COLD IN ENGLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7607, 17 January 1903, Page 4

COLD IN ENGLAND.

THE THAMES FROZEN OV/ER. United Press Association — By Ekctrio Telegraph — Copyright. (Received Jan. 17, 8.42 a.m.) LONDON, Jan. 16. The Thames is frozen over at Marlow. The ice is an inch thick. (Commenting upon the possibility of the Thames being frozen over, the "Daily Mail " a few weeks ago said : However severe the present winter may prove, there is little probability of Londoners being provided with the spectacle of a" frozen Thames, except, perhaps, in the higher reaches. Certain engineering improvements have practically done away with a phenomenon that not infrequently amused the London of an earlier day. The Thames was ice-locked and fairs held on its frozen surface in the following years:— ls64, 1607, 1620, 1683, 1688, 1715, 1739, 1788-9 and 1814. On two occasions arches of London Bridge were carried away with the break-up of the ice. • Old English sports wore a great feature of these fairs. Bullbaiting' used to be largely indulged in, the ■unfortunate animal being tied to a stout pole let into the ice ; but when: the pole broke and the infuriated bull got loose the thronged Thames speedily cleared of its crowds of merrymakers. A feature of the Thames Fair of 1814 was the erection on. the ice i of a number of printing presses, which turned out pamphlets commemorating the event. One of these publications ran as follows: — "Whereas you; J. Frost, have Ayy force and violence taken possession of the River .Thames, I 'hereby give you warning to quit immediately. — A. Thaw." The watermen demanded toll of the people who crossed the ice, and realised in 'coppers as much as £6 a day.)