Boscastle

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:GBdot Boscastle (Cornish: Kastell Boterel) is a small town on the north coast of Cornwall, in the extreme southwest of Britain. The name of the town derives from Bottreaux Castle, of which few remains survive. A flash flood on 16 August 2004 caused extensive damage to the town, but much of the damage was repaired by the following year.

1 Overview
2 National Trust property
3 Flooding in 2004
- 3.1 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

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Overview

The town has the only natural harbour for 20 miles along the coast, protected by two stone harbour walls built in 1584 by Sir Richard Grenville (of HMS Revenge). The oldest parts of the town surround the harbour, which once exported slate, and extend up the valleys of the Rivers Valency and Jordan. More modern buildings (principally residential) creep up the steep stone banks and hills surrounding the harbour and valleys.

Boscastle has one of the nearest youth hostels to the ruins of Tintagel Castle, particularly on foot along approximately five miles of the Cornwall coastal path, part of the much longer South West Way Long-distance footpath.

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National Trust property

Much of the land in and around the town is owned by the National Trust, including both sides of the harbour, Forrabury Stitches, high above the Boscastle and divided into ancient "stitchmeal" cultivation plots, and large areas of the Valency Valley, known for its connections to Thomas Hardy.

The Trust runs a shop and a visitor centre in the Old Smithy.

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Flooding in 2004

Boscastle suffered extensive damage on Monday 16 August 2004 after a flash flood caused by an extraordinary amount of rain that fell over the course of 5 hours that afternoon. The floods were the worst in local memory, and a study commissioned by the Environment Agency from HR Wallingford concluded that it was the worst known flood in the village, among the most extreme ever experienced in Britain, and the chance of such heavy rainfall in any given year was around 1 in 400. The last time Boscastle had suffered notable flooding was in 1996 as a result of Hurricane Lili, but earlier floods are recorded in 1847, 1957, 1958 and 1963. Fifty-two years earlier, to the day, the town of Lynmouth, a small town some miles further east along the north coast in Devon near Exmoor, suffered extensive damage in a catastrophic flood, in which 34 people lost their lives.

The rainfall on the afternoon of 16 August 2004 was very heavy. 181 mm (7.1 in) of rain fell over the high ground just inland from the village. At the peak of the downpour, at about 15:45 GMT, 24 mm of rain (almost one inch) was recorded as falling in just 15 minutes at Lesnewth, 2.5 miles (4 km) up the valley from Boscastle. In Boscastle itself, 89 mm (3.5 inches) of rain was recorded in 60 minutes. The rain was very localised: four of the nearest 10 rain gauges, all within a few miles of Boscastle, showed less than 3 mm of rain that day. The cause of the very heavy localised rain is thought to be an extreme example of what has become known as the Brown Willy effect.

The torrential rain led to a 2 m (7 ft) rise in river levels in one hour. A 3 m (10 ft) wave — believed to have been triggered by water pooling behind debris caught under a bridge, and then being suddenly released as the bridge collapsed — surged down the main road, travelling at an estimated 40 miles per hour (65 km/h). It is estimated that 2 million tonnes (440 million gallons) of water flowed through Boscastle that day. Around 50 cars and 6 buildings were washed into the sea, along with uprooted trees and other debris. In an operation lasting from mid-afternoon until 2:30 AM, a fleet of seven helicopters rescued about 150 people clinging to trees and the roofs of buildings and cars. Amazingly, no major injuries or loss of life were reported.

In addition to six buildings being washed away, many other buildings suffered serious flood damage or were reported unsafe. Most of the tourist attractions and shops are in the oldest parts of the town, in the areas most affected by the flood at the bottom of the river valleys. The visitor centre was half demolished, and the museum of witchcraft was also severely damaged. The ground floors of many buildings were covered with many inches of mud washed in by the flood waters. Following the rescues on 16 August 2004, emergency services cleared debris that had built up beneath and over the bridge at the centre of the village, and waters receded. Several buildings were demolished as a result of damage caused by the floods.

Co-incidentally, a BBC film-crew was recording a series following the life of the new local parish priest, the Revd Christine Musser, at the time of the flood. The series A Seaside Parish records the events of 16 August and its aftermath in the following months.

One year later, much of the damage has been repaired. A temporary visitors centre has opened in a Portakabin, and most of the businesses have reopened. The number of day visitors is running near to usual levels, although fewer people are staying overnight.

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Trivia

Private Eye revealed that whilst 55 residents were airlifted out by the Royal Air Force after the flooding, 35 BBC staff were flown in by other means.

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