Frost Fairs On The Frozen Thames by Nicholas Reed

Readers interested in further details are referred to The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys (Union Books, 2007), and Frost Fairs on the Frozen Thames by Nicholas Reed (Lilburne Press, 2002). with Old Nick, on the suppression of Bartholomew Fair, and accounts of. The ice was evidently so thick that it was even possible to roast an ox on it! In 1788-89, there was, according to the all-knowing Encyclopaedia of London, “one continual scene of merriment and jollity” on the frozen river from Redriff to as far up as Putney.Īnd in 1813-14, thousands attended the greatest fair of the nineteenth century, although only after navigating a gap in the ice created by temporarily unemployed watermen, who demanded a fee of twopence for their assistance! Then, in 1831, the demolition of the Old London Bridge, which had nineteen arches, and the construction of the new one, which only had five, allowed the rate of flow of the river to increase to the extent that it became much less susceptible to freezing over. The ice was soPg 52 thick that the booths and stalls remained even when thaw. The 1814 fairthe last known frost fair on recordmight have been a welcome break for Londoners weary of hearing about Napoleon’s victories in Europe, according to historian Sean Munger. Marketing Manager - IBTM World at Reed Exhibitions.

In 1683-84 an entire street of stalls was set up on the frozen river, together with a press printing souvenir papers, one of which, entitled “A Winter Wonder of the Thames Frozen Over with Remarks on the Resort thereon” asked “ … ho’d believe to see revived there in January, Bartholomew Fair?”. Learn more about Nick Nagles work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their. On this day in 1434 a severe frost set in in London that was to last until the February of the following year, and the Thames froze over.įurther records indicate that in all the river froze over nearly forty times between 11, and that it became the site of impromptu “Frost Fairs” in 1564-65, 1683-84, 1715-16, 1739-40, 1788-14.

Frost Fairs On The Frozen Thames by Nicholas Reed