Lightning Rod Conference. Various

      SECTION.

      19a. Wandsworth, 1875.—Chimney of house struck and damaged as shown in sketch, lightning then passed along eaves gutter F, and down the iron water-pipe G, doing no further injury.

      PLAN AND ELEVATION. PLAN.

      19b. Addiscombe, 1878.—Chimney struck above H, the lightning passed down flue, slightly injured the chimney-pieces, and apparently passed through the two open doors to the road, as the tenant standing at J distinctly felt a shock.

      19c. Forest Hill.—Chimney (K) struck, lightning followed gutters shown by dotted line in sketch, part no doubt escaped by pipe L, but some passed along gutter to M doing slight injury to brickwork there, the window N was broken, and the gilt bead under cornice in rooms K and O was blackened.

      PLAN AND ELEVATION.

      19d. University College, London.—A chimney has been struck on two occasions, but little damage done; the lightning passed off by gutters and rain pipes which enter the drains; the top of the dome, which is of stone, has escaped.

      21. J. Murgatroyd. St. Mary’s, Crumpsall, near Manchester.—A lightning conductor from spire touched the eaves gutter, and a gas pipe touched the end of this gutter. The lightning passed from the conductor along the gutter to the gas pipe, melted it, and set the church on fire by igniting the gas.

      22. T. Oliver.—Never had a building damaged during thirty years practice; uses ½ inch copper rope for lightning conductors, in contact with any iron work near, and buried 8 feet in ground in ashes.

      23. Wyatt Papworth.—Tall spire struck. The church stands in an open position with no large trees near. It was provided with an iron lightning conductor ¾ in. diam., fixed with iron holdfasts, and carried down inside the spire and tower into ground; the top of it was said to be attached to a bold copper finial on the spire about 150 feet from the ground, and 50 feet above ridge of roof; the lightning is supposed to have first struck the finial, it slightly deranged some beds of masonry in upper part of spire, then descended by iron rod to belfry, melted a gas tube in the floor, and set fire to the belfry by igniting the gas.

      23a. House in country road. The lightning struck chimney-pot, descended flue to fire-grate and there divided, one part passed to fire-grate below and damaged the gasalier, another part destroyed a box of clothes near grate, then passed out of door into another room, struck the grate and passed into room below doing no further damage.

      23b. Another house situated at the corner of country road with high trees near, lightning followed bell wires, stripping paper, &c.

      23c. At a third house, chimney pot struck, shaft and eaves gutters damaged.

      24. J. L. Pearson.—Weathercock of a tall spire in an exposed situation struck.—There was a wire rope conductor attached to the bar carrying the vane and passing down inside the spire and out at the belfry window, the bells being connected with it; it was attached to the tower by ordinary metal hooks, and was carried 6 or 8 feet into the ground, and about 10 feet from the base of the tower, the strands being spread out. The conductor was bent about very awkwardly under copings, and in some places, at right angles, the damage was very slight, and was limited to projections of mouldings close to a bend in the conductor about 20 feet above ground. The conductor itself was uninjured. Some insignificant trees 100 yards distant.

      26. E. C. Robins. St. Matthias’s Church, Brixton.—No conductor, although the church had previously been struck. I have now put one up, leading its lower end into a cistern of water. The portland stone terminal cross was shattered, and the stones of the cornice of the two topmost stages were displaced.

28. H. S. Snell. The Holborn Union Infirmary, Upper Holloway, in course of erection.—Conductor not fixed. Apex of tower roof, 160 feet from ground, having only roof timbers, some lead-work A at apex, and vane (gilded iron) fixed. The damage commenced just below lead-work on apex, and three out of four hips were much torn and shattered, necessitating taking down and rebuilding; the hips were each framed in three sections, bolted together with iron bolts, and in nearly every case the bolts seem to have specially attracted the fluid causing slight charring. One of the dormer windows B was also separated from the spire. The fluid appeared eventually to have been attracted by the water-pipes, which rise to top story of building, and so passed away. It will be noted as peculiar that the iron vane was not touched, and that the damage commenced immediately below it. [The damage evidently occurred only where the conducting materials were absent, the iron vane and the lead would naturally bear no trace of injury.—Ed.] No trees nearer than 150 feet, and these much below the top of tower.

      32. J. B. M. Withers. Detached house, near Sheffield, in course of construction.—No conductor; the top of a chimney fifty-two feet six inches above the ground was struck and deranged but not thrown down. The nearest ironwork was an ordinary cast gutter, twenty feet from the top of the chimney. No trees within sixty yards of the building.

34. G. Wrottesley (Col. R.E.). Chimney shaft of a laundry at the Barracks at Gravesend.—No conductor. The chimney shaft, forty feet high, was entirely destroyed by a heavy charge of electricity as low down as the eaves of the building—at this point iron gutters went round the building and outside the chimney shaft, and the charge passed harmlessly away to the earth by the rain water pipes P. Not a brick was left in place above and not one disturbed below the gutter; the shaft appeared as if cut off by a knife at this point. No trees within 100 or 150 yards. The disruptive force was so great that the bricks were scattered over a radius of 200 feet, and the slate roof was riddled like a colander by the brickbats.

      ELEVATION AND PLAN.

      36. E. N. Clifton. Bethnal Green—A four-roomed house, one of a row, with a V shaped roof, was cut in two by lightning; a fissure was made in the front and back walls, and also in the middle plaster partition. The fluid entered the house between the front windows and passed through the partition and back wall, rather to the side of an iron pipe at the back which was the only metal near. No trees in the neighbourhood.