Lamentable News out of Monmouthshire (1607)

On Tuesday 20th January 1607 the coastal areas of the Bristol Channel were flooded by a sudden rise in the sea level. Traditionally, this flood was thought to have been caused by storms, but some theorists claim that the flood may have been caused by seismic activity in the Bristol Channel, which led to the formation of a tsunami. The water covered an area 24 miles in length and four in breadth in the County of Monmouthshire alone. In all, 26 Parishes, including Goldcliffe, Caldicot, Roggiet and Christchurch amongst others, were affected. The author of this tract estimated that the flood caused the deaths of some 2,000 people and damage to the value of £100,000. This tract was written by the clergyman William Welby and entered at Stationer's Hall on February 12th 1607. Welby's sermonising tone often overwhelms his description of the flood, but this tract still remains an important contemporary account of the event.