The intire account of fome incidents from 257 years ago
2 questions:
1. Was a pot-house an outdoor toilet?
2. If the fishermen felt the tremor, does that mean there was a tsunami?
The item was published in 1750 in the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions.
8 comments:
A pot-house was apparently a tavern (where you could buy a 'pot' of ale).
Here is BBC radio program which starts with a piece about the 1750 London earthquake. It seems to imply that the epicentre was directly below London in which case there probably wouldn't have been a tsunami (though fish were seen to jump "half a yard above the water"!).
Oops! This is the correct link to the radio program.
Hmmm, Where, exactly, would you expect a late 18th century English "Potter" to apply his craft?
Agree with tristram that a pot house would probably be a tavern. Also, the description of the size of the damaged roof as being "two Square". If the measurement was the same then as now, a "square" of roofing is a 10x10 foot section, which would be more like the area of roof over a tavern than that of an outhouse.
Bev: Thanks for explaining the meaning of "two square". I had no idea...
Near where I live in the UK, there's a "Pothouse Wood".
As far as I can tell, the term "pothouse" chiefly meant a tavern, but was sometimes used to describe a building in which pottery was made.
I think pothouse is a place wherein the fishermen keep their wicker lobster pots, wicker fish pots and etc.
Potters fields are graveyards...real cool
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