Philosophical Transactions/Volume 54/An Account of a remarkable Tide at Bristol

by Josiah Tucker

XII.⁠An Account of a remarkable Tide at Bristol: In a Letter to the Rev. Thomas Birch, D. D. Secret. R. S. from the Rev. Josiah Tucker, D. D. Dean of Gloucester.

 

Read Feb. 23,
1764.

ON Saturday the 11th instant, when the tide hard hardly begun to flow, according to it's regular course, it was observed, by the water-bailif of the city, and by several others, both on the back, and at the key, to rise very suddenly to almost high-water mark; and it so continued for near half an hour: then it sunk, almost instantaneously, three feet perpendicular: after that, it began to flow in again, and kept flowing on till one of the clock, and rose to the height it was expected to do.

At Rownham Passage, a mile below the city, the ferry-men observed the tide to ebb almost instantaneousy, and to sink at least four feet perpendicular. Then it flowed in again, as it should have regularly done.

Ar King-Road, which is about three miles below the city, the officers observed the king's boat to float suddenly, which they attributed to a great fresh comming. But they found afterwards the boat presently aground.

I could get no intelligence of any thing observable, that happened in the river Severn, excepting that at Gloucester, and at Worcester, the inundation sunk very fast on that day. But most undoubtedly the strong rapid tide of the Severn must have been affected in a very remarkable manner, had there been any curious persons to take notice of it.