A tremor from an earthquake was felt in Twickenham in October 1863, according to a newspaper report from a prominent astronomer.

The South London Times and Lambeth Observer, published on Saturday, 10 October 1863, reported that John Russell Hind had felt an earthquake while writing from George Bishop's Observatory in Twickenham.

The report described how the tremor was felt at around 3:22am Greenwich time.

Mr Hind wrote: "About 22 minutes after three o'clock this morning, Greenwich time, the tremor of an earthquake was very perceptible here."

He described the movement as oscillating from east-north-east to west-south-west and lasting three seconds or slightly less.

Hind continued: "Lasting three seconds or rather less, 1 heark no sound whatever after the shock, but cannot say positively whether any preceded it. The sky was partially clear at the time, and the air perfectly still.

"The sensation produced by the tremor was very perculiar, and different from that of ordinary vibration."

Who was John Russell Hind?

Born in Nottingham in 1823, Hind initially trained as a civil engineer before moving into astronomy with the help of scientist Charles Wheatstone.

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He joined the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in 1840, working under astronomer George Biddell Airy, before becoming director of George Bishop's Observatory in 1844.

In 1853, Hind became Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac, a position he held until 1891.

He died in 1895 at his home in Cambridge Park Gardens, Twickenham. He had married Fanny Fuller in 1846, and the couple had six children.

The history of George Bishop's Observatory

George Bishop's Observatory was originally established in 1836 near Bishop's home at South Villa in Regent's Park, London.

Following Bishop's death, the observatory was moved to Twickenham in 1863, the year of the earthquake tremor described by Hind.

To read the full newspaper extract click here.