212 



London" in 1719, a "severe winter'" spoken of in 1728-9; 

 "great frost and gi'eat snows" in 1731, with "the temperature 

 in London C^ F." There was also "intense frost " in 1736, "so 

 severe that in 24 hours after it began persons were walking on 

 the lake." In 1742 there was a frost in London that " lasted for 

 three weeks ; much ice in the river Thames." In 1753 "severe 

 frost in London, continuing till the middle of February, with 

 snow." In June, 1795, " ice was seen that had been taken from 

 the Thames piled up unmelted round the Monument, Fish Street 

 Hill." These together would make thirteen severe Avinters. 



In the present century the Thames was frozen over in 1814, 

 and in January, 1838 ; in 1829-30 the navigation was stopped for 

 a time, but the ice was not passable on foot. During the severe 

 winter of 1860-61, when the tempei'ature at Nottingham fell to 

 8"^ below zero, the Thames was nearly covered with floating 

 masses of ice, but the navigation was not entirely stopped. The 

 winters of 1819-20, 1829-30, 1838, 1840-41, 1844-45, and 1846-47, 

 1855, 1864-65, 1870-71, were all severe, some very severe, but I 

 can find no record as to the state of the Thames in connection 

 with any of them 



But it is not merely the fact of the Thames Ijeing frozen in a 

 cextain number of instances, but the dcfjree to which it and other 

 rivers were frozen during severe winters, that tells most of the 

 greater severity of the Aveather in past times. By far the severest 

 winter we have had this century was that of 1813-14, when there 

 was a fair and booths upon the Thames, with thousands of persons 

 on the ice togethex", fires burning, sheep roasted, &c. No such 

 occurrence as this has happened since. In the 18th century, 

 however, there were no less than four " frost fairs," as they were 

 called, on the Thames, viz., in 1715-16, a frost that "lasted from 

 November 24th till February 9th, during the whole of which time 

 the Thames was frozen over, and in January strongly frozen ;" 

 again in 1740, a frost of nine weeks' duration, when "carriages 

 were driven on the Thames;" again in 1784, when there were 



