A most straunge and true report of certaine ground, containing nine acres and vpward, which was suncke, remoued, and carried out of his place, eight perches, vvith the trees standing therevpon, at Cockam hill, in the parish of Westram in Kent, about fifteen miles distant from London.
IN the parish of Westram in Kent, about a myle from the Towne Southward, not far from the East side of a certaine great and common high way, called Cockam Hill, leading from London towardes Buckhurst, & other partes of Sussex, about that coast lyeth a certaine Farme possessed by one maister Robert Heath, an honest Gentleman, dwelli [...]g at Sandersted in Surry, and presently tenanted by one Giles Browne an honest yeoman. Among sundry parcels of ground belonging thereto, in the midst of that Farme are two closes lying togither, sauing that they bee separated with a standing hedge, of Hollies, Ashes, Hazels, Willowes and Alders growing theron: the scituation of which, and namely of the vpper close, till the 18. day of December last past, was after this sort. The vpper face of it lay somewhat adant, and vpon the shoote of an hill, but not so much, but that a bowle being cast vp against the hill might easily haue layen & setled without tumbling backe againe perforce: otherwise it was reasonably leuell for the most part: for it hath bene vsually mowed, and within these fiue yeares hath bene sowed thrée times with thrée sundry kindes of graine: first with wheate, secondly with Barly, and thirdly with Oates: A little aboue the North ende thereof, lying somewhat higher then the rest, harde [Page] adioyning to the foote of a very high and stéep hil, there was a certaine carrying way for Carte and Waine, to the Tennaunts vse, and beneath that, towarde the middest of it, a foote path did crosse to the close: Betwéene the sayd carrying way, and the sayd foote path, were two standing pittes, the one being about sixe foote déepe of water and more, the other twelue foote at the least, and about foure perches ouer in bredth, hauing sundry tuffes of Alders and some Asshes growing in the bottomes of them: the ground on the south side of the sayd pittes, laye mounted higher then the vpper face of the water, about tenne foote.
Againe, from the great high hill lying at the vpper part of the grounde whereof wee spake before, two very little gozels passed downe along Southward through the close, theyr water Courses being diuided asunder at the vpper end, about the carrying way, twelue perches, and about the middest twentie eight perches: All which earth of the said closes within the sayd gozelles, and about an Acre more in bredth one way, and eighty perches in length another way, beganne the sayd eightéene day of December to alter and chaunge forme and fashion, and that very diuersly from day to day, for the space of eleuen dayes togither, after this maner.
First on the sayd 18. day, the sayd Tennant Giles Browne going in the morning toward that Cart way, with purpose to passe along it, to a barne standing beyond it, when hee came to that part of it which laye about the head of the gozelles, he foūd it for xij. pearches lōg to be sunk there down right sixe foote and a halfe déepe, by measure taken by himselfe and other. The next morning being the ninetéenth day, hée comming thither againe, found it to be sunke sixtéene foote more then it was the day before. The third morning being the twentieth day, hée came againe, and then found it to be suncke about eightie foote more at the least. And then from that day forwarde, that great trench of ground lying partly in these two closes, and partly in sūdry other, containing frō the carying way southward in length (as is before said) about eightie perches, and in bredth in [Page] some place twentie eight and where it was narrowest xii. pearches, began with the hedges and trées thereon to loose it self wholy from the rest of the ground lying round about it, and withal to moue, slide, and shoote southward, not with any suddaine shot, but créeping by little, and little, so as the motion and stirring thereof was not discerned nor perceyued, by thē that were presently standing vpon it and working about it, but only by the sundrie effects that followed, as the cracking of the rootes of trées, the brushing of boughes, the noise of the hedge-wood breaking, the gaping of the ground, and the riuing of the earth asunder, the falling of the torne furrowes and huge trenches after it, some foure foote déepe, some sixe and some seauen and more, whereby there were made in it at the least not so fewe as eleuen thousand furrows, riffes, cracks, and clefts in diuerse places héere and there. This mouing and carying of the ground southward continewing stil both by day and night for the space of eleuen dayes togither, sliding a slant, sometimes as it was noted, fouretéene handfulls by measure, in one houre and a halfe did wonderfully alter and chaunge the whole face of that land: for in some places thereof, the hinder ground comming faster forwarde (as it shoulde appeare) then the former grounde did giue waye vnto it, caused it to swell vppe in rounde hillocks like vnto graues, the gréene turfe remayning still whole and vnbroken aboue: In other places the hinder grounde came so violently, as that it did not only teare the greene turfe aboue, but also did rise and lift vp it selfe, and did rolle and tumble euer the other as it were waues or surges and so stayed as standing buts, and at the last the whole plotte was so toused, torne and rent, and withall the gréene turfe so tattered and turned vp side downe, as that there is scant so much as one pearch togither of al this ground left whole with the grasse vpon it vncrackt.
The ground of the two water pits euen from the very muddy bottoms whole, with a great rocke of stone vnder the same are not onlye remoued out of theyr places [Page] and carried forward toward the South, at the least foure perches a péece, with their tuffes of Alders still standing vpon them, but withall, they are mounted vp aloft, and become hilles, standing yet to be séene with their sedge, flags, and blacke mudde vpon the toppe of them still, higher then the vpper face of the water is now (which they haue forsaken) by at the least nine foote: and into ye place from which they are remoued and rysen, other ground which lay higher before, is descended and come downe, receiuing the water lying now vpon it, as it did before vpon the other.
Moreouer, in one place of the plaine fielde, there is a great Hole made by sinking of the earth, to the depthe of thirtie foote at the least, being in breadth in some place, two perches ouer, and in length, fiue or sixe perches.
Likewise there is a hedge of 30. perches long▪ remoued and carryed Southward, with his trées and all, seuen perches at the least: And of these trées some do still stand, and grow vpright, and some are quite ouerthrowne, couered and buried, with the folding of the earth running vpon them, and almost both the endes of the sayd hedge are sunke and couered wholy with the earth: the East end of it foure perches long, the West end fiue perches long.
Many other alterations there be of trées that be sunke and remoued out of their places, some fiue perches, some sixe: as namely, one Holly trée is driuen seuen perches out of his place, and yet it standeth vpright still, and a great Alder is torne roote and all cut of the grounde, and carryed from his place foure perches, and there it lyeth, the top turned downe to the ground.
Beside this, there was one péece of ground of halfe an Acre, which in times past did lye vp shooting in betwéene the two fieldes: this peece now, with an hedge row of trées standing vppon it, is slipped quite away Southward, from betwéene those two closes: and they two before seuered, are now come togither & ioyned as one, and in their comming, are tumbled ouer a sommer hedge, & withall two other hedges, and a shawe of hazell trées, and bushes, which did seuer them, are now driuen togither on heapes at the Southend.
[Page]Sundry other sinkings there be in diuers places, one of sixtie fiue foote, an other of forty seuen foote, an other of thirtie foure foote.
By meanes of all which cofusion, it is come to passe, that where the highest hilles were héeretofore, there the deepest Dales [...]ée now. And where the lowest Dales were then, now the ground lyeth mounted hiest.
The footepath spoken of before, is now caryed out of square eight pearches at the least, the lower end of this ground is caryed southward in bredth thrée pearches ouer into two medowes, whereof one is in the possession of an other man called Thomas Toller.
Finally the whole measure and content of this breaking grounde, was at least nine acres seauen day workes and foure perches, on the twentie ninth day of December whē this figure and measure of it was taken, as here ye sée it set downe: And since that time it cracketh and cleaueth daily more and more on all sides round about it.
Among other things touching this matter, this also is especially to bee considered, that whereas by the great aboundaunce of water, and continuall rayne which haue fallen so many monethes togither of late, sundrye great bowrnes, and violent streames haue broken out in many places of this land, and at the least seauen such within xii. miles of this place euery way, the least whereof is able to driue a corne Mill, where seldome or neuer any such haue bin before, and that this ground lyeth (as we haue saide) vnder a high hill that might occasion some such issue, yet there hath no extraordinary course of water broken out vppon it, nor neere vnto it by a mile any way, neither haue the small springs thereof, during all this wet weather, bin any thing increased to speake of. In so much as the two little gozelles mentioned before, being they that doo cary most water ouer this rouing ground, are neither of them so great, but that their streames might at any time all this yeare (and so many still) easily passe through an auger hole of an Inch and halfe broade. Which I speake to this end, that the strange cariage, moouing, dryuing, and [Page] displacing of huge masse of earth, and the heauing vp of the vallyes and lowe pits, with the great rootes thereof raysed and mounted vnto hilles, with the trées therevpon, cannot be imputed to the aboundance of water enforcing it as the cause therof, as some perhaps otherwise would imagin and suppose.
The whole maner of the straunge confusion of this plat cannot be discribed according as it is but there hath (by report of the Farmers and others) come to see it at sundry times, from London and other partes of the country foure thousand people since it first began: to whom it hath séemed to be a very straunge and fearefull sight, giuing occasion vnto some of them, to thinke vpon that great opening of the earth that shalbe in the latter day when she shall yeelde vp her dead, that be in her to come to the resurrection, to other to thinke vpon that fearefull gaping of the ground wherein Corah and his company were deuoured.
And to the intent the reader may not thinke himselfe to be abused in this report by some vaine deuised fable, sundry of the neighbors and inhabitants, and they of the best credit dwelling thereabout, who haue bin at it, and are eye witnesses thereof, haue bin content here vnto to giue their testimony, by subscribing their names at the beginning of this booke.