The earthquake which affected Bourne last week was a reminder that seismic tremors are not unknown in the area and although not of extreme severity they are of sufficient rarity to unsettle the public. 

The British Geological Survey indicated that the earthquake on Wednesday night (28th January 2015) had a magnitude of 3.8 on the Richter scale and was centred on Oakham in Rutland but also affected a wide area of South Lincolnshire. Over 1,400 reports of the tremor were received but no one was hurt and there was no damage to livestock or property. 

The last earthquake in Bourne occurred seven years ago, the biggest in England for a quarter of a century which shook homes across many areas but as the British Geological Survey recorded a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale with an epicentre at Market Rasen in Lincolnshire, only forty miles away, the effects were quite evident here although no serious harm was done except to our sense of security and well-being, a widespread symptom which prompted more than 200 distress calls to the county police force.  

Many people were woken in the early hours of Wednesday 27th February 2008 by a loud rushing noise as though an express train were thundering past the front window, followed by the walls shuddering, pictures and ornaments vibrating. Elsewhere in the region, houses were damaged by cracks and collapsed chimneys and one man was taken to hospital with leg injuries when brickwork fell through the roof into his bedroom.  

The most serious damage was caused to the slim and elegant spire of St Andrew’s Church at Haconby where a large crack appeared in the stonework. Architects who made an inspection decided that it had been rendered unsafe and scaffolding was erected because there was a serious risk that the 14th century steeple might collapse (pictured above) The top 18 feet of masonry was therefore shored up with wooded battens and the weathercock removed until repairs got underway later in the year. Work on the Grade I listed building was completed by April 2009 when the final bill was £73,000. 

The earthquake is also believed to have caused damage to the stone pinnacles on the gable ends of the Red Hall in South Street. Surveyors revealed that they may already have been unsafe and that the problem had been made worse by the seismic shock. Builders arrived on Wednesday 16th April to repair the damage using a 12-ton cherry picker to reach the roof of the Grade II listed building sixty feet up and each of the limestone pinnacles was removed and then cemented back into place (pictured above). 

In spite of these occurrences, earthquakes are relatively rare in this area although there have been at least four in past times, two of them serious. The first recorded tremor occurred soon after midday on Sunday 30th September 1750 and the shock was so severe that it was felt not only in Bourne and the surrounding area, but also across the county borders in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.  

John Moore, the historian, wrote in his Collections of the Hundred of Aveland in 1809: "The houses tottered, plates and glasses fell from the shelves, and slates, tiles and some chimneys fell from the houses; but happily, no great mischief was done. In some churches where services were not over, the people ran from their devotions in the utmost consternation. The shock was attended with a rumbling noise." Elsewhere in the town, people who were preparing their Sunday dinners rushed into the streets believing that they were about to be swallowed up. 

The second tremor occurred on 24th February 1792 and was felt in Bourne and neighbouring villages but again there was no serious damage. There was a third tremor in 1896 but this was less severe. The Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 25th December: "A slight shock of earthquake was felt in Bourne about half past five on Thursday morning. Many townspeople noticed the earth tremor and in Bourne Fen, the shock was distinctly felt, several people being awakened by the rocking of their beds." 

A fourth tremor occurred on Friday 14th January 1916 which the newspaper described as "a seismic disturbance". Their report said: "For some seconds, a very distinct shock was felt as windows rattled violently and furniture and crockery rocked in many homes. At Rippingale, chairs and tables were moved, pots and pans on shelves danced, doors were opened. In Bourne, members of the Volunteer Training Corps were in the Congregational schoolroom for shooting practice when a lamp suspended from an iron rod near the ceiling danced as though the rod had been shaken. There was also a rumbling noise which was heard by several people. Youngsters in bed complained of having their beds moved. Happily, the disturbance was a very mild one and no personal or material damage was caused." 

Earthquakes, therefore, remain occasional disturbances in our lives, along with thunderstorms, gales and heat waves, which always bear witness to a force far greater than anything we can control and may become manifest at any time and without warning and it is there beneath our feet, something we call Mother Earth.  

They are also a reminder of the feeble grasp we have on events for although last week’s tremor was a minor occurrence in the litany of geological disasters, it serves as a warning that nature can have a far more devastating effect on our lives than anything man can inflict.