Remarkable weather conditions have been experienced recently in the district.  During last week and this week we have been given a taste of how fickle winter can be.  First we had a heavy fall of snow, then a hard frost which became so settled and severe that many expected it would last over Yuletide.  The skaters hoped fervently that it would, but they had to be content with three days of the “poetry of motion.”  On Sunday a number ventured on the ice on the overflow from the Nene at the march, Higham Ferrers, and in the meadows near the bridge at Irthlingborough.  They had to be very careful where they skated, as the ice was treacherous in places.  On Monday and Tuesday, however, there was quite a large area for skating, and people who had not been on the ice for years had a great time.

  Early on Wednesday morning rain fell, but the grip of the frost on the ground was still so firm that the water froze where it fell.  The fall was not heavy.  When people started out for business they found the roads and pavements all over the district like sheets of glass.

  The glassy surface made innumerable accidents inevitable, because, smart as the Rushden Council roadmen were in covering the public roads and paths with grit, thousands of people had to be walking before it was safe.  As a result the doctors in the Rushden and Higham district received many calls during Wednesday morning and were extraordinarily busy all the day setting broken limbs and dressing wounds caused by mishaps on the roads.  One doctor in the morning had at least a dozen cases on his hands all at once, and others coming along.

  Mr. Charles Hardwick, of 54 Oakley-road, Rushden, had got as far as Midland-road, when he fell and had to be

  Dr. Muriset attended and found that Mr. Hardwick had dislocated his right knee.  He will have to remain in bed for several days.

  Mr. L. Cox, living in Higham-road, Rushden, was entering the yard of Messrs. Sanders and Sanders’s factory, when he fell and broke a rib.  Workpeople ran to his assistance, and he was carried home and there treated by the doctor.

  Mrs. Newman, an elderly lady, of 80 Queen-street, Rushden, was fetching in some coal early in the morning, when she slipped and fell heavily on her right hand.  She was in great pain and unable to get up.  She crawled on her knees towards the door until a neighbour, Mrs. York, heard her and went to her assistance.  Dr. R. W. Davies being summoned, it was found that the right wrist was fractured.  Mrs. Newman was put to bed and the wrist was set.  The injury caused intense pain, but the sufferer is progressing as well as can be expected.

  A broken rib was suffered by Mrs. Barker, of 1 Moor-road.  She was going up the yard

To Let the Dog Out,

when, for the want of ashes or grit on the ice, she fell.  Dr. Muriset was fetched by the daughter after Mrs. Timpson, who lives next door, had helped Mrs. Baker in.

  Miss Florence Panter, of 21 Washbrook-road, Rushden, had got nearly to her work (at Messrs. C. W. Horrell’s factory), when she slipped.  Putting out her hand to save herself, she unfortunately caught the fleshy part of the left thumb on some iron railings.  The young lady had to raise herself to release her hand.  A nasty cut was inflicted, causing much loss of blood and great pain.  Dr. Muriset cleaned and dressed the wound, and the patient was able to attend the doctor’s surgery in the evening.  It is hoped that there will not be any serious developments.

   Falling against the edge of a wall as she slipped outside her house (30 Kings-road), Mrs. Foster had a nasty gash over her left eye.  Dr. Muriset was summoned and rendered the necessary aid.  The wound was over two inches long and caused much loss of blood.

  After covering practically all the distance she had to go to her employment, Miss Agnes Curtis, of North-End, Higham Ferrers, had the misfortune to fall down in Cemetery-lane.  She was assisted home, and a doctor attended to treat her for injuries to her right arm.  At first the doctor thought the arm was fractured, but he could not be certain.  Therefore, as soon as the roads were fit for travelling, Miss Curtis went by car to Northampton Hospital, where the arm was X-rayed.  It was found that the member was not fractured, but that the elbow was very badly dislocated.  Though the injury caused her considerable pain, Miss Curtis is now progressing.

  The terribly treacherous state of Higham High-street on Wednesday morning found at least one victim.  Mr. Alfred Dickenson, of High-street, Higham Ferrers, has to face the unpleasant prospect of spending Christmas week on his back as the result of falling near Market-square.  He fell heavily, and on trying to rise he could not do so.  Several men, near by at the time, carried Mr. Dickenson to his home, where a doctor attended and found that he had strained the ligaments of the left knee.  The injury was painful and is very unfortunate in view of the near approach of Christmas.

  Higham High-street was found to be an

Excellent Skating Rink

by quite a number of Higham residents who ventured forth rather early in the morning.  They were able to enjoy what others found to be a continual source of danger.  The steps taken by the Council officials and the thaw later in the morning minimised the danger, and no trepidation was caused last night (Wednesday) by the state of the footpaths and roads.

  According to local records, it is 54 years since such a terrible morning as that of Wednesday was experienced.  In the evening the roads were not “greasy,” but driving was very dangerous owing to thick fog, especially in the low lying parts, where fog made it impossible to see more than a few yards ahead.

  Owing to the impossibility of ‘buses being able to travel in the early hours of Wednesday, most out-of-town people who work in Rushden were unable to get to work.  A very smart idea was put into use by some – namely that of

Skating Over the Icy Roads

A number of people came into Rushden and were practically up to time in that way.  Others who live in Rushden and work out of the town skated from Rushden and so did not lose much time.  It is stated that one hardy spirit negotiated Fitzwilliam-hill on a pair of skates.

  A lorry belonging to a Kettering firm near the post office in High-street at about 7.20 a.m. had to give up trying to make headway.  The driver told a number of workpeople that it had taken him since 4 a.m. to cover the ten miles from Kettering, and practically the last hour of that period was spent in traversing the distance from the railway bridge to the post office.

  Irchester residents who started for Rushden at six o’clock (wearing socks, sacks, and other wrapping round their boots) arrived about eight o’clock and reported that the road was

A Solid Sheet of Ice

A motor-cyclist in Station-road fell from his machine a number of times, and when he stalled his engine he had the biggest difficulty in the world to push the machine a few yards to the top of the street.  He remounted there and after a succession of “spills” got out of sight.

  Between Irthlingborough and Rushden on Monday an omnibus skidded down the hill after a loud bang, and the driver had to use the utmost of his skill to guide the vehicle safely into the snow at the side of the road.  It was found that the brake rods had snapped, apparently because of the frost.

Frost Hampers Firemen

  The frost was so severe at Wellingborough in the early hours Tuesday morning that firemen were greatly hampered in fighting a blaze at the premises of Messrs. Summers and Son, Ltd., of Midland-road, general engineers and machinists.  Four hoses were playing water on the fire, when two of them became ice-bound and water on the firemen’s tunics froze and hindered their movements.  The premises were gutted and much damage was done.

  Telephone wires were brought down by the weight of frozen snow in a number of roads in the Wellingborough rural area.  Services have been restored.  The overhead electric wires seem to have stood the strain.

  Policemen in Rushden, Higham, and Wellingborough areas, by special command of the Chief Constable for the county, have had shortened spells of point duty because of the severity of the weather.  Even then the work has been very trying lately.

30^th December, 1927

The Second Spell of Snow and Ice

Roads From Rushden Blocked By Snowdrifts - Wedding Party in a Ditch

  Spring-like weather was enjoyed in parts of the North during last week-end, while the East Midlands and the South were again in the grip of snow and frost.  The frost was not so severe as it was during the first half of last week, when skating was possible for several days.  Ice had re-formed on several waterways, but it was treacherously thin.

  The worst part of this second white spell, coming so soon after the first, was the blizzard which swept over Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire on Christmas Day.  The wind was so strong and snow fell so quickly that huge drifts were caused in many places.

  A way had to be cut through some of the roads leading out of the Rushden district.  On the Bedford road there was a complete stoppage of traffic until Wednesday, and vehicles had to use the Podington way, where a narrow cutting had been made through a drift.  Near Sanders’ Lodge in Wellingborough-road, Rushden, a drift four feet high had to be cut through to allow ‘bus and other traffic to proceed.  There were heavy drifts also on the Irchester-road (at Knuston), the Court Estate, and Newton Bromshold.

  Conditions were not half so slippery as last week, when rain was frozen as it fell, but it was again dangerous for horses.  Many people ventured out this week as the weather was fine, and were able to walk fairly easily on the roads.  Motor-cars had ropes tied round wheels to enable them to get up the hills.

  Telephone wires from Rushden to Irthlingborough and Rushden to Podington came down in the blizzard, and communication had to be set up via Wellingborough until the lines were repaired.  Telephone posts on the Bedford-road were blown out of the vertical.

  A few delays in the many Yuletide wedding ceremonies at Rushden would have been excusable, but all of them went off practically without a hitch.  The son of the Rector of Chelveston and Newton Bromshold was conveying a party from Rushden to Newton Church for a wedding ceremony, when his car skidded on the frozen snow and landed in the ditch.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the party had to walk almost from Rushden to the church.

  Residents of Bedford-road, Rushden, were kept fairly busy on Monday and Tuesday “digging out” motorists from the snow.  A passage through was impossible, but all the voyagers were able to turn and retrace their way.  The biggest drift – seven feet high, was near Bletsoe-avenue.  A lane was cut through by Tuesday evening and road communication between Rushden and Bedford established, but even on Tuesday it was impossible to drive from Rushden to Riseley.

  The height of the snow reached the top of the hedges on the road between Raunds and Thrapston on Monday.  There were no trains from Raunds because the Kettering-Cambridge line was blocked, but, even if they had come, travelling by them would have been impossible, as there was a snowdrift seven feet high on the Station-road, preventing access to the station.  By Tuesday a passage had been cut through and cars were able to pass.

  Yesterday the road to Newton Bromshold was cleared.  The Wellingborough and Irchester roads were partly cleared on Tuesday and more completely the next day.