The Floods in Denaby and Conisborough

The floods which visited the whole of the country on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, made this district no exception to the general rule in the valley of the Don and Dearne if anything suffered more severely than any other locality in England. The storms which raged intermittently all last week succeeding in inundating the country to such an extent it is thought to surpass any previous flood not even excepting the memorable one of 1875.

Thursday

The valleys of the Dearne and Don presented an appearance more like a huge lake than anything else, and it is also is stated that a flood of such dimensions as the present one is not been known for many years.
Conisbrough and Denaby have been cut off from all communications with Mexborough and the river Don has overflown its banks. Swallows in hundreds have been picked up starved to death by the severe weather. The railway crossing at Denaby is underwater.

The train from Barnsley, Manchester and Sheffield are been late in many instances. The first report of a serious character came from Conisbrough were great damage was said to have been done by the overflow of the village Brook, which runs at a steep declivity. Ordinarily the stream is very shallow, and in many places the best that the bottom are seen, but about 7 o’clock on Thursday morning it became so swollen and rushed along with such fury that it was conjectured whether the reservoir at Thrybergh and overflown into it.

The stream, before it discharges itself into the Don at Conisborough, passes through Bramley and Wickersley, Micklebring and Clifton, and in times of every rains is consequently fed by water from a wide range of surfaceland. The first obstruction of importance which the torrent met with was the boundary wall at the premises of Messrs Nicholson, Bros, Conisborough. The water surrounded the wall, and then rush through the garden gate, covering the entire yard. Passing from Messieurs Nicholson’s premises the flood rushed across a number of gardens, routing a quantity of produce, entered the cellar at the Three Horse Shoes Inn, and thence into what is known as Wilson’s dam, the bank of one-side at which it burst. Being blockaded by number of barrels at what is known as the (shuttle,) the waters dashed along the highway at the foot of the hill of which stands the castle ruins. Swerving to the right it passed through Mr Wilson sawmills, doing great damage. A large portion of Earth was torn away by the raging flood, which entered underneath the doors of the mill and floated a quantity of “dollies,” railway “keys” – for fastening “chairs” on the line – and broom heads etc. damage was also done at the Castle Inn and that the Gasworks.

At noon many fields were flooded and it presented a white sheet of water between Mexborough and Denaby, passing over the contiguous land at the latter place. The airway leading from Mexborough to Denaby near the toll bar was flooded to the depth of several feet, and the current was so strong as to render vehicular traffic somewhat dangerous stop the religious character the water at a charge of one penny. In the pastures hundreds of acres were submerged between Denaby and Conisbrough