Page 54 - All About History - Issue 59-17

Winter festivals

Archery
01 on ice “a carnivaL on the water”
The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I,
went out on the ice every day
when the river froze in 1564 The frost fairs boasted numerous attractions to lure Londoners onto the ice
to shoot targets. This year also
saw the first proper frost fair,
where royal courtiers mixed with
London’s commoners.

Printing
02 press
Printers were a popular
attraction at many frost fairs,
printing customers’ names onto
commemorative souvenirs. While
early fair-goers were mostly
illiterate and settled for simple 05
postcards, by 1814 ballads and
books were sold on the ice.

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Marching
03 elephant
While the 1814 fair only lasted
a few days, some modern
sources have claimed that the
ice was so strong that “a very
fine elephant was led across the 01
Thames a little below Blackfriars
Bridge.” However, there is little 02
contemporary evidence to back
up this extraordinary assertion.

Animal
04 baiting
Bear-baiting, bull-baiting and the
curious if cruel-sounding ‘men
throwing at cocks’ were among the
more bloodthirsty entertainments
available at the fair.

10
05 Fox hunting 06
The river hosted a
foxhunt in 1683-84, though it’s
unclear if the animal was wild
or trapped and released for the
sport. Some have suggested 09
Charles II participated but this
seems unlikely.

Winter
06 sports
There are several accounts of
football being played on the 08
ice during the fairs, along with
hockey, nine-pin bowling, and
horse and donkey racing.

Fairground
07 attractions
Adding to the carnival feel,
large wooden swings that could
hold up to six revellers were a
common sight at frost fairs in
18th century.

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