1987 Flood

The devastating flood of 1987 and the end of an era

During the morning of Sunday 23rd August, exceptional, prolonged, and torrential rain hit parts of North Staffordshire. It started at around 7 am and continued, relentlessly, right through till 5 that afternoon. 


The downpour over much of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, caused local water levels to rise rapidly. A catastrophic flood swamped the Hall. 

Click on the image to make it larger and easier to read
Source:  JBA Trust   'British Chronology of flash floods'

The existing flood-water defence system - a simple electric flood pump in an underground sump - was, as we now know, totally incapable of defending the Hall. The flood was described as a 'once in 30-year-event'. 


Sunday 23rd August 1987 - mid morning

We popped out at about 9 o'clock with some errands to do. We returned at about 11 but the damage had already been done and we were faced with a catastrophe. We found the Hall under '7 feet of water'. 

The flood occurred very rapidly. The water literally rose from the ground as the water table shifted. The lake in the fields behind the Hall did not overflow as some had speculated. (Note that the huge dyke which now surrounds the Hall, built during the subsequent restorations of 1989, would not have stopped the flood)  

There was nothing we could do but take photographs of the story unfolding before our eyes. 




You can see the rain drops on the flood water. A very kind and helpful local gentlemen brought his dingy and let Terry row across to the Hall to try to see what it was like inside. A terrible sight. The Hall was devastated. Toots, our cat, was missing.











Sunday 23rd August 1987 - late afternoon

The rain stopped by about mid afternoon but the water level continued to rise until about 7pm. It then began to subside very slowly. Crowds of onlookers gathered, witnessing history. Local swans enjoyed their new pond. The adjacent Ford Green Road also flooded 










Monday 24th August 1987 - first thing

We arrived at the Hall at about 8 o'clock and were pleasantly surprised to discover that the milkman had called and left us our usual delivery! 

But where was Toots, our cat? She had survived!  She seems to have jumped or clambered onto the window ledge as the water began to rise. But it continued to rise and she had to climb higher still. She clawed her way up our living room curtains and was able to haul herself across to sit on the main beam over the fireplace. The beam can be seen in the café today. As the water level dropped she climbed down to sit on the window ledge once more (see pic below). 

Pam collecting the milk

Toots on the window ledge





Monday 24th August 1987 - late afternoon

The local Fire and Rescue Service pumped around half a million gallons of water out of the building and by teatime the water level had dropped sufficiently to allow us to gain entry to the building.  We were shocked to see the damage. The main electric power box to the Hall was fizzing. We carefully switched everything off. The lens on my camera soon steamed up. The place stank of sewage and a thin layer of revolting silt covered everything.








Tuesday 25th August 1987 

The clean up began. Once again our friends and family got stuck in, helping us sort through the mess. Many of our possessions were simply bagged up and sent to the skip. The city council installed industrial de-humidifiers and employed a cleaning firm to begin the task of clearing debris from the visitor areas. 






Flood Statistics

On Monday 24th August 1987, between 9.30am and 3.30pm, the local Fire and Rescue Service pumped the filthy water out of the Hall and its immediate surroundings. They pumped 1600 gallons per minute, in multiple pipes, across the car park and into the local brook, which was already full. That's 576,000 gallons in total - about the same amount required to fill an Olympic swimming pool.



End of an Era

The flood really did mark the end of an era, our era, at the Hall. As soon as we were able to gain entry, we packed our bags with our immediately salvageable belongings, collected Toots and moved out. There was no choice. We were the last people, since it was built, to live in the Hall. Three months later Pam tendered her resignation.



The Hall remained closed until 31st July 1989. According to the Evening Sentinel report that day, in the two years since the flood it underwent a major £174,000 restoration (around £600,000 in 2023 - measuringworth.com)