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{{Short description|Celebrations held on the River Thames in London during the Little Ice Age}}
]
{{Redirect|Frost fair|other frost fairs throughout the world|Winter festival}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
]


The '''River Thames frost fairs'''<ref name="Paters">https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=599805001&objectId=3199037&partId=1 Erra Paters Prophesy or Frost Faire 1684/3</ref> were held on the ] of the ] in ], ] in some winters, starting at least as early as the late 7th century<ref name="Lockwood et al. 2017"/> until the early 19th century. Most were held between the early 17th and early 19th centuries during the period known as the ], when the river froze over most often, though still infrequently. During that time the British winter was more severe than it is now, and the river was wider and slower, further impeded by the 19 piers of the medieval ] which were removed in 1831.
'''River Thames frost fairs''' were ]s held on the ] at ] when that portion of the river sometimes froze over, during the 15th–19th centuries, when the ] winter ] was more severe than it is now.


Even at its peak, in the mid-17th century, the Thames in London froze less often than modern legend sometimes suggests, never exceeding about one year in ten except for four winters between 1649 and 1666. From 1400 until the removal of the medieval London Bridge in 1831, there were 24 winters in which the Thames was recorded to have frozen over at London.<ref>{{harvnb|Lamb|1977}}</ref> The Thames freezes over more often upstream, beyond the reach of the tide, especially above the ]s, of which ] is the lowest. The last great freeze of the higher Thames was in 1962–63.<ref></ref>
During the Great Frost of (1683–1684), one of the four or five coldest winters over the ] and large parts of the European mainland, and the severest winter on record in the region of the English Midlands based on the mean temperature of December to February,<ref>*G. Manley, , Quarterly J. of the ], vol. 100, pp. 389-405 (1974).</ref> the ] was completely frozen for about two months and the ice was reported to be 11 ]es (about 28 cm) thick at London. Sea ice was reported along the coasts of southeast England, and ice prevented the use of many harbours: according to some sources, the sea froze so that ice formed for a time between ] and ], with the two sides joined. The ice caused problems for shipping access to such ports on each side of the ]. Near ], the ground was frozen to a depth of 27 inches; in ], more than 4 feet.


Frost fairs were a rare event even in the coldest parts of the Little Ice Age. Some of the recorded frost fairs were in 695, 1608, 1683–84, 1716, 1739–40, 1789, and 1814. Recreational cold weather winter events were far more common elsewhere in Europe, for example in the ], where at least many canals often froze over. These events in other countries as well as the ] around the world in present times can also be considered frost fairs. However, very few of them have actually used that title.
==In history==
One of the earliest accounts of the Thames freezing over comes from A.D. 250, when it was frozen hard for nine weeks. In 923, the river was open to wheeled traffic for trade and the transport of goods for thirteen weeks; in 1410, for fourteen.


During the ], the most severe freeze recorded in England,<ref>{{cite journal |first=Andrew B. |last=Appleby |title=Epidemics and Famine in the Little Ice Age |journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary History |volume=10 |issue=4 History and Climate: Interdisciplinary Explorations |pages=643–663 |date=Spring 1980 |jstor=203063|doi=10.2307/203063 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author-link=Gordon Manley |first=Gordon |last=Manley |title=1684: The Coldest Winter in the English Instrumental Record |journal=Weather |volume=66 |issue=5 |pages=133–136 |year=2011 |doi=10.1002/wea.789 |bibcode=2011Wthr...66..133M |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Manley, G. |title=Central England temperatures: monthly means 1659 to 1973 |journal=] |volume=100 |issue= 425|pages=389–405 |year=1974 |doi= 10.1002/qj.49710042511|url=http://www.rmets.org/sites/default/files/qj74manley.pdf|bibcode=1974QJRMS.100..389M }}</ref> the Thames was completely frozen for two months, with the ice reaching a thickness of {{convert|11|in|cm}} in London. Solid ice was reported extending for miles off the coasts of the southern ] (England, France and the ]), causing severe problems for shipping and preventing the use of many harbours.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=1900|date=31 January 1683|page=1}}</ref>
The period from the mid 14th century to the 19th century in ] has been called the '']'' because of the severity of the climate at the time, especially the severe winters. When the ice was thick enough and lasted long enough, Londoners held a festival on the river. However, the colder climate wasn't the only condition that allowed the major river to freeze over in a city where, in the 21st century, small ponds rarely retain a thin covering of ice all through a winter's day: the Thames was broader and shallower then, because it was yet to be ], which meant that it flowed more slowly; also, old ], which carried a row of houses on each side of its roadway, was supported on many closely spaced piers, which acted something like a dam.<ref>, accessed April 3, 2008</ref>


==Historical background==
==The first frost fairs==
]
Although the Thames had frozen over several times in the 16th century, the first recorded frost fair didn't happen until 1608. King ] is said to have traveled all the way from central London to ] by sleigh along the river during the winter of 1536. Queen ] took walks on the ice during the winter of 1564.


One of the earliest accounts of the Thames freezing comes from AD 250, when it was frozen solid for six weeks. In 923, the river was open to ] for ] and the transport of goods for 13 weeks. In 1410, it lasted for 14 weeks.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
One of most celebrated frost fairs occurred in the winter of 1683–1684 and was thus described by ]:


The period from the mid-14th century to the 19th century in Europe is called the '']'' because of the severity of the climate, especially the winters. In England, when the ice was thick enough and lasted long enough, Londoners would take to the river for travel, trade, and ], the latter eventually taking the form of public ] and fairs.
:Coaches plied from ] to the ], and from several other stairs too and fro, as in the streets, sleds, sliding with ], ], horse and coach races, puppet plays and interludes, cooks, tippling and other lewd places, so that it seemed to be a ] triumph, or ] on the water.<ref>Hudson<!-- Who? -->, quoting Evelyn</ref>


The Thames was broader and shallower in the ] – it was yet to be ], meaning that it flowed more slowly.<ref>The London Mercury Vol.XIX No.113</ref> Moreover, old ], which carried a row of shops and houses on each side of its roadway, was supported on many closely spaced ]; these were protected by large timber casings which, over the years, were extended – causing a narrowing of the arches below the bridge, thus concentrating the water into swift-flowing torrents. In winter, large pieces of ice would lodge against these timber casings, gradually blocking the arches and acting like a ] for the river at ].<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Gordon Manley |first=Gordon |last=Manley |title=Climate and the British Scene |publisher=Collins |date=May 1972 |isbn=978-0002130448 |page=290 }}</ref><ref name="Schneer">{{harvnb|Schneer|2005|p=72}}</ref>
A printer named ''Croom'' sold souvenir cards written with the customer's name, the date, and the fact that the card was printed on the Thames for six pence, and was said to be making five pounds a day from the enterprise, which was at least ten times a labourer's weekly wage. Even King ] bought one. But the cold weather was not only a cause for merriment, as Evelyn went explained:


==The frost fairs==
:The fowls, fish and birds, and all our exotic plants and greens universally perishing. Many parks of ] were destroyed, and all sorts of fuel so dear that there were great contributions to keep the poor alive ... London, by reason for the excessive coldness of the air hindering the ascent of the smoke, was so filled with the fuliginous steam of the ] ... that one could hardly breath<!-- "breath" or "breathe" in original? -->.<ref>Hudson, quoting Evelyn</ref>


===AD 695 (first known frost fair)===
An eye-witness account of a severe frost of the 1680s:


The first known frost fair on the River Thames was in AD 695, although it was not known by the title of frost fair. The river froze over for six weeks. Vendors set up booths on the frozen river in which they sold goods.<ref name="Lockwood et al. 2017">{{cite journal|first1=Mike|last1=Lockwood|first2=Mat|last2=Owens|first3=Ed|last3=Hawkins|first4=Gareth S.|last4=Jones|first5=Ilya|last5=Usoskin|year=2017|title=Frost fairs, sunspots and the Little Ice Age|journal=Astronomy & Geophysics|volume=58|issue=2|pages=2.17–2.23|doi=10.1093/astrogeo/atx057|doi-access=free}}</ref>
:On the 20th of December, 1688, a very violent frost began, which lasted to the 6th of February, in so great extremity, that the pools were frozen 18 inches thick at least, and the Thames was so frozen that a great street from ] to ] was built with shops, and all manner of things sold. ] plied there as in the streets. There were also bull-baiting, and a great many shows and tricks to be seen. This day the frost broke up. In the morning I saw a coach and six horses driven from ] almost to the bridge (]) yet by three o'clock that day, February the 6th, next to Southwark the ice was gone, so as boats did row to and fro, and the next day all the frost was gone. On ] I went to ] market, and led my horse over the ice to the Horseferry from Westminster to Lambeth; as I came back I led him from ] upon the middle of the Thames to ]' stairs, and so led him up by them. And this day an ox was roasted whole, over against Whitehall. ] and the Queen ate part of it.


===1608 (first frost fair that was called a frost fair)===
(Charles II died in 1685, years before the dates given in the above account. The context makes probable that the writer described 1682–1683.)


]
In 1740, a palace of ice was built by the ], on the banks of the ], 52 feet long, which, when illuminated, had a surprising effect.<ref>Britton and Brayley, Vol. X. p.83</ref>
The first recorded frost fair for which the term "frost fair" was used was in 1608.<ref name="Lockwood et al. 2017"/> There were barbers, pubs, fruitsellers and shoemakers, who lit fires inside of their tents to stay warm.<ref name="historic-uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Thames-Frost-Fairs/|title=The Thames Frost Fairs|website=Historic UK|access-date=21 August 2019}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2021}} Activities at the frost fair included football,<ref name="historic-uk"/> and according to an article published in '']'' in 1835, dancing, ], and unlicensed gambling.<ref name="public">{{cite web|url=https://westernpublicpleasuregardens.blogspot.com/2018/12/sports-games-1608-1814-skittles-or-nine.html|title=Sports & Games – 1608–1814 Skittles or Nine Pins on Ice at Frost Fairs on the frozen Thames|website=Western Public Pleasure Gardens – Public Spaces in Early Europe|date=17 December 2018|access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2021}}


===1683–84===
Thames frost fairs were often brief, scarcely commenced before the weather lifted and the people had to retreat from the melting ice. Rapid thaws sometimes caused loss of life and property. In January 1789, melting ice dragged at a ship anchored to a riverside ], pulling the building down and crushing five people to death.
{{Seealso|Great Frost of 1683–84}}
The most celebrated frost fair occurred in the winter of 1683–84. Activities included horse and coach racing, ice skating, puppet plays and ],<ref name="Hudson 1998 loc=quoting Evelyn"/> as well as football, ], sledding, fox hunting, and ].<ref name="BBC News 2014"/>


]'s account of the 1683-84 frost fair:
]


<blockquote>Coaches plied from ] to the ], and from several other stairs too and fro, as in the streets; sleds, sliding with ], a ], horse and coach races, puppet plays and interludes, cooks, tipling and other lewd places, so that it seemed to be a ] triumph, or carnival on the water.<ref name="Hudson 1998 loc=quoting Evelyn">{{harvnb|Hudson|1998|loc=quoting Evelyn}}</ref></blockquote>
==Walking from Fulham to Putney==
Soon after ], newly appointed ], took up residence at ] in 1788, he recorded that the year was remarkable "for a very severe frost the latter end of the year, by which the Thames was so completely frozen over, that Mrs. Porteus and myself walked over it from Fulham to Putney".<ref>Porteus, p.27</ref> The annual register recorded that, in January 1789, the river was "completely frozen over and people walk to and fro across it with fairground booths erected on it, a well as puppet shows and roundabouts".


For sixpence, the printer ''Croom'' sold souvenir cards written with the customer's name, the date, and the fact that the card was printed on the Thames; he was making five pounds a day (ten times a labourer's weekly wage). King ] bought one. The cold weather was not only a cause for merriment, as Evelyn explained:
==The last frost fair==
The frost fair of 1814 began on ], and lasted four days. An ] was led across the river below ]. A printer named ''Davis'' published a book, ''Frostiana; or a History of the River Thames in a Frozen State''. This was to be the last frost fair. The climate was growing milder; also, old ] was demolished in 1831, and the river was embanked in stages during the 19th century, both of which made the river less likely to freeze.


<blockquote>The fowls, fish and birds, and all our exotic plants and greens universally perishing. Many parks of deer were destroyed, and all sorts of fuel so dear that there were great contributions to keep the poor alive...London, by reason for the excessive coldness of the air hindering the ascent of the smoke, was so filled with the fuliginous steam of the ] ...that one could hardly breath<!-- "breath" or "breathe" in original? -->.<ref name="Hudson 1998 loc=quoting Evelyn"/></blockquote>
==Years when the Thames froze==

From 1400 into the 19th century, there were 24 winters in which the Thames was recorded to have frozen over at London; if "more or less frozen over" years (in parentheses) are included, the number is 26: 1408, 1435, 1506, 1514, 1537, 1565, 1595, 1608, 1621, 1635, 1649, 1655, 1663, 1666, 1677, 1684, 1695, 1709, 1716, 1740, (1768), 1776, (1785), 1788, 1795, and 1814.<ref>Lamb, 1977.</ref>
]
An eye-witness account of the 1683–84 frost:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/themirrorofliter10950gut/10950.txt|title=HARD FROSTS IN ENGLAND|work=The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction|volume=13|issue=355|date=7 February 1829|access-date=2010-01-14|via=the ]}}</ref>

<blockquote>On the 20th of December, 1688 , a very violent frost began, which lasted to the 6th of February, in so great extremity, that the pools were frozen 18 inches thick at least, and the Thames was so frozen that a great street from ] to ] was built with shops, and all manner of things sold. ] plied there as in the streets. There were also bull-baiting, and a great many shows and tricks to be seen. This day the frost broke up. In the morning I saw a coach and six horses driven from ] almost to the bridge (]) yet by three o'clock that day, February the 6th, next to Southwark the ice was gone, so as boats did row to and fro, and the next day all the frost was gone. On ] I went to ] market, and led my horse over the ice to the Horseferry from Westminster to Lambeth; as I came back I led him from ] upon the middle of the Thames to ]' stairs, and so led him up by them. And this day an ox was roasted whole, over against Whitehall. ] and the Queen ate part of it.</blockquote>

Thames frost fairs were often brief, scarcely commenced before the weather lifted and the people had to retreat from the melting ice. Rapid thaws sometimes caused loss of life and property. In January 1789, melting ice dragged a ship which was anchored to a riverside ], pulling the building down and causing five people to be crushed to death.

===18th century===

There were frost fairs in 1715–16, 1739–40, and 1789.

===Frost fair, 1814 (last frost fair)===

]
The frost fair of 1814 began on 1 February, and lasted four days, between ] and ]. An ] was led across the river below Blackfriars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thamesleisure.co.uk/the-curious-story-of-river-thames-frost-fairs/|title=The Curious Story of River Thames Frost Fairs|publisher=Thames Leisure|date=2016-06-13|access-date=2016-06-20}}</ref> Temperatures had been below freezing every night from 27 December 1813 to 7 February 1814 and numerous Londoners made their way onto the frozen Thames.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/frost-fairs|title=All the fun of the Frost Fair: why, when and how did Londoners party on the ice?|website=Museum of London|first=Fabrizio|last=Selli|date=27 November 2018|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref>

Tradesmen of all types set up booths to sell their wares, and pedlars circulated through the crowd.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/weather/10535361/The-Big-Freeze-that-became-an-unforgettable-Frost-Fair.html|title=The Big Freeze that became an unforgettable Frost Fair|website=The Telegraph|publisher=Telegraph Media Group|first=Joe|last=Shute|date=23 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125181201/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/news/weather/10535361/The-Big-Freeze-that-became-an-unforgettable-Frost-Fair.html|archive-date=25 January 2016|access-date=9 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Food and drink was being sold including beef, ], coffee, gin, gingerbread, hot apples, ], roast ], hot chocolate, ] (wormwood ale), and black tea.<ref name="BBC News 2014">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25862141|title=Frost fair: When an elephant walked on the frozen River Thames|website=BBC News|first=Tom|last=de Castella|date=28 January 2014|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref> Activities included dancing<ref name="BBC News 2014"/> and ].<ref name="public"/>

As the ice broke up starting on 5 February, several people drowned.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/when-winter-really-was-winter-the-last-of-the-london-frost-fairs-9100338.html|title=When winter really was winter: the last of the London Frost Fairs|website=The Independent|first=Cahal|last=Milmo|date=31 January 2014|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref>

Nearly a dozen printing presses were also on the ice, producing commemorative poems.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-last-thames-frost-fair/|title=The last Thames frost fair|website=The History Press|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref> A printer named George Davis published a 124-page book, ''Frostiana; or A History of the River Thames In a Frozen State: and the Wonderful Effects of Frost, Snow, Ice, and Cold, in England, and in Different Parts of the World Interspersed with Various Amusing Anecdotes''. The entire book was typeset and printed in Davis's printing stall which had been set up on the frozen Thames.<ref> in the University Library</ref> The book contained an account of the frost, humorous sayings, anecdotes, various weather-related histories and specifics about "skaiting" according to a 1814 review.<ref>, p. 221</ref>

This was the last frost fair. The climate was growing milder; old ] was demolished in 1831<ref>Review of "Professional Survey of the Old and New London Bridges" in ''The Examiner'', issue 1232, 11 Sep 1831 (London)</ref><ref>Barge crashes into bridge ruins, in the ''Morning Chronicle'', issue 19547, 20 Apr 1832 (London)</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Schneer|2005|p=70}}</ref> and replaced with a new bridge with wider arches, allowing the tide to flow more freely;<ref>{{harvnb|Schneer|2005|p=73}}</ref> and the river was embanked in stages during the 19th century, all of which made the river less likely to freeze. There was nearly a frost fair during the severe winter of 1881, with Andrews (1887) saying, "it was expected by many that a Frost Fair would once more be held on the Thames".<ref name="Lockwood et al. 2017"/>

==Related events==

===16th century===

The Thames froze over several times in the 16th century: King ] travelled from central London to ] by sleigh along the river in 1536, Queen ] took to the ice frequently during 1564, to "]", and small boys played ] on the ice.<ref name="Schneer" />

===Walking from Fulham to Putney 1788–1789===

Soon after ], ], took residence at ] in 1788, he recorded that the year was remarkable "for a very severe frost the latter end of the year, by which the Thames was so completely frozen over, that Mrs. Porteus and myself walked over it from ] to ]".<ref>{{harvnb|Porteus|1806|p=27}}</ref> The annual register recorded that, in January 1789, the river was "completely frozen over and people walk to and fro across it with fairground booths erected on it, as well as puppet shows and roundabouts".

==Legacy==
===Engraving===
]
<!-- ] -->
In the pedestrian tunnel under the southern end of ], there is an ] by Southwark sculptor Richard Kindersley, made of five slabs of grey slate, depicting the frost fair.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city-insights.com/mobile/SE19HL.html |title=City Insights page on Kindersley's frieze |access-date=13 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628113946/http://www.city-insights.com/mobile/SE19HL.html |archive-date=28 June 2010 }}</ref>

The ] contains an inscription that reads (two lines per slab):
{{quotation|
<poem>Behold the Liquid Thames frozen o’re,
That lately Ships of mighty Burthen bore
The Watermen for want of Rowing Boats
Make use of Booths to get their Pence & Groats
Here you may see beef roasted on the spit
And for your money you may taste a bit
There you may print your name, tho cannot write
Cause num'd with cold: tis done with great delight
And lay it by that ages yet to come
May see what things upon the ice were done</poem>}}

The inscription is based on handbills<ref>The Encyclopedia of Ephemera, by Maurice Rickards, Michael Twyman, Sally De Beaumont, </ref> printed on the Thames during the frost fairs.

===In popular culture===
An early chapter of the novel '']'' by ] takes place on the frozen River Thames during the Frost Fair of 1608.

In the historical mystery, ''The True Confessions of a London Spy'' by ] key events of the plot occur at the Frost Fair of 1814.

In the book, “One Snowy Night” by ], the characters go to the Frost Fair of 1814.

In the '']'' episode "]," ] encounters ] as she is returning to her cell in the Stormcage Containment Facility. She tells him that she has just been to 1814 for the last of the Great Frost Fairs. The Doctor had taken her there for ice-skating on the river Thames. "He got ] to sing for me under ]," she says. When Rory expresses surprise that Stevie Wonder sang in 1814, River cautions him that he must never tell the singer that he did.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web|last1=Martin|first1=Dan|title=Doctor Who recap: series 36, episode three – Thin Ice|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2017/apr/29/doctor-who-recap-series-36-episode-three-thin-ice|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 February 2018|language=en|date=29 April 2017}}</ref>

The '']'' episode "]" is set during the final frost fair in 1814, and includes a reference to the elephant crossing stunt.<ref name="telegraph review">{{cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/04/29/doctor-thin-ice-series-10-episode-3-review-touch-nostalgia/ | title = Doctor Who: Thin Ice, series 10 episode 3 review - a touch of nostalgia keeps old-fashioned caper rollicking along | first = Michael | last = Hogan | date = 29 April 2017 | access-date = 1 May 2017 | work = ] }}</ref>

==See also==
* ]
* ] - started at the 1684 frost fair and continues to this day in its 7th generation.
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==Notes== ==Notes==
Line 47: Line 124:


==Sources== ==Sources==
* {{cite book |first1=John |last1=Britton |first2=Edward Wedlake |last2=Brayley |first3=James Norris |last3=Brewer |title=The Beauties of England and Wales, Or, Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive, of Each County |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qMMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA83 |year=1816 |publisher=Thomas Maiden |page=83 |volume=X|display-authors=etal}}
* Britton, John and Edward with Brayley, Wedlake. ''Beauties of England and Wales''. Vol. X, p83. (London: Vernor and Hood, 8vo.,1801&ndash;16)
* Currie, Ian. ''Frost, Freezes and Fairs: Chronicles of the Frozen Thames and Harsh Winters in Britain from 1000 A.D''. (Coulsdon, Surrey: Frosted Earth, 1996) ISBN 9780951671085 * {{cite book |author=Currie, Ian |title=Frost, Freezes and Fairs: Chronicles of the Frozen Thames and Harsh Winters in Britain from 1000 A.D |publisher=Frosted Earth |location=Coulsdon, Surrey |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-9516710-8-5 }}
* Davis, George. ''Frostiana; Or a History of the River Thames in a Frozen State''. (London: printed and published on the Ice on the River Thames, 12mo., February 5, 1814) * Davis, George. ''''. (London: printed and published on the Ice on the River Thames, 12mo., 5 February 1814)
* Drower, George. 'When the Thames froze', ''The Times'', 30 December 1989 * Drower, George. 'When the Thames froze', ''The Times'', 30 December 1989
* {{Cite journal|doi=10.1098/rstl.1684.0025|last=Evelyn|first=John|author-link=John Evelyn|title=An Abstract of a Letter from the Worshipful John Evelyn Esq; Sent to One of the Secretaries of the R. Society concerning the Dammage{{sic}} Done to His Gardens by the Preceding Winter|journal=Philosophical Transactions|volume= 14 |year=1684|pages=559–63 |issue=155–166 |jstor=102048 |s2cid=186213994}}
* Hudson, Roger. ''London: Portrait of a City''. (London: The Folio Society, 8vo., 1988)
* {{cite book |last=Hudson |first=Roger |title=London: Portrait of a City |publisher=The Folio Society |location=London |year=1998 |oclc=40826947 }}
* Lamb, H.H. ''Climate: Present, past and future''. Vol. II. Tables App. V. 6 and 7, pp.568&ndash;70, (London: Methuen, 1977)
* {{cite book |author-link=Helen Humphreys |last=Humphreys |first=Helen |title=The Frozen Thames |publisher=] |location=Toronto |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7710-4144-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/frozenthames0000hump }}
* Porteus, Rt. Rev. Dr. Beilby. ''A Brief Description of Three Favourite Country Residences''. (Cambridge: privately printed in a limited edition, 1806)
* {{cite book |last=Lamb |first=H.H. |chapter=Appendix to Part III: Table App. V.6 and App. V.7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-sOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA568 |volume=2 |title=Climate: Present, past and future |publisher=Methuen |location=London |year=1977 |isbn=978-0064738811 |pages=568–570 }}
* Reed, Nicholas. ''Frost Fairs on the Frozen Thames''. Folkestone: , 2002. ISBN 9781901167092
* {{cite book |author-link=Beilby Porteus |last=Porteus |first=Dr. Beilby |title=A Brief Description of Three Favourite Country Residences |publisher=privately printed in a limited edition |location=Cambridge |year=1806 }}
* {{cite book |author=Reed, Nicholas |title=Frost Fairs on the Frozen Thames |publisher=Lilburne Press |location=Folkestone |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-901167-09-2 }}
* {{cite book|author-link1=Jonathan Schneer |last=Schneer |first=Jonathan |title=The Thames: England's River |publisher=] |location=London |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-316-86139-7 }}


==External links== ==External links==
{{commons category|Frost Fair on the River Thames}}
*
* {{cite web |publisher= ] * {{cite web
|publisher=]
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|title= Frost Fair Mug |title=Frost Fair Mug
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Latest revision as of 22:27, 26 December 2024

Celebrations held on the River Thames in London during the Little Ice Age "Frost fair" redirects here. For other frost fairs throughout the world, see Winter festival.

Thames Frost Fair, 1683–84, by Thomas Wyke

The River Thames frost fairs were held on the tideway of the River Thames in London, England in some winters, starting at least as early as the late 7th century until the early 19th century. Most were held between the early 17th and early 19th centuries during the period known as the Little Ice Age, when the river froze over most often, though still infrequently. During that time the British winter was more severe than it is now, and the river was wider and slower, further impeded by the 19 piers of the medieval Old London Bridge which were removed in 1831.

Even at its peak, in the mid-17th century, the Thames in London froze less often than modern legend sometimes suggests, never exceeding about one year in ten except for four winters between 1649 and 1666. From 1400 until the removal of the medieval London Bridge in 1831, there were 24 winters in which the Thames was recorded to have frozen over at London. The Thames freezes over more often upstream, beyond the reach of the tide, especially above the weirs, of which Teddington Lock is the lowest. The last great freeze of the higher Thames was in 1962–63.

Frost fairs were a rare event even in the coldest parts of the Little Ice Age. Some of the recorded frost fairs were in 695, 1608, 1683–84, 1716, 1739–40, 1789, and 1814. Recreational cold weather winter events were far more common elsewhere in Europe, for example in the Netherlands, where at least many canals often froze over. These events in other countries as well as the winter festivals and carnivals around the world in present times can also be considered frost fairs. However, very few of them have actually used that title.

During the Great Frost of 1683–84, the most severe freeze recorded in England, the Thames was completely frozen for two months, with the ice reaching a thickness of 11 inches (28 cm) in London. Solid ice was reported extending for miles off the coasts of the southern North Sea (England, France and the Low Countries), causing severe problems for shipping and preventing the use of many harbours.

Historical background

One of the earliest accounts of the Thames freezing comes from AD 250, when it was frozen solid for six weeks. In 923, the river was open to wheeled traffic for trade and the transport of goods for 13 weeks. In 1410, it lasted for 14 weeks.

The period from the mid-14th century to the 19th century in Europe is called the Little Ice Age because of the severity of the climate, especially the winters. In England, when the ice was thick enough and lasted long enough, Londoners would take to the river for travel, trade, and entertainment, the latter eventually taking the form of public festivals and fairs.

The Thames was broader and shallower in the Middle Ages – it was yet to be embanked, meaning that it flowed more slowly. Moreover, old London Bridge, which carried a row of shops and houses on each side of its roadway, was supported on many closely spaced piers; these were protected by large timber casings which, over the years, were extended – causing a narrowing of the arches below the bridge, thus concentrating the water into swift-flowing torrents. In winter, large pieces of ice would lodge against these timber casings, gradually blocking the arches and acting like a dam for the river at ebb tide.

The frost fairs

AD 695 (first known frost fair)

The first known frost fair on the River Thames was in AD 695, although it was not known by the title of frost fair. The river froze over for six weeks. Vendors set up booths on the frozen river in which they sold goods.

1608 (first frost fair that was called a frost fair)

An account of the Frost Fair of 1608, the first frost fair that was called a frost fair

The first recorded frost fair for which the term "frost fair" was used was in 1608. There were barbers, pubs, fruitsellers and shoemakers, who lit fires inside of their tents to stay warm. Activities at the frost fair included football, and according to an article published in The Saturday Magazine in 1835, dancing, nine-pin bowling, and unlicensed gambling.

1683–84

See also: Great Frost of 1683–84

The most celebrated frost fair occurred in the winter of 1683–84. Activities included horse and coach racing, ice skating, puppet plays and bull-baiting, as well as football, nine-pin bowling, sledding, fox hunting, and throwing at cocks.

John Evelyn's account of the 1683-84 frost fair:

Coaches plied from Westminster to the Temple, and from several other stairs too 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.

For sixpence, the printer Croom sold souvenir cards written with the customer's name, the date, and the fact that the card was printed on the Thames; he was making five pounds a day (ten times a labourer's weekly wage). King Charles II bought one. The cold weather was not only a cause for merriment, as Evelyn explained:

The fowls, fish and birds, and all our exotic plants and greens universally perishing. Many parks of deer were destroyed, and all sorts of fuel so dear that there were great contributions to keep the poor alive...London, by reason for the excessive coldness of the air hindering the ascent of the smoke, was so filled with the fuliginous steam of the sea-coal ...that one could hardly breath.

The Frost Fair of 1683

An eye-witness account of the 1683–84 frost:

On the 20th of December, 1688 , a very violent frost began, which lasted to the 6th of February, in so great extremity, that the pools were frozen 18 inches thick at least, and the Thames was so frozen that a great street from the Temple to Southwark was built with shops, and all manner of things sold. Hackney coaches plied there as in the streets. There were also bull-baiting, and a great many shows and tricks to be seen. This day the frost broke up. In the morning I saw a coach and six horses driven from Whitehall almost to the bridge (London Bridge) yet by three o'clock that day, February the 6th, next to Southwark the ice was gone, so as boats did row to and fro, and the next day all the frost was gone. On Candlemas Day I went to Croydon market, and led my horse over the ice to the Horseferry from Westminster to Lambeth; as I came back I led him from Lambeth upon the middle of the Thames to Whitefriars' stairs, and so led him up by them. And this day an ox was roasted whole, over against Whitehall. King Charles and the Queen ate part of it.

Thames frost fairs were often brief, scarcely commenced before the weather lifted and the people had to retreat from the melting ice. Rapid thaws sometimes caused loss of life and property. In January 1789, melting ice dragged a ship which was anchored to a riverside public house, pulling the building down and causing five people to be crushed to death.

18th century

There were frost fairs in 1715–16, 1739–40, and 1789.

Frost fair, 1814 (last frost fair)

The Frost Fair of 1814, by Luke Clenell.

The frost fair of 1814 began on 1 February, and lasted four days, between Blackfriars Bridge and London Bridge. An elephant was led across the river below Blackfriars. Temperatures had been below freezing every night from 27 December 1813 to 7 February 1814 and numerous Londoners made their way onto the frozen Thames.

Tradesmen of all types set up booths to sell their wares, and pedlars circulated through the crowd. Food and drink was being sold including beef, Brunswick Mum, coffee, gin, gingerbread, hot apples, Old Tom gin, roast mutton, hot chocolate, purl (wormwood ale), and black tea. Activities included dancing and nine-pin bowling.

As the ice broke up starting on 5 February, several people drowned.

Nearly a dozen printing presses were also on the ice, producing commemorative poems. A printer named George Davis published a 124-page book, Frostiana; or A History of the River Thames In a Frozen State: and the Wonderful Effects of Frost, Snow, Ice, and Cold, in England, and in Different Parts of the World Interspersed with Various Amusing Anecdotes. The entire book was typeset and printed in Davis's printing stall which had been set up on the frozen Thames. The book contained an account of the frost, humorous sayings, anecdotes, various weather-related histories and specifics about "skaiting" according to a 1814 review.

This was the last frost fair. The climate was growing milder; old London Bridge was demolished in 1831 and replaced with a new bridge with wider arches, allowing the tide to flow more freely; and the river was embanked in stages during the 19th century, all of which made the river less likely to freeze. There was nearly a frost fair during the severe winter of 1881, with Andrews (1887) saying, "it was expected by many that a Frost Fair would once more be held on the Thames".

Related events

16th century

The Thames froze over several times in the 16th century: King Henry VIII travelled from central London to Greenwich by sleigh along the river in 1536, Queen Elizabeth I took to the ice frequently during 1564, to "shoot at marks", and small boys played football on the ice.

Walking from Fulham to Putney 1788–1789

Soon after Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London, took residence at Fulham Palace in 1788, he recorded that the year was remarkable "for a very severe frost the latter end of the year, by which the Thames was so completely frozen over, that Mrs. Porteus and myself walked over it from Fulham to Putney". The annual register recorded that, in January 1789, the river was "completely frozen over and people walk to and fro across it with fairground booths erected on it, as well as puppet shows and roundabouts".

Legacy

Engraving

The first panels of the engraving

In the pedestrian tunnel under the southern end of Southwark Bridge, there is an engraving by Southwark sculptor Richard Kindersley, made of five slabs of grey slate, depicting the frost fair.

The frieze contains an inscription that reads (two lines per slab):

Behold the Liquid Thames frozen o’re,
That lately Ships of mighty Burthen bore
The Watermen for want of Rowing Boats
Make use of Booths to get their Pence & Groats
Here you may see beef roasted on the spit
And for your money you may taste a bit
There you may print your name, tho cannot write
Cause num'd with cold: tis done with great delight
And lay it by that ages yet to come
May see what things upon the ice were done

The inscription is based on handbills printed on the Thames during the frost fairs.

In popular culture

An early chapter of the novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf takes place on the frozen River Thames during the Frost Fair of 1608.

In the historical mystery, The True Confessions of a London Spy by Katherine Cowley key events of the plot occur at the Frost Fair of 1814.

In the book, “One Snowy Night” by Amanda Grange, the characters go to the Frost Fair of 1814.

In the Doctor Who episode "A Good Man Goes to War," River Song encounters Rory Williams as she is returning to her cell in the Stormcage Containment Facility. She tells him that she has just been to 1814 for the last of the Great Frost Fairs. The Doctor had taken her there for ice-skating on the river Thames. "He got Stevie Wonder to sing for me under London Bridge," she says. When Rory expresses surprise that Stevie Wonder sang in 1814, River cautions him that he must never tell the singer that he did.

The Doctor Who episode "Thin Ice" is set during the final frost fair in 1814, and includes a reference to the elephant crossing stunt.

See also

Notes

  1. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=599805001&objectId=3199037&partId=1 Erra Paters Prophesy or Frost Faire 1684/3
  2. ^ Lockwood, Mike; Owens, Mat; Hawkins, Ed; Jones, Gareth S.; Usoskin, Ilya (2017). "Frost fairs, sunspots and the Little Ice Age". Astronomy & Geophysics. 58 (2): 2.17 – 2.23. doi:10.1093/astrogeo/atx057.
  3. Lamb 1977
  4. Windsor history
  5. Appleby, Andrew B. (Spring 1980). "Epidemics and Famine in the Little Ice Age". Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 10 (4 History and Climate: Interdisciplinary Explorations): 643–663. doi:10.2307/203063. JSTOR 203063.
  6. Manley, Gordon (2011). "1684: The Coldest Winter in the English Instrumental Record". Weather. 66 (5): 133–136. Bibcode:2011Wthr...66..133M. doi:10.1002/wea.789.
  7. Manley, G. (1974). "Central England temperatures: monthly means 1659 to 1973" (PDF). Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 100 (425): 389–405. Bibcode:1974QJRMS.100..389M. doi:10.1002/qj.49710042511.
  8. "No. 1900". The London Gazette. 31 January 1683. p. 1.
  9. The London Mercury Vol.XIX No.113
  10. Manley, Gordon (May 1972). Climate and the British Scene. Collins. p. 290. ISBN 978-0002130448.
  11. ^ Schneer 2005, p. 72
  12. ^ "The Thames Frost Fairs". Historic UK. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Sports & Games – 1608–1814 Skittles or Nine Pins on Ice at Frost Fairs on the frozen Thames". Western Public Pleasure Gardens – Public Spaces in Early Europe. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  14. ^ Hudson 1998, quoting Evelyn
  15. ^ de Castella, Tom (28 January 2014). "Frost fair: When an elephant walked on the frozen River Thames". BBC News. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  16. William Andrews (1887). Famous Frosts and Frost Fairs in Great Britain: Chronicled from the Earliest to the Present Time. G. Redway. pp. 16–17.
  17. "HARD FROSTS IN ENGLAND". The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. 7 February 1829. Retrieved 14 January 2010 – via the Internet Archive.
  18. "The Curious Story of River Thames Frost Fairs". Thames Leisure. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  19. Selli, Fabrizio (27 November 2018). "All the fun of the Frost Fair: why, when and how did Londoners party on the ice?". Museum of London. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  20. Shute, Joe (23 December 2013). "The Big Freeze that became an unforgettable Frost Fair". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  21. Milmo, Cahal (31 January 2014). "When winter really was winter: the last of the London Frost Fairs". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  22. "The last Thames frost fair". The History Press. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  23. Printed ‘Frost Fair’ ephemera in the University Library
  24. The British Critic, and Quarterly Theological Review, p. 221
  25. Review of "Professional Survey of the Old and New London Bridges" in The Examiner, issue 1232, 11 Sep 1831 (London)
  26. Barge crashes into bridge ruins, in the Morning Chronicle, issue 19547, 20 Apr 1832 (London)
  27. Schneer 2005, p. 70
  28. Schneer 2005, p. 73
  29. Porteus 1806, p. 27
  30. "City Insights page on Kindersley's frieze". Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  31. The Encyclopedia of Ephemera, by Maurice Rickards, Michael Twyman, Sally De Beaumont, p. 154
  32. Martin, Dan (29 April 2017). "Doctor Who recap: series 36, episode three – Thin Ice". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  33. Hogan, Michael (29 April 2017). "Doctor Who: Thin Ice, series 10 episode 3 review - a touch of nostalgia keeps old-fashioned caper rollicking along". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 May 2017.

Sources

External links

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