Weatherwatch: Lord preserve us from lightning – unless we deserve it

Lightning flashes behind church spire in London
Lightning is attracted to the tall spires of churches – or could it be a sign of divine wrath? Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA

Churches can be dangerous places. Lightning tends to strike the tallest buildings, and the spires and towers of churches in the past were often struck with calamitous results. The old St Paul's Cathedral, for example, had a vast spire that dominated the London skyline, but in 1561 it was struck by lightning, caught fire and the roof caved in. The building was repaired but was later destroyed in the Great Fire of London.

Bizarrely to us, churches tried to protect themselves from lightning by ringing their bells. Many church bells still bear the inscription, "Fulgura Frango" meaning "I break up lightning." Unfortunately it also carried a terrible toll on the bell-ringers.

Even after the invention of the lightning rod by Benjamin Franklin in 1749, the Church believed that thunder and lightning were signs of divine anger and it was sinful to prevent their damage. There was widespread prejudice against lightning rods and many of them were torn down from buildings. The invention of the lightning rod was even blamed for an earthquake in Boston in 1755 that damaged hundreds of buildings.

There were, however, some churches that appeared to be immune from lightning damage. The mystery was solved by Franklin, who found that "buildings with roofs lined by lead or other metals, and spouts of metal continued from the roof into the ground are never hurt by lightning."