The Great Flood of 1607

On the morning of 20 January 1607 huge regions of south Wales and south West England were flooded as people set about their daily tasks. The damage was so extreme it was for a time believed to have been a tsunami but this has been discredited. Victims saw it as a repeat of Noah's Flood, so as they were trying to survive, they must have been struggling with the belief that God was punishing them for their sins.

It provides accounts from the time and images show people and animals bobbing about in the floodwaters, with others in trees, clinging for their lives as they hoped to be rescued. Claims have been made that the flood reached 60 feet deep in some places, and the waters took many days to subside whilst wagons and boats were used to rescue survivors.

The book traces the extent of the disaster, tracks the flood damages and the long term aftermath. It places it in context of the times in which it occurred, and raises questions over how the region would cope of the disaster is repeated.