Wold Cottage (meteorite) - The Meteorite

The Meteorite

The stone fell at around 3 O'clock, on 13 December 1795, it created a crater approximately 1 yard across, and embedded itself in the underlying chalk rock to a depth of 7 inches, passing through 12 inches of topsoil. The fall was observed by several people, who described a dark body passing through the air. As discovered at its landing point the stone was warm and smoking; several people reported sounds of explosions as it fell. The owner of the land was Major Edward Topham, a well known public figure, an-ex soldier, playwright and newspaper proprietor; he publicised the find and exhibited the meteorite publically at Picadilly in London.

The stone initially weighed 56 lb (25 kg). James Sowerby, a naturalist, acquired the meteorite in 1804. The meteorite was later acquired by the British Museum in 1835.