The Thames has completely frozen over in the past, the last time being in January 1963 - the coldest winter for more than 200 years that brought blizzards, snow drifts and temperatures of -20C.
The last great freeze of the higher Thames was in 1962–63. Frost fairs were a rare event even in the coldest parts of the Little Ice Age. Some of the recorded frost fairs were in 695, 1608, 1683–84, 1716, 1739–40, 1789, and 1814.
That was the winter of 1962/63 - the coldest on record in East Anglia. It was dubbed the Big Freeze as the region stayed sub-zero for week after week. The sea froze over near the coast, boats became trapped in thick ice on rivers across the Eastern Counties and crops stayed frozen in the fields.
The last Frost Fair occurred in 1814. Nobody thought it would be the last one at that time. By now, the Frost Fair was an experience reported in newspapers, depicted in paintings and passed on by word of mouth. Temperatures were below freezing every night from 27 December 1813 to 7 February 1814.
Between 1309 and 1814, the Thames froze at least 23 times and on five occasions the ice was strong enough to hold a fair on the river. The ice was several feet thick and could support shops, pubs, fairground rides, thousands of people - and even elephants could walk across it!
The first few weeks of December 1962 had been changeable and stormy, but then on 22nd December, there was an abrupt change in the weather as high pressure moved to the northeast of the UK, dragging bitterly cold winds across the country.
The frigid conditions began on Boxing Day of 1962 and persisted until March the next year. So why did we choose today specifically to mark the occasion? On February 25, 1963 temperatures dropped to -21 degrees Celsius, a record low at the time.
11-12 July 1888, snow was reported to have fallen over the Isle of Wight, Kent, East Midlands, East Yorkshire, Isle of Man, and the south Midlands. The snow may have been mistaken for soft hail in parts of southern England. 16 June 1889, snow occurred across the high ground of N England and Scotland.
The winter of 1962–1963, known as the Big Freeze of 1963, was one of the coldest winters (defined as the months of December, January and February) on record in the United Kingdom. Temperatures plummeted and lakes and rivers began to freeze over. Deep snow near Burrow-with-Burrow, Lancashire, England, January 1963.
Snow in June is incredibly rare in the Midlands. But ten years later Mother Nature defied the odds again. On June 7, 1985, a sleet shower fell on Birmingham Airport. There were a few flurries in June 2009 as well – but nothing like the scenes 40 years back.
Between 1600 and 1814, it was not uncommon for the River Thames to freeze over for up to two months at time. There were two main reasons for this; the first was that Britain (and the entire of the Northern Hemisphere) was locked in what is now known as the 'Little Ice Age'.
However, 1814 would see the final frost fair. The changing climate, on the eve of the industrial revolution, would herald the rise of global emissions. This, combined with developments in the design of the river's architecture, meant the Thames would never freeze again.
Why does the mouth of the Thames river not freeze?
Later in the nineteenth century the new embankment was built which narrowed the Thames making the water flow more quickly. These two actions meant that the freezing over of the Thames and thus the fairs became a thing of the past.
Events from the year 1963 in the United Kingdom. This year sees changes in the leadership of both main political parties, the Profumo affair and the rise of The Beatles as well as the launch of the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who.
The CBS piece continued: “Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous 'I Have a Dream' speech, the JFK assassination and the beginning of Beatlemania are just some of the history-altering events that made 1963 one of the most memorable years in U.S. history.”
By January 1963 it was so cold the sea at Herne Bay had completely frozen a mile out from shore as well as off Sheppey. The UK temperature that month averaged at -2.1C, making it the coldest January between 1950 and 2020. In Maidstone, the River Medway froze over for the only time in living memory.
The multi-year drought event from 1962 to 1965 consisted of two fairly distinct drought episodes, winter 1962/63, and winter 1963/64 through to summer 1965. The event began in late 1962 across the west of the UK, also affecting parts of central and north-eastern England.
It could turn cold at times with the more blocked weather too, though confidence is low on how cold and where may be coldest and see risk of wintry weather. Increased chance that February will be drier than average.
Scotland recorded -27.2°C, the UK's coldest ever temperature, in 1895, 1982 and 1995. The first two times were recorded in the same location, Braemar, Aberdeenshire, whilst in 1995 it was recorded in Altnaharra, Sutherland. In England, the coldest ever temperature recorded was -26.1°C.
What happened during the mini ice age when the River Thames froze over?
It was not all fun and games when the Thames froze. Its bustling ports became unusable, and trade stood still. In fact, people made up for lost profits by opening fair stalls. The ice did thousands of pounds in damages to houses, shops, boats and bridges.
In fact, in 3500 BC, the Thames would have probably been wider and shallower and full with marshlands and mud flats. It was the Romans that constructed the first ever timber bridge over the Thames.
