Plans for a monument to mark the Great Flood of 1607 – which saw around 2,000 people drowned and farmland in Newport and Monmouthshire inundated with water – have been revealed.
On the morning of January 30, 1607, the sun was shining and people were working in the low-lying fields of the country bounding the Severn.
But out in the open sea between north Devon and Pembrokeshire, a wall of water was speeding towards them.
At this point it was just under four metres high – but as it entered the funnel-shaped Bristol Channel, the wave grew taller, and by the time it reached the Monmouthshire coast it was 7.5m high.
The wave became faster and faster as it sped up the narrowing channel. By the time it hit Monmouthshire it had reached over 38mph – faster than a man could run.
It crashed against the coast at Peterstone, then St Brides, Goldcliff, Redwick and Magor before hurtling inland for up to four miles.
Contemporary accounts estimated around 2,000 were drowned, almost 200 square miles of farmland were inundated and animals killed along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary.
More than 400 years later a vertical stone to mark the level of the 1607 flood – just over 2.5 metres – is being planned on land by Peterstone village hall.
Two public benches and an information board with details of the event are also proposed at the site under plans which have been submitted to Newport City Council .
Peterstone Community Council’s plans are subject to a grant funding application from the Living Levels Partnership, with the work estimated to cost around £2,400.
The plans were first drawn up around two years ago due to the original flood level mark at the old St Peter’s Church no longer being publicly accessible.
“The flood devastated the local area with quite a number of fatalities,” said councillor Brian Miles, chairman of Peterstone Community Council.
“It does make you realise how vulnerable the area could be.”
Such was the force of the wave that the windows of St Peter’s Church were smashed through – and later discovered by a property opposite.
Councillor Miles said it felt important to mark the event, particularly in light of recent flooding.
The Living Levels Partnership scheme, delivered by RSPB Cymru and a range of partners, is developing a range of projects to conserve and enhance the heritage of the Gwent Levels.
“The Great Flood of 1607 is a significant historic event that affected the Gwent Levels,” Elinor Meloy, Living Levels programme manager said.
“Peterstone Community Council requested the installation of a monument displaying the 1607 great flood mark in the village positioned centrally and publicly accessible as St Peter’s Church where the original flood mark is located is no longer accessible due to the property being a residential dwelling.
“Living Levels is currently working with the Peterstone Community Council to procure this monument using the LL programmes match funding from Welsh Government’s Rural Community Fund and hope to install it this spring.”
A video reconstruction of the flood can be seen here .
