Grantham Civic Society writes about the worst flooding on record in 1922

At the beginning of August 1922, Grantham experienced its worst flooding on record.

Previous floods in 1897 had resulted in basements being flooded, but was not on the scale of these floods. On the Monday morning the river was very high, so occupants of houses near to the river who were able, took their furniture upstairs, or to a place of safety.

The river burst its banks with such ferocity, that very quickly the water reached a considerable depth. Residents had to save themselves by going upstairs and leaving their possessions. The streets that were most affected were Harrow Street, Eton Street, Welham Street, East Street, Agnes Street, Redcross Street and Alford Street, where water reached five feet in depth. Water swept through with such a force that adjacent streets were also affected.

Many towns-people helped in the rescue of the inhabitants and animals and ropes were fastened to flooded areas to act as a handrail. Schools opened their doors to allow people to shelter and many spent the night there.

The Grantham Journal reported that, despite the serious nature of the floods, there were some amusing incidents. The following clearly amused the reporter, who wrote that one family ‘were rescued from the upper windows of a house by means of a ladder, and placed in an ordinary tip cart.

The driver, however, had forgotten to insert the tip-pin, and the result was that when the last person stepped from the ladder on to the cart, the latter tipped, and tumbled the whole lot into the muddy torrent’. He continued with amusement, that something similar had also happened to two more individuals!