On 26 / 27 November 1703, two weeks of unusually intense stormy weather culminated in the most devastating storm ever recorded in England. Thousands were killed and very many boats simply disappeared without trace. Daniel Defoe, in his book The Storm, records many first hand reports from various parts and often these were from clergymen. The Rev.Jacob Cole, rector of Swyre, contributed. Clergymen sometimes added notes of their own concerning natural disasters etc. to their parish records and researchers will have noticed them whilst working on their family histories. I feel that they might like to record these here for our interest helping also to paint a picture of what our ancestors in Dorset might have experienced.
