Now! Then! With political turmoil elsewhere, gunfire celebrating the ceremonial demarcation of Hull’s bounds is heard as “a strange and very wonderful thing”

12 October 1659: With political turmoil elsewhere, gunfire celebrating the ceremonial demarcation of Hull’s bounds is heard as “a strange and very wonderful thing”

J. Horsfall Turner, Ed. 1892. Strange Appearances. Yorkshire County Magazine, Vol. 2. Bingley: T. Harrison and Sons for J. Horsfall Turner. Get it:

Excerpt

As the Lord sees what a deep sleep is seized upon us as no low voice will awaken us, so He is pleased to roar aloud from heaven, intending thereby (in all likelihood) either to rouse us up out of our present security, or to leave us the more without excuse in the day of His fierce wrath. There was heard three great pieces of ordnance or cannons discharged in the air one after another, very terrible to hear, and afterwards immediately followed a peal of muskets. This shooting off of muskets continued about an half quarter of an hour, drums beating all the while in the manner just as if two armies had been engaged. Two men being together about six miles from Hull in Holderness, near Humberside, supposed it was directly over Hull; whereupon one said to the other, “It being the sheriff’s riding day at Hull, this peal of muskets must be there, and see how the smoke rises!” He mentioned the smoke because no sooner was this noise finished over Hull, but there arose a very great smoke or thick mist round about the town, although immediately before (the day being a very clear day, and the sun shining all the while very bright) he saw the town very perfectly. One thing more was observed by him who saw the smoke over Hull: that all the while this prodigious noise continued, the face of the sky (as in the eclipses of the sun) waxed very dim; yea, the very earth seemed to tremble and quake under him. A gentleman who had been a major in the war, riding with a friend between Patrington and Ottringham, was so persuaded that some encounter by soldiers was on the other side of a small hill where they were riding, as that they could not but mount the hill to try the truth, so plainly did the drums beat and the muskets go off, and, to their thinking, so near them, as either it must be a sign from Heaven or real battle hard by. The country people were struck with such strange wonder and deep terror that they gave over their labour and ran home with fear. Some poor people gathering coals by the seaside were so frightened that they ran away, leaving their sacks behind them.

Order the book

Subscribe to the free daily email

To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Abbreviations

Comment

Hull to Patrington is about 15 miles for crows, but the sound of gunfire (though not perhaps musketfire) travelled greater distances at the time:

According to Derham, guns fired at Karlskrona were heard at Denmark, eighty or perhaps 120 miles distant. Dr. Hearn heard guns fired at Stockholm, 180 miles off. The cannonade of a sea-fight between the English and Dutch in 1672 was heard across England, at Shrewsbury and Wales, upwards of 200 miles from the scene of action. This last is a very remarkable circumstance, and it is to be remembered that in all to which allusion has been made, the sound travelled for the greatest part of the distance along the surface of water. The fact that sounds are more distinct and clear, and can be heard at a greater distance by night than by day, appears to be due, not only to the greater stillness then existing, and to the sense being engaged with one sound instead of many, but as Humboldt has said, to the greater homogeneity of the atmosphere, its density not then being affected by the partial variations in temperature (Pilcher 1843).

Something to say? Get in touch

Original

STRANGE APPEARANCES.-The true relation of a strange and very wonderful thing that was heard in the air October 12th, 1659, by many hundreds of people:-As the Lord sees what a deep sleep is seized upon us as no low voice will awaken us, so He is pleased to roar aloud from heaven, intending thereby (in all likelihood) either to rouse us up out of our present security, or to leave us the more without excuse in the day of His fierce wrath. Now I come to relate the matter, the which was thus:-Upon the 12th day of October, in the afternoon, there was heard by some hundreds of people in Holderness Hedon, and about Hull, and several other places in Yorkshire-first, three great pieces of ordnance or cannons discharged in the air one after another, very terrible to hear, and afterwards immediately followed a peal of muskets. This shooting off of muskets continued about an half quarter of an hour, drums beating all the while in the manner just as if two armies had been engaged. Such as heard the aforesaid cannons, muskets, and drums, do report that the sound was from the north-east quarter, and to their thinking, not far from the place where they stood. Two men being together about six miles from Hull in Holderness, near Humber-side, supposed it was directly over Hull; whereupon one said to the other, “It being the sheriff’s riding-day at Hull, this peal of muskets must be there; and see (quoth he) how the smoke riseth!” Now the reason why he mentioned the smoke was, because no sooner was this noise finished over Hull, but (as it happeneth after the discharge of guns) there arose a very great smoke or thick mist round about the town, although immediately before (the day being a very clear day, and the sun shining all the while very bright) he saw the town very perfectly. One thing more was observed by him who saw the smoke over Hull; that all the while this prodigious noise continued (which was as he supposed, about the eighth part of an hour), the face of the sky (as in the eclipses of the sun) waxed very dim; yea, such a strange nature accompanied it, that the very earth seemed to tremble and quake under him. A certain gentleman, who had been some time a major in the war as he was riding with a friend between the towns of Patterington and Ottringham, was so persuaded that some encounter by soldiers was on the other side of a small hill where they were riding, as that they could not but mount the hill to try the truth, so plainly did the drums beat and the muskets go off, and, to their thinking, so near them, as either it must be a sign from Heaven or real battle hard by. The country people were struck with such strange wonder and deep terror, that they gave over their labour, and ran home with fear; yes, some poor people gathering coals by the sea side were so frightened that they ran away, leaving their sacks behind them. In conclusion: for the space of forty miles this fearful noise of cannons, muskets, and drums was heard all the country over.

550 words.