London Beer Flood

The London Beer Flood happened on 17 October 1814 in the parish of St. Giles, London, England. At the Meux and Company Brewery in Tottenham Court Road, a huge vat containing over 135,000 imperial gallons of beer ruptured, causing other vats in the same building to succumb in a domino effect. As a result, more than 323,000 imperial gallons of beer burst out and gushed into the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the wall of the Tavistock Arms pub, killing teenage employee Eleanor Cooper under the rubble. Within minutes neighbouring George Street and New Street were swamped, seriously injuring a mother, and killing a daughter and young neighbour who were taking tea, and beer surged through a room of people gathered for a wake, killing five of them.
The brewery was among the poor houses and tenements of the St Giles Rookery, where whole families lived in basement rooms that quickly filled with beer. At least eight people were known to have drowned in the flood or died from injuries.

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