Retro: Great storm of 1927

A huge storm surge pounded our coastline in October 1927 causing widespread devastation - particularly in Fleetwood.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Clare Lark, the Gazette's Nostalgia Reporter, and I wanted to share with you guys

00:06a great set of pictures that I came across this week in our archives which show the Great

00:12Storm of 1927. It happened at the end of October when a Force 12 gale combined with a massive

00:2032-foot tide, which was far higher than expected, absolutely battered the coastline. The Three

00:26Piers were smashed up, the Pleasure Beach found itself partly underwater, and in Fleetwood

00:32more than 1,200 homes were completely wrecked. The actual height of the tidal surge is still

00:39etched in the stonework of the Strawberry Gardens pub in Fleetwood, and people still

00:44go and have a look to see how high the water rose. It devastated the whole area. So take

00:49a look at these pictures, and just bear in mind they're nearly a century old.

00:57In Fleetwood, only the high ground around the mount escapes the devastation, as well

01:02as the 1,200 homes that were wrecked. All roads between Lord Street and Harry Street

01:07were completely submerged. It was a big area. Dead pigs, sheep and dogs littered the tram

01:13tracks while vacant land off Stein Street and Dock Street near the Wyadock Crossing

01:18became a huge timber pond. It was full of pitch pine logs, which were the remnants of

01:23a thriving box-making business. Blackpool was also pictured around October 31 with photos

01:32of the pier boards smashed up and all the damage to the Pleasure Beach. Thankfully it

01:37was just a once-in-a-lifetime event.