The Barwell Meteorite
Fell 4.20pm Christmas Eve 1965, Barwell, Leicestershire, England
The Christmas Meteorite

One of Britain's few meteorite falls, and with impeccable provenance.

Two Barwell specimens were found by Mrs Jean Ferguson (nee McKellar), former Keeper of Geology at Leicester Museum. Both specimens were discovered on Barwell town grassland on 6th January 1996, a few days after the fall.

Barwell was a single mass, about the size of a Christmas turkey, which broke apart low in the atmosphere. Therefore, all Barwell specimens are fragments - some of those nearer the exterior of the mass show dark fusion crust.
Pieces of the Barwell meteorite caused damage to homes and possessions. A small piece bounced off the ground, smashed a window, and ended up in a plant pot. The owner thought that kids were throwing stones at her house and threw the meteorite away. Another piece hit a car and put a sizeable dent in the bonnet. Many years ago, I chatted to a Barwell resident who told me that her Father's car was also hit by a chunk of Barwell, which went through the bonnet, damaging the engine. Her Father was so annoyed that he threw the broken meteorite over a fence onto nearby waste ground, never to be seen again.
There are also reports of Christmas carol singers dodging pieces of meteorites, although I'm not sure how much this tale has been exaggerated over the decades.
Another fragment caused a sizeable "dent" in a tarmac drive (see picture)

93.54g & 95.87g Barwell fragments

Small crater in a Barwell resident's driveway

93.54g fragment with a fusion crusted edge to the lower right

Academics from Leicester and London arrive on 6th January 1966

Envelope for one of the Barwell specimens

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Fernlea, The Wynd, Milton of Balgonie, Fife. KY7 6PY United Kingdom
Please - no requests to authenticate old rock and stone finds
I've heard the "My grandad saw it fall in a field and gave it to me!" story (and all variations) a zillion times
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