"The greatest portion of the damage within the park itself, occurred in the immediate vicinity of Mr. Merson's house, the occupants of which expected every moment that it would be crushed by falling trees.
"A strange incident occurred in connection with the sycamore trees. It appears that on the Saturday previous to the storm Sir Massey decided that two old and decayed trees of this kind, which were somewhat in the way of contemplated improvements to the steward's residence, should be cut down, and gave Mr. Merson instructions accordingly. The gale came on, and hundreds of stately trees, one a monarch elm of unusual size, and another a stately macrocarphus fir, sixty feet high, and of exceptional beauty, succumbed within a short distance of the spot where the two old and despised sycamores still reared their heads. The storm could not destroy them, but they have since been sawn down. Near this same spot some very choice laurels and rhododendrons were torn up by the roots and hurled fifty yards away, being discovered days afterwards buried under from twelve to twenty feet of snow. In the fir wood, facing the mansion, on the opposite side of the Tavy, quite half the trees are blown down, while the plantation close to the main entrance on Roborough Down is almost entirely destroyed. The plantation adjoins the residence of Dr. Clay, of Plymouth, and contained about three thousand very fine firs and pines of which only about one hundred remain.
"Looking towards the woods opposite Maristowe House, the owner must witness such a wreck as never was before seen since the house has stood there. From the entrance of the road from Beer Ferris to Lopwell, trees of every description lie twisted and thrown in every direction, and the road itself must, for some time, be only available for traffic with care. The great trees in falling have crashed through others, and thousands of broken limbs are visible on every hand. On the other side of the Tavy towards Denham Bridge, the damage is great, and in the hollows, here and there, more than three weeks after the storm, were considerable quantities of snow. At Denham Bridge several very fine firs have gone, broken off short some five to eight feet above the ground in most cases, and in the Tavy here and there are other trees. On the road from Beer Alston to Tavistock one plantation of black firs, consisting of several hundred trees, has lost to the extent of nine trees out of every ten, and the cutoff ends of the trees jutting on the highway present a remarkable appearance. A little further away, on the road to Milton Abbot, another fir plantation has nearly every tree down."
At Buckland Abbey, famous as the ancestral home of Sir Francis Drake, the ruin is singularly disastrous. Messrs. Ward & Chowen, of Burnville, Bridestowe, have kindly forwarded an interesting communication which sets forth vividly some startling results of the blizzard. They write:—
"As agents to the Buckland Abbey property, our Mr. Chowen visited the Abbey on the Saturday after the storm, that being the first day it was possible to arrive at the nearest station, namely, Horrabridge, and in getting to the Abbey he had to walk over fifteen feet of snow in some parts, the average depth being about five feet. On reaching the North Lodge, he was astounded at the devastation which met his view. The whole of the Rookery between the North and South Lodges at the back of the farm-house, commonly known as Place Barton, was literally levelled—scarcely a tree remained standing, and the few that were left were completely shattered, partly by the storm, and partly by the falling of the other trees in their sudden descent.
"The fine old timber around the Abbey, which doubtless gave character to the place in the renowned Sir Francis Drake's time, has been more or less ruthlessly torn up by the roots by the effects of the disastrous storm, and a noble avenue of beech to the north of the Abbey grounds has suffered terribly, almost every alternate tree having succumbed. In the Abbey grounds, an interesting sycamore, centuries old, on the stock of which, at the point where the branches diverged, accommodation was afforded by seats and a centre table for a quiet tea-party, shared the fate of the others, and in its terrific descent crushed down another fine ornamental specimen as if it were a sapling. Many of the fine old cedars have been sadly mutilated, whilst some of the tulip trees have been destroyed, but the Abbey buildings have, most fortunately, escaped injury.
"Our Mr. Stevenson, at the North Lodge, has recounted a marvellous incident which took place on the Monday evening of the storm. It appears a neighbouring farmer and his wife paid a visit to their friends at the Barton, and discovering that the storm was increasing in violence, decided to leave early. In passing through the Rookery towards the North Lodge, the way by the South Lodge being already inaccessible, they had arrived just where the Rookery terminated at this point, when down came the last tree over them without warning, and, marvellous to relate, the horse, conveyance, and occupants were imprisoned between the large branches diverging from the stock without the slightest damage whatever being done. After great difficulty in clearing the branches, the party were rescued, but could get no further than the lodge, the horse having to be put up in the kitchen or living room, whilst the owners were accommodated in the sitting room, where they remained until the following Wednesday at midday. Immediately after this occurrence, the whole Rookery was swept down, completely covering the road which had been so recently passed over, and one of the trees was blown on the back roof of the farm-house, crushing in one of the bedrooms to within six inches of where a child was sleeping.
"In tracing the ravages of the storm it is most interesting to notice the vagaries of the current, as it affected everything with which it came in contact. In some cases the force would appear to descend vertically in gusts, seizing the top or tops of trees lying together and wrenching off the same as if turnip-tops, leaving the stock intact; whilst other trees within a few feet escaped untouched. Undoubtedly the force of the gale assumed a variety of forms. In some cases it could be seen that the extreme violence of the wind reached a breadth of an eighth of a mile, more or less, when in other places it was only a few yards wide, clearing everything before it. In other parts it assumed a circular or vortex form, and in its tortuous route decimated everything in its way, tearing up huge trees, as if telegraph poles, and even stripping off the thick bark of the Scotch fir, leaving it as clean as a rinded pole.
"So far as we know the buildings have pretty well escaped, only partial damage being done, and in some instances trees which might have smashed down dwelling-houses have been spared, whilst those immediately around the building have been stranded."
The Rev. Frederic T. W. Wintle, rector of Beerferris, who, in addition to severe damage to his residence suffered considerably from loss of trees, contributes the following information which was written on the Wednesday after the blizzard:—