ELECTRICAL STORMS, ETC.

531

the clock below. From the works of the clock the lightning has darted through thewall close to the lower edge of that face of the clock, which is over the body of thechurch, and has peeled a considerable slice off the outer side of the stone work. Thisappears to have been the last point of destruction, from which it no doubt darted tothe lead work of the roof of the body of the church, and thence to the ground by theconduction of the metallic water pipes.

In conclusion I may add, that had the architect been disposed to build an edificefor the precise purpose of being destroyed by lightning, he could scarcely haveimproved upon the plan exhibited by this spire, either as to the choice or the distri-bution of the materials.

Remarks .—Now as it appears that these elegant tall thin spires cannot be held toge-ther against the force of heavy winds independently of metallic clamping, and as wehave now, I hope, sufficient evidence of the danger of this plan, should lightninghappen to strike the upper part of the edifice; and also, as great facilities for suchevents are afforded by the distribution of metal amongst the masonry by such mode ofprotection against less formidable elements, it behoves those who, in future, may havethe planning and erecting of tall spires to provide especially against the effects oflightning.

Now it appears to me that had the cloud which discharged the lightning againstSt. Michael’s Church been at a less angle of elevation, the cross would not have beenhit at all, hut that the lightning would more probably have struck some part of thecentral metallic rod below ; under which circumstances the masonry must have beenpenetrated before the rod was arrived at, for lightning regards not stone walls whenthey happen to be in its way.

From these considerations it would appear that a lightning rod passing throughthe interior of a tall spire, although it were exposed at the top, and also in good con-nection with the ground at the lower end, would not give complete security to thebuilding, especially against oblique discharges, when the angle of descent was verylow. A single exterior rod would be preferable, because if the lightning happenedto come from a cloud on the same side of the edifice, the rod would be struck beforethe lightning arrived at the masonry ; but a single exterior rod might possibly be themeans of much damage from lightning which approached from the opposite side.Therefore, if we are disposed to give a decided protection to such edifices from thedestructive forces of lightning, three rods at least, at equal distances from one another,ought to be exteriorly arranged from the top to the bottom of the spire, and con-tinued down to the ground. Such an arrangement of cylindrical copper rods ofmoderate dimensions would operate in concert by being united at the top, andmetallically connected at two or more places below, and within fifty feet from theapex of the spire. Such a system of conductors might be so disposed as to become

3 t 2