River Thames frost fairs were held on the Tideway of the River Thames at London between the 15th and 19th centuries, during the period known as the Little Ice Age, when the river froze over. During that time the British winter was more severe than now, and the river was wider and slower.
During the Great Frost of 1683–84, the worst frost 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. Near Manchester, the ground was frozen to 27 inches; in Somerset, to more than four feet.
Read more about River Thames Frost Fairs: Historical Background, The First Frost Fairs, Walking From Fulham To Putney, The Last Frost Fair, Modern Revival, Engraving, Years When The Thames Froze
Famous quotes containing the words river, thames and/or frost:
“We are bare. We are stripped to the bone
and we swim in tandem and go up and up
the river, the identical river called Mine
and we enter together. No one’s alone.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“The wind’s on the wold
And the night is a-cold,
And Thames runs chill
‘Twixt mead and hill.
But kind and dear
Is the old house here
And my heart is warm
Midst winter’s harm.”
—William Morris (1834–1896)
“Love and forgetting might have carried them
A little further up the mountainside
With night so near, but not much further up.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)