An earthquake apparently occurred on Dec. 17, 1896, centered around Worcester and Hereford, called by Fort the London Triangle. This area had experienced quakes as far back as 1661, accompanied by lights in the sky. The English Mechanic, 74-155, reports a ‘strange meteoric light’ that was seen in the sky at Worcester during the 1896 quake. It was considered the severest earthquake felt in the British Isles in the 19th century, with the exception of one in April 22, 1884. A book on the subject, The Hereford Earthquake of 1896, reports a luminous object in the sky that ‘traversed a large part of the disturbed area,’ a meteor that “lighted up the ground so that one could have picked up a pin.”
–Charles Fort, New Lands, p475-477 (The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover, c1974).