A

David

Darling

Barwell meteorite

piece of the Barwell meteorite

One of the largest pieces of the Barwell meteorite, held in the Natural History Museum, London.


The Barwell meteorite was the biggest meteorite to land in Britain in recorded history; an L6 ordinary chondrite, it fell in pieces on the Leicestershire village of Barwell on Christmas Eve 1965. Fragments variously penetrated 20 centimeter into a tarmac drive, landed on the hood of a car, and smashed through a factory roof; one tiny piece was even found later in a vase. With the British Museum offering seven shillings and sixpence (the equivalent today of more than $10) per ounce for specimens, Barwell became something of a gold town. When the fragments were put together, the Barwell Meteorite proved, appropriately, to be about the size of a Christmas turkey.