Thames Frost Fair, Little Ice Age, 1684
A Frost Fair on the Thames, looking downstream towards London Bridge, during the Great Frost of 1683-4, when the river was completely frozen for two months. It was the worst recorded frost in England and similar conditions affected much of Europe as well. The period between the 15th and early 19th century was known as the Little Ice Age. The Little Ice Age was a period of cooling that occurred during a period generally thought to run from the 16th to the 19th centuries, though some place the start date in the early 14th century. During the period 1645-1715, in the middle of the Little Ice Age, there was a period of low solar activity known as the Maunder Minimum. River Thames frost fairs were held on the tideway of the River Thames at London
