRICT SUBSIDING.

NORTH OF ENGLAND PARISH. SCENES LIKE EARTHQUAKE. Serious subsidences are taking place in the Earsdon district, says the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle. Roads are sinking, walls are falling down, and it is feared that part of Earsdon Parish Church may collapsn unless something is done to counteract the falling earth. The threat to the church is causing -great anxiety in the district, and there are other instances of damage which arc more apparent and indicate much more impressively the seriousness of the situation. These include: The cracking of the walls of the Edward Eccles Church Hall, erected 20 years ago. The collapse stone walls which will not stand even after re-erection. The dropping of roads to a depth of several feet. The settling down almost overnight of big tracts of land, which become flooded in heavy rains. The subsidences are occurring almost daily, and the face of the district is changing rapidly. Roads that were formerly level and well surfaced are now like switchbacks, and deep fissures have appeared. Pastures and farmland that were' flat appear as if they had experienced a. minor earthquake.

The main road from Shiremoor to Earsdon has the appearance of a shelled area. A stout, stone wall, which had stood for many years, has toppled town and the stones are strewn in the field. A similar wall on the Earsdon East Holywell road has also collapsed in many places, and the upheavals in the roadway itself make it almost impassable to vehicular traffic. On several occasions the water supply to Earsdon village has been interrupted by the cracking of mains as a result of subsidences, and the local council is concerned about the expense that is being thrust upon it in repairing cracked drains and broken roads.

Fissures are appearing in the belfry tower of the church at an alarming rate, some of them being almost an inch wide. It is feared that if there is any further movement the belfry tower might be seriously endangered. Recently two windows in the west side of the belfry tower crashed to the ground. Subsidences had caused their supports gradually to move out of place. A window on the south side was in danger of a similar fate but it was seen in time and special supporting straps have been fitted. The stone steps leading to the gallery are also showing definite signs of movement, one of the steps having moved a couple of inches out of position. Headstones in the graveyard have cracked, and others have toppled over, and others stand at crazy angles. The cemented approach to the church has a number of big cracks running across it.