The Great Flood of 1906

There have been four previous posts about the Great Flood of 1906 and I've been passed a postcard by Ann and Bill Stones showing some of the damage caused by the flood to the roadway at Bottom Street in Newton.

Bottom Street runs off Commercial Brow at the side of the building which used to be the Commercial Inn and is shown on the map below.

This is what Bottom Street looks like now

'The History of Hyde' contains a graphic description of the Great Flood and the following extract tells of the effect it had on Bottom Street:

'The principal destruction was along the course of Wilson Brook and its tributaries. The first works to be seriously affected were the Godley Mills – the Leather works of Messrs. James North and Sons. On these the flood burst with fury, windows and doors were smashed in; and over £1,000 worth of goods swept away; the offices and store-rooms were undermined, and in a few minutes the whole of the building for a distance of twenty yards collapsed, whilst a good portion of the road in Bottom Street was torn up. Mr. George North, one of the principals of the firm, had to swim for his life, being entrapped by the water whilst leaving the cellar.

In Bottom Street the water washed into the houses at great speed, and in a few minutes the inhabitants had to take refuge in the bedrooms, whence they were afterwards rescued by ladders from the bedroom windows. Furniture was tossed about and broken to pieces, and numerous articles floated through the broken doors and windows, and were carried off on the surging torrent.'

The back of the postcard is interesting:

The cost of postage is printed on the card as a halfpenny. It's now 60p and there are 144 old pennies in 60p, so you could send 288 of these postcards in 1906 for the price of one first class stamp today.

Thanks to Paul for these pictures