InEngland，thefirstlightningconductoruponachurchwasnotputupuntil1762，tenyearsafterFranklin’sdiscovery。ThespireofSt。Bride’sChurchinLondonwasgreatlyinjuredbylightningin1750，andin1764astormsowreckeditsmasonrythatithadtobemainlyrebuilt；yetforyearsafterthistheauthoritiesrefusedtoattachalightning-rod。TheProtestantCathedralofSt。Paul’s，inLondon，wasnotprotecteduntilsixteenyearsafterFranklin’sdiscovery，andthetowerofthegreatProtestantchurchatHamburgnotuntilayearlaterstill。
Aslateas1783itwasdeclaredinGermany，onexcellentauthority，thatwithinaspaceofthirty-threeyearsnearlyfourhundredtowershadbeendamagedandonehundredandtwentybell-ringerskilled。
InRomanCatholiccountriesasimilarprejudicewasshown，anditscostattimeswasheavy。InAustria，thechurchofRosenberg，inthemountainsofCarinthia，wasstrucksofrequentlyandwithsuchlossoflifethatthepeasantsfearedatlasttoattendservice。Threetimeswasthespirerebuilt，anditwasnotuntil1778——twenty-sixyearsafterFranklin’sdiscovery——thattheauthoritiespermittedarodtobeattached。
Thenalltroubleceased。
AtypicalcaseinItalywasthatofthetowerofSt。Mark’s，atVenice。Inspiteoftheangelatitssummitandthebellsconsecratedtowardoffthepowersoftheair，andtherelicsinthecathedralhardby，andtheprocessionsintheadjacentsquare，thetowerwasfrequentlyinjuredandevenruinedbylightning。In1388itwasbadlyshattered；in1417，andagainin1489，thewoodenspiresurmountingitwasutterlyconsumed；itwasagaingreatlyinjuredin1548，1565，1653，andin1745wasstrucksopowerfullythatthewholetower，whichhadbeenrebuiltofstoneandbrick，wasshatteredinthirty-sevenplaces。