River Thames frost fairs

During the Great Frost of 1683–84, the most severe freeze recorded in England,[5][6][7] 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.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.Activities included horse and coach racing, ice skating, puppet plays and bull-baiting,[14] as well as football, nine-pin bowling, sledding, fox hunting, and throwing at cocks.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.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.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.[22] 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.[29] 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".[30] 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[31] printed on the Thames during the frost fairs.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.
Thames Frost Fair, 1683–84, by Thomas Wyke
An account of the Frost Fair of 1608, the first frost fair that was called a frost fair
The Frost Fair of 1683 [ 16 ]
The Frost Fair of 1814 , by Luke Clenell.
The first panels of the engraving
Winter festivaltidewayRiver ThamesLondonEnglandLittle Ice AgeOld London BridgeTeddington LockNetherlandswinter festivals and carnivalsGreat Frost of 1683–84North SeaLow Countrieswheeled trafficentertainmentfestivalsMiddle AgesembankedLondon BridgeThe Saturday Magazinenine-pin bowlingbull-baitingthrowing at cocksJohn EvelynWestminsterTempleskeetesbacchanalianCharles IIthe TempleSouthwarkHackney coachesWhitehallCandlemas DayCroydonLambethWhitefriarsKing Charlespublic houseBlackfriars BridgeelephantBrunswick MumOld Tom ginmuttonHenry VIIIGreenwichElizabeth Ishoot at marksfootballBeilby PorteusBishop of LondonFulham PalaceFulhamPutneySouthwark BridgeengravingfriezeVirginia WoolfKatherine CowleyDoctor WhoA Good Man Goes to WarRiver SongRory WilliamsStevie WonderThin IceArctic oscillationChipperfield's CircusDalton MinimumFrozen StraitGreat Frost of 1709Maunder MinimumSpörer MinimumManley, GordonBibcodeQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological SocietyThe London GazetteInternet ArchiveThe Daily TelegraphEvelyn, JohnHumphreys, HelenMcClelland & StewartPorteus, Dr. BeilbySchneer, JonathanLittle, BrownVictoria and Albert Museum