This is a transcription of the official report from the school on the flood of 5 December 2013.
On Thursday 5th December 2013, Boston suffered one of its worst floods in living memory, as a tidal surge inundated swathes of the east coast of England. In stormy conditions, the River Witham experienced a huge surge in volume as water pushed inland up the Haven, before eventually overtopping at the Grammar School. Fortunately, sufficient advanced warning had allowed th
e School to evacuate and remove some valuables from low levels, but the storm surge was enough to cause significant problems.
At 7.30 pm, river water flowed through the site at high speed, travelling through the South End gates and flooding the Beast Yard to a depth of two feet. The main thrust of the river than carried on through the archway by the Library and across the car park to the Main Hall, before flooding the lower end of the school and running down Rowley Road.
With a second tidal surge predicted for 8.30 am on Friday 6th December, and Haven Bridge closed, it was several hours before we could access the buildings to begin the recovery process. By that time,
the tide had receded and left us with a partially waterlogged site. The tarmac at South End illustrated the force of the water on entering the site, while tide marks on the doors confirmed the height of the flood.
The Science Block, being nearest the river, would have been the first building to flood. Fortunately, as can be seen, the water had travelled at speed and had brought only a minimal amount of silt with it.
Both the new and old blocks had flooded on the ground floor. Next affected was the large Sixth Form
Private Study Room in the Dr Len Medlock Sixth Form Centre.
The water had lapped up and into the front of the Sixth Form Block itself, despite two concrete steps between the doors and ground level. However, most distressing was the damage to our listed Library building, which was next in line.
Inside the Library, parquet blocks had lifted and floated away, with the water stripping the varnish from those still in situ. The river was very much in evidence in the Museum, where valuables had been lifted the previous day.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the school, the Art and Music Block and the Sports Hall were under standing water. Outside, the hard standing and field resembled a lake.
And so the work began to push water out of the building. With a handful of volunteer staff and Sixth Form students arriving to help, we began the clean-up operation within an hour of the passing of the second tide… and that operation will take some time.
For details of the clean-up and recovery operation underway at BGS, keep following
www.bostongrammarschool.co.uk
A brief addition has been made to the previous article High tide - the aftermath in order to clarify the President's Appeal that has been started to help the school recover as quickly as possible from the effects of the flood.
At a recent meeting of the Old Bostonian Association it was announced that the President’s Appeal to members for donations to commemorate the catastrophic December Flood which badly affected Boston Grammar School has raised almost £2,500. It has been proposed to provide new display cabinets and seating in the Lobby adjacent to The library which was severely flooded. A plaque will also be erected to show the height the flood waters reached.
Boston band, Molly's Chamber, which includes Boston Grammar School "old boys", Mark Sargeant and Steve Garnham, will be playing at the Flood Aid launch party on Saturday, 1 February 2014 at The Brittania, Boston.
As has been mentioned previously on this blog, Peter Sharman, President of the Old Bostonian Association, has launched a President’s Appeal for funding to get the BGS students back to normal as quickly as possible. Many thanks to those who have contributed so far. By Christmas we had already raised over a thousand pounds.
People who helped clean up after the flood at Boston Grammar School have received an award showing the school's thanks. The award was made by the school's Design and Technology technicians and includes a section of tarmac lifted from the yard by the flood.
With a second tidal surge predicted for 8.30 am on Friday 6th December, and Haven Bridge closed, it was several hours before we could access the buildings to begin the recovery process. By that time,
The Science Block, being nearest the river, would have been the first building to flood. Fortunately, as can be seen, the water had travelled at speed and had brought only a minimal amount of silt with it.
Both the new and old blocks had flooded on the ground floor. Next affected was the large Sixth Form
Meanwhile, at the other end of the school, the Art and Music Block and the Sports Hall were under standing water. Outside, the hard standing and field resembled a lake.
On Thursday night of last week, during the height of the
tidal flooding in Boston the water poured over the sea wall opposite the school
and flooded the playground to a depth of around two feet. The library, science block, OBA museum, staff room and other areas sustained considerable
damage. The flood waters had gone by the time I visited this afternoon
but if you look carefully at the photos you will clearly see the
height the water reached. Thankfully many items were lifted clear before
the flood arrived but nevertheless there is considerable water damage.
