❧ A most true and Lamentable Report, of a great Tempest of hail which fell vpon a Village in Kent, called Stockbery, about three miles from Cittingborne, the nintenth day of june last past. 1590.  
Whereby was destroyed great abundance of corn and fruit, to the impoverishing and undoing of diuers men inhabiting within the same Village.  
 printer's embellishment  
LONDON Printed for the widow of Thomas Butter. 1590.   

A most true and lamentable Report of a great Tempest of hail which fell vpon a Village in Kent, called Stockbery, about three miles from Cittingborne, the 19. day of june last past, 1590. whereby was destroyed great abundance of corn and fruit, to the impoverishing and undoing of diuers men inhabiting within the same Village.  
FOr the sins of men, the Lord hath sent sundry and grievous plagues vpon the earth, some general, and some particular, some in mercy to correct, and some in his just wrath to confounded the wicked of the world, and to work amendment in the rest: for albeit the lord be merciful, long suffering, and of great patientie, yet is he just and righteous altogether, and at the length through too much provocation sendeth vengeance from heaven for the punishment of sin and wickedness, as diuers examples of holy scripture do testify. And such is the great goodness of our God, that before he plague any nation, city, or country, he first sendeth warning thereof diuers and sundry ways. Before the old world was drowned Noe preached repentance unto the people, foretelling that for their great sins the whole world should be overwhelmed: but they regarding not his words, nor fearing their utter destruction, continued their lewd life, even to the very day that Noe entered into the ark, and so perished in the flood. pharaoh the mighty King of Egypt holding the children of Israel in captivity, was by Moyses often warned to let them go, before the ten grievous plagues was inflicted vpon him and his whole land, notwithstanding, in the hardness of his hart, he with all his host perished in the red sea. The great city Nineuy was by the Prophet jonas foretold that within forty dayes it should be destroyed, but the people repenting was spared. Abraham and lot among the Sodomites often declared how hote the wrath of God hung over them, for their filthy and abominable sin, but they despising their preaching, continued in all corruption, till fire and brimstone fell from heaven, and utterly consumed them. These examples are left written for our instruction, vpon whom the ends of the world are come, which are sufficient to forewarn us of the like punishment: but the Lord knowing our wickedness, will he( think you) spare us more then he spared them? or is he not as just now, and his power as great as then it was? yes no doubt, for if he spared not the true olive, much less will he spare the wild olive: for what privilege or prerogative haue we to sin more then the Iewes had, for whom the Lord wrought so many wonders.  
O England, high time it is to look about thee, and to shake off thy manifold sins: too long hast thou slept in security, and blindly passed over not onely thy neighbours miseries, but also the loving and gentle corrections which thy merciful God hath visited thee withall, alluring thee by all means possible unto repentance and consideration of thy soul offences: but neither the moving of hills out of their places, the comets in the sky, earthquakes, dearth and famine, plague and pestilence, monstrous births, fearful thunderclaps, raging winds, strange sickness and diseases, sudden death of magistrates, nor any thing else can procure thee to prostrat thyself before the mighty God which hath been so merciful and given thee so large a time of repentance, yet once again the lord doth knock at thy door, and biddeth thee at the last, while it is called to day, not onely to mark and behold with thy outward eye, the hailstones of unaccustomed bigness, which hath beaten to the ground and clean spoiled the corn and fruit in the parish of Stockbery in Kent, but also to print the remembrance thereof in thy hart, and bitterly lament the cause thereof, and with an unfeigned soul ask mercy of him for thy sins, lest a worse thing happen unto thee: for as easy had it been for the mighty God to haue with the same hail spoiled the corn in all the land, as to haue smitten so small a plot, and as justly might he haue done the same, but he whose property is ever to haue mercy, hath onely sent us a taste of his heavy displeasure, that by hearty sorrow we might reform our lives and so prevent the ensuing plagues.  
Vpon friday the nintenth of june last past, 1590. between three and four of the clock in the after noon, there began a mighty tempest of hail, in the parish of Stockbery in Kent, so grievous and terrible to behold, that the people were not onely amazed thereat, but also were stricken into such a fear therewith that they knew not which way to turn them: the stones were so great, and fell with such a mighty force, in so much that the Church and all the houses which had windows on the South side, had all the same windows broken down with the hail, as well the led as the glass, and nothing left standing but the bar● frame, but most lamentable to report, all such men as had either corn on the ground, or fruit on their trees, had it quiter beaten down to the earth, and the fruit beaten off with the leaves and sprigs most pitiful to behold: and although the tempest lasted not long, yet for the time it was most terrible and great hurt was done thereby: master Potman hath lost by the same tempest to the value of an hundred pound in corn. Goodman Allin hath lost fifty and six Acres of wheat, no man will give twenty shillings for it all, in so much that it is fain to be mowne up with scythes to make fodder thereof. John seed hath lost twelve Acres of wheat, all which is good for nothing. Goodman Edwardes hath lost all the corn he hath. William Lot of Cowsted hath also lost to the value of twenty pounds in wheat, pease, and tares: likewise diuers others haue sustained great loss both of corn and fruit, as master Hakes, goodman Kerbye, goodman plate, jeremy, tailor, Bartelmew, and diuers other. To conclude, all the wheat, Rye, Pease, Tares, Barley, hemp, fruit, cherries with the leaves and branches was with this mighty hall smitten and bruised that it is vnprofitble for any thing, and( which is most strange) we do not hear of any harm done in any place else. master Edwardes garden consisting altogether of fruit, is worse by twenty pound then it was: master Knights Garden is clean spoiled to his great loss and hindrance,  
And here is to be noted the great providence of God toward his seruants, a certain maid dwelling with the same master knight, having been abroad the same instant to fetch in a company of young geese or goslinges, had her arms smitten with the hail in such sort that the blood gushed out at diuers places, and yet it pleased God that none of them should light either vpon her head or face, whereby she might be either brained or disfigured the hailstones being some four inches and a half about, and five inches of assize, good measure, neither do I hear that any man, woman, child, or any other living beast was hurt therewith, the lord be thanked therefore. And God so preserved the poor parish of Hartlen being within less then a mile of Stockburie, that it received no harm at all, his name be blessed therefore. The persons here that sustained this loss, I haue by name set down, to the end that all those that know the men or their dwelling place, may inquire whether this report be true or no, and for the better satisfying of the courteous reader. But if any should esteem hereof as a matter of chance or fortune, or as a thing done by natural course of the planets, that it should fall in that place, and work such harm there above all other places, I would wish such men to consider& search in the book of God, if thereby he can confirm his opinion, but if a sparrow cannot light vpon the ground without Gods permission and providence, as our saviour affirmeth, how then can so great a punishment light in so small a compass without his special direction, is there any evil( saith the Lord) done in the city, which I do not( yet is not the Lord author of that evil) your destruction is of yourselves, O ye house of Israell, but grace and mercy cometh from me( saith the Lord.) No, the divell himself could not touch, neither the goods, nor the body of just job, before the Lord had given him leave, therefore we must of force confess that this was a punishment for sin. Our ingratitude against God, our malice and envy one towards an other, our cruelty and oppression, fraud and deceit, hath deserved far worse plagues then this, for there is no truth nor fear of God in the land, no love, pity, nor mercy one toward an other. For why? the fool hath said in his hart there is no God, they are all gone out of the way they are altogether become abominable, there is none that doth good no not one. Therefore let us not excuse ourselves and think these men are greater sinners then we, because they haue tasted of more punishment then we, but except we repent a greater plague is prepared for us, which GOD for Christes sake turn away, and so direct our hearts& minds, that we may always do those things which are most agreeable to thy blessed will, that both our life and death may be to the glory of thy holy name. And hereby are we taught to know, that nothing on earth is parmanent or lasting, but that we are as stewards of the lord to render account for that which is committed into our hands, therefore as well adversity, as prosperity is to be taken thankfully, in vain therefore do men promise unto themselves that which they know not how long they shall enjoy, in consideration whereof, Saint paul doth admonish, that if riches do abound we should not set our hearts thereon, but use them to the glory of him that gave them, and not to be like unto him that built his barns bigger, and said unto himself, soul take thy rest and case, for thou art stord for many years, but answer was by and by made, Thou fool this night shal thy soul be taken from thee, and then whose shal all these things be. Let no man therefore brag of that he hath, as too many in these dayes do, saying this is my own, and that is my possession to dispose at my pleasure, and who shall let me to do with mine own as it seemeth good in my eyes, but the Apostle saith, unthankful man, what hast thou, which thou hast not received, if then thou didst receive it, why dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received it. In deed thou dost labour and till the earth, thou sowest seed and takest pains, but except the Lord bless thy labour, all is lost, and yet herein thou dost but thy duty, for the Lord hath commanded that with the sweat of thy face thou shouldst get thy bread. Therefore thy pain of itself deserveth no benefit at all, but it is the lords goodness to sand a blessing to thy labour, for which he requesteth nothing but a thankful heart. Neither let them grudge that haue tasted of this fatherly correction, for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son that he receiveth, therefore they may rather say with the Prophet david, it was good for me that the Lord did chasten me, for in my prosperity I said, I can never be removed: and with job confer, the lord doth give, and the lord doth take away, as it pleaseth the Lord so cometh things to pass, blessed be the name of the Lord. moreover, hereby is their faith tried, and their patient heart made known among Christians, saying with the just man shall I receive good things at the hand of my God, and not be content to receive some bad things also? heaviness may endure for a night, but ioy cometh in the morning: let them consider that he which cast them down can raise them up, for the lord doth never fail those that put their trust in him, Those which are neighbours to these men, and all that shall hear of this calamity, call unto your mind, that if the Lord should deal in iustice, you had deserved as much as they, neither do we know howe soon the Lord will visit us, knowing that both our goods and lives do rest at his pleasure, to spare, or to spoil, as seemeth good in his sight, rejoice therefore at no mans fall, least a greater destruction come upon thyself, but rather as the Apostle saith, rejoice with them that rejoice,& mourn with them that mourn, be like affencted one toward an other, knowing we haue one God to our Father, one Christ to our redeemer, and one holy-Ghost to our Sanctifier, therfore as members of one body, let us bear one anothers sorrow,& seek to succour one an other with all gladness of hart, because we know not howe soon we may haue need ourselves: and withall let all men, women, and children pray unto God, and with earnest& humble harts desire him to turn those plagues from us which our wickedness haue most justly deserved and be more thankful henceforth for the blessings which so long he hath bestowed vpon us which the Lord grant for Christs sake, Amen,   
FINIS.