The Tudor Society

The Little Ice Age and Frost Fairs

In this week's video, Claire talks about the Little Ice Age and the Frost Fairs that were enjoyed on the frozen River Thames.

Here is the video mentioned by Claire:

And here is a photo my son took yesterday of the River Moskva in Moscow which is frozen at the moment:

Further reading

Notes and Sources

  • Tegg, Thomas (1835) A dictionary of chronology or The historian’s companion being an authentic register of events, from the earliest period to the present time, p.171.
  • Thornbury, Walter (1878) Old and New London, Volume 3, p.311-322.
  • Hall, Edward, Hall’s Chronicle, p.823.
  • Schneer, Jonathan (2005) The Thames, p.72.
  • Evelyn quoted in Hudson, Roger (1998) London: Portrait of a City, p.8.
  • Histories of Windsor: The Great Freeze of ’63 - http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsorhistory/freeze63.html

Only 1 comment so far Go To Comment

  1. E

    Thank you so much for a really fascinating talk, Claire. I love the image I now have in my mind’s eye of Queen Elizabeth 1 practising archery on the frozen river. I love all the amazing detail, especially the elephant crossing the river in 1814! Thank you also for the great links; I especially love the Museum of London video. Your son’s photo of the frozen River Moskva is fantastic.

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The Little Ice Age and Frost Fairs