The Frost Fair of 1715

Stephen Liddell

Dec 5

10 years ago I wrote a blog post on Frost Fairs and given that we in the U.K. are in a little bit of a premature cold spell I thought I might re-visit the subject with the great Frost Fair of 1715.

The London Frost Fairs of Times Past

On the 24th November over 300 years ago, in the big freeze of 1715, Londoners turned the River Thames, into a theme park and the merriment lasted more than three months. It was during a period that has been described as the Little Ice Age.

From the City of Westminster to the City of London, the great river stood immobile, solid ice from bank to bank and completely frozen over despite the river being considerably broader back then.

As soon as the ice was thick enough, people took to the river in their thousands. People walked, skated, danced and even rode in carriages, across the river's shimmering surface. Wealthy Londoners would enjoy rides on horse-drawn sleds.

Just like today, some people were more concerned about making a profit than taking part in the fun and enterprising traders set up stalls on the river, selling every kind of food and drink.

There were Christmas delicacies such as freshly baked gingerbread and steaming spiced punch. Hot beef sandwiches and pies kept the revellers warm.

If you fancied something sweeter then for pudding there were little cups of hot custard, sometimes flavoured with dried fruit, berries, cinnamon, mace and cloves.

Alcohol was everywhere, from "healing port-wine", white wine from Germany and "nut-brown ale" to something called General Pepper's brandy. I wonder if Doctor Pepper got his idea from there?

Of course 1715 was in the era of the gin craze when home-brewed gin was cheaper than milk, and gin stalls dotted the ice.

All day long, stalls that looked like improvised tents sold cakes and buns. The ice was so thick that on 19th January 1716, an enterprising butcher's assistant called Cripple Atkins, was able to roast two large oxen on the river.

A poet described the frozen river as "a universe of glass" and it just wasn't Londoners who wanted in on the action. Despite the terrible weather, and London's streets being blocked by snow, people travelled from as far as 40 miles away to witness the spectacle.

Many came on foot, and everyone who visited the frozen river was entitled to have their name recorded in a special book. It must have been a truly incredible sight.

On the 21st January 1716, three weeks before the ice began to melt, the Prince of Wales - the future George II - walked along a stretch of the river cheered by spectators.

He was accompanied by the Duke of Marlborough, and a veritable gaggle of courtiers.

What would a Stephen blog post be on the history of London without something a little creepy or sordid? If skating and food and drink wasn't to you taste then how about partaking in some of the special "love for sale" on the ice. Despite the freezing temperatures, prostitutes plied their trade in tiny booths huddled under the arches of bridges.

Pickpockets targeted members of the crowds, and the availability of cheap alcohol inevitably led to outbreaks of brawling and at least four men vanished and were presumed dead.