Fylde Moss Rupture

PhilB · **Posted:** Sat Sep 12, 2009 4:22 pm

I have read reports that, some centuries ago, the Fylde Moss (then full of peat) swelled up by absorbing water in winter so that it rose several yards in height. One report said it actually ruptured at one time and a torrent of water flowed into the Wyre, carrying several houses and people with it. This does seem hard to credit but have the aerial surveys showed any evidence of such a happening?

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:33 am

Phil,

Can't say as I've heard about that one. (That's not to say it didn't happen, just that I've never heard about it.) The only exploding bog I've experienced was my own after the home-made vindaloo I had the other night.

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:10 pm

By way of addendum, I've just had a word with Michelle and she's informed me that during the Georgian period sometime, following a heavy rainfall one night, apparently Pilling Moss ruptured in this fashion, oozing an inordinate amount of black gunk which spread for several miles like a big sticky pancake. Apparently Sobee mentions it in his History of Pilling and Camden refers to a similar incident happening to some moss or other near Liverpool.

PhilB · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:29 pm

I`ve found a couple of references to the moss rupture:-

1716 - Folkstone in Kent, in or about the year 1716 *, probably from sub. terraneous springs and caverns; a sublapse of the soil at Horseford in Norfolk, in June in 17 '••'', during a violent thunder storm t; and the sinking of Pilling Moss in the neighbourhood of ...Folkstone in Kent, in or about the year 1716 *, probably from sub. terraneous springs and caverns; a sublapse of the soil at Horseford in Norfolk, in June in 17 '••'', during a violent thunder storm t; and the sinking of Pilling Moss in the neighbourhood of Churchtown in Lancashire, in the beginning of the same year. This moss, which was of the moving kind, had been observed a short time before to rise to a surprising height ; this ascendrng progress however conti.

From The Gallery of Nature and Art; Or, A Tour Through Creation and Science - Related web pages
books.google.com/books?id=iytkAAAAMAAJ&pg ...

Jan 26, 1744 - (B) Typical contemporary evidence of a former bog burst: agricultural land at Pilling Moss, Lancashire, UK, a lowland raised bog that burst on 26 January 1744. Peat flowed out from the subdued depression in the centre of the photograph in the direction indicated ...(A) An example of peat creep along an originally near-vertical excavation of blanket peat at Barnesmore, Co. Donegal, Ireland. The condition of the peat profile indicated recent (days or weeks) excavation. (B) Typical contemporary evidence of a former bog burst: agricultural land at Pilling Moss, Lancashire, UK, a lowland raised bog that burst on 26 January 1744. Peat flowed out from the subdued depression in the centre of the photograph in the direction indicated by the arrow.
From Geomorphology : Mass movements in peat: A formal classification scheme … - Related web pages
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii ...

PhilB · **Posted:** Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:52 am

I was struck by this paragraph which indicates that there should be visible evidence today:-

"Typical contemporary evidence of a former bog burst: agricultural land at Pilling Moss, Lancashire, UK, a lowland raised bog that burst on 26 January 1744. Peat flowed out from the subdued depression in the centre of the photograph in the direction indicated by the arrow. "

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:21 pm

There you go, Phil. Michelle knows everything. (At least that what she always tells me.)

When we were digging Bodkin Hall in Pilling last year, we did hit a stratagraphic level (directly beneath the late 18th century one) that was composed of some type of thick, unidentified silt. Presumably that's the evidence you're looking for. Perhaps Mr Bradshaw would let us go back at some point and dig up a sample for further analysis. I hope so, because his wife made excellent bacon butties.

PhilB · **Posted:** Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:07 pm

What kind of publication would record a happening like this in 1744 - were there newspapers covering the area?

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Thu Nov 19, 2009 9:06 pm

Not that I'm aware Phil...although if there had been they would have helped soak up some of the mess. (I tell you, Giles Brandreth must be trembling in his brogues.)

PhilB · **Posted:** Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:53 am

I assume it must have been recorded somewhere - it can hardly have been passed down by word of mouth with a specific date?

jtstatham · **Joined:** Sat Oct 03, 2009 3:49 pm **Posts:** 47

This is just of the top of my head, but aren't there parts of Pilling (and other bits of Over Wyre) that belong to the Duchy of Lancaster? Well, their records go back centuries...an enquiry to their archivist might turn up a useful line of enquiry.

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Fylde Moss Rupture

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