Dear Friends, winter in the north is dull & cold, but the weather could be much worse. From 1650 to 1715 CE there was a ‘little’ Ice Age in the Northern Hemisphere. This was a period of extremely low solar activity, which combined with environmental factors led to extremely cold conditions year-round.
In the countryside most people lived at subsistence level and depended on crop yields. But during the little Ice Age crops failed, leading to famine. The price of grain rose in the cities leading to inflation, hardship, hunger, high mortality rates and civil unrest. For Londoners however, there was something to look forward to - the Frost Fairs.
Frost Fairs took place on the Thames when the river froze. This would not happen nowadays because the river has been embanked so it runs too fast, and we live in a warmer climate. But during the little Ice Age the Thames was wider, not as deep and ran slower. There was also the obstacle of the medieval London Bridge. To support the houses on top of the bridge it was built on nineteen arches. The arches continually reduced the flow of water, and when the river froze large chunks of ice blocked many arches.
Even before the little Ice Age the Thames occasionally froze over. In 1536 King Henry VIII travelled to Greenwich in a sledge on the frozen surface of the Thames: “This yere in Decembre was the Thamis of London all frozen ouer, wherefore the kyges Maiestie with his beautifull spouse quene Jane [Seymour], roade throughout the citie of London to Grenewich.”1
The first Frost Fair was recorded in 1608:“And from Sunday, the 10th of January until the 15th of the same the frost grew so extreme as the ice became firm and removed not and then all sorts of men, women and children went boldly upon the ice in most parts. Some … bowled and danced with variable past times, by reason of which concourse of people were many that set up boothes and standings upon the ice as fruit sellers, victualled that sold beer, and wine shoemakers and a barbers tent, et cetera.”2
The Thames did not freeze every year but there was a big freeze in the winter of 1683/84. From the beginning of December until the 5th of February frost “congealed the River Thames to that degree, that another city as it were, was erected thereon; where by the great number of streets and shops with their rich furniture, it represented a great fair with a variety of carriages and diversions of all sorts; and near Whitehall a whole ox was roasted on the ice.”3
On January 24, 1684 “for the frost continuing more and more, the Thames before London was still planted with booths, in formal streets all sorts of trades and shops furnished and full of commodities, even to a printing presse, where the people and ladyes tooke a fancy to have the names printed, and the day and yeare sat down when printed on the Thames. Coaches plied from Westminster to the Temple, and from several other stairs to and fro, as in the streets; sleds, sliding with skeetes, a bull-baiting, horse and coach races, puppet plays and interludes, cooks, tipling and other lewd places, so that it seemed to be a bacchanalian triumph, or carnival on the water.”4
Amazingly, there were very few fatalities at the Frost Fairs. Although this account tells of the situation when the ice thawed in 1789: “it was not until after the dusk that evening that the busy crowd was persuaded of the approach of the thaw. This, however, with the crackling of some ice about eight o’clock, made the whole a scene of the most perfect confusion; as men, beasts, booths, turnabouts, puppet- shows etc. etc, were all in motion, and pouring towards the shore on each side.”5
In 1814 the Thames“presented a complete Frost Fair. The grand mall …was named ‘The City Road.’ Swings, bookstalls, dancing in a barge, suttling-booths, playing at skittles, and almost every appendage of a fair on land was now transferred to the Thames. Thousands of people flocked to behold this singular spectacle, and to partake of the various sports and pastimes.”6
This was the last Frost Fair. In 1831 a new London Bridge was built with larger arches (in 1972 this was replaced with the current bridge). This, combined with the embankment of the Thames and warmer weather means that the river is unlikely to ever freeze again.
As always, any links are provided to give the reader more information. I do not make any money from these links. Where possible permissions have been sought for the use of images and text, unless they are in the Public Domain. If there is an issue with copyright, please contact me. I am an amateur historian covering a wide range of subjects. I do careful research using secondary sources (books, articles, videos and a little bit of Wikipedia). If there are any mistakes I apologise and please let me know.
Edward Hall’s Chronicle (1496 to 1547). He was an English lawyer and historian.
Edmund Stow’s Abridgement, or Summary of the English Chronicle dated 1611.
The History of London by William Maitland, printed 1772.
John Evelyn kept a diary between 1640 (when the author was a student at the Middle Temple) and 1706.
Famous Frosts and Frost Fairs in Great Britain by William Andrews. Published 1887.
Frostiana; or a history of the River Thames in a frozen state, printed and sold by George Davis in 1814, on the frozen Thames.