[MR] Wikipedia: London Tornado of 1091

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1091, London was struck by a tornado estimated to have had
F4 strength.

One usually associates tornadoes with the U.S. midwest, but actually they
frequently strike in Europe and indeed Britain. All that is required is the
right atmospheric conditions, and those conditions can arise almost
anywhere.

The 1091 twister did severe damage to the uncompleted Church of St.
Mary-le-Bow, as well as other churches and over 600 houses. Despite its
ferocity, only two people were killed from the total population of some
18,000.

While the London tornado is estimated to have been more intense, another
whopper leveled the entire village of Sneiton near Nottingham in July of
1558. A child and 5-6 men were killed.

More about the London event is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_tornado_of_1091 .

Construction on the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow was begun in 1080 by Bishop
Lanfranc, the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. The building likely
stood on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The Lanfranc church featured
a series of prominent arches, from which springs the name "Mary-le-Bow",
bow being another word for arch, so don't look for a saint of this name.
The church has been completely destroyed several times, including during
the London Fire of 1666. The present post-fire building was designed by
Christopher Wren. The church was reduced to a shell during the Blitz, but
was eventually rebuilt as closely as possible to Wren's design.

More about this interesting church is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary-le-Bow .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.