Tree-Ring Services
Providing tree-ring analysis of live trees and archaeological timbers

A tree-ring timeline for the British Isles

The aim of this timeline is to place historical events, timber related industry, architecture and weather events into precise calendar year context (c. is used where dates are not precise). This is an ongoing project developed as an online resource for research, it currently extends from AD1066 to AD1900. Some general useful references are listed at the foot, specific references can be made available to bona fide researchers on request.

Additional contributions with appropriate references are always welcome. Basically - if you have a reference and a year, place it here.

Year	Historical Events	Timber related Industry & Architecture	Weather (+related events)
1066 AD	Edward dies. Harold II is chosen king. (25 Sept.) At the battle of Stamford Bridge, Harold II defeats the Norwegians; Harold of Norway and Tostig are killed. (28 Sept.) William of Normandy lands at Pevensey, Sussex. (14 Oct.) At the battle of Hastings, William is victorious. Harold is killed. (25 Dec.) William I crowned king of England. Comet appeared on April, 24th and shone for seven nights.	After Norman Conquest of Britain there was little timber trade until c. 1250. Most buildings of any size were errected by the King, the chief Barons or the Church, providing timber as required by felling oak & oher trees from their own extensive woodlands.
1067 AD		The White Tower, London. (Begun)
1068 AD	Programme of castle-building underway with casles at London, Hastings, Dover and Winchester; violent disturbances in York, Warwick and Exeter
1070 AD		Canterbury (Norman) Cathedral (Begun)	Famine & Storm
1072 AD	King Malcolm of the Scots pays homage to William
1074 AD	Malcolm begins to fortify city of Edinburgh
1076 AD			1076/77 Severe winter in Britain
1077 AD	Completion of the Bayeux tapestry	White Tower (c.1077-97). Norman church of St Albans (later became the Cathedral) (Begun) by the abbot Paul de Caen
1078 AD	Moon darkened three nights before Candlemas	First rudimentary chimney built in London in the White Tower / Old Sarum Cathedral (Begun)	Dry Summer, with many wildfires in many shires burnt down towns and strongholds.
1079 AD		Winchester & Hereford Cathedrals (Begun)
1080 AD		York Munster (present structure begun)
1081 AD
1083 AD		Ely Cathedral (Present structure begun)
1085 AD		Wealden Iron - Ferraria at E. Grinstead (assumed Ironworks?) mentioned in Domesday survey of this year	1085 or 1086 Severe winter
1086 AD	Domesday Survey carried out	Doomesday book shows Windsor as a Royal Manor	Terrible weather stopped the growth of crops. A wet year with many thuderstorms.
1087 AD	Pestilence, disease with fever and famine		Severe bad weather. 1087 may have been a wet year.
1088 AD
1089 AD		Worcester Cathedral (begun)
1091 AD		Chichester Cathedral (begun)	Great gale damaged many houses, churches and the Tower of London, on 17 October {Britton, 1937}
1092 AD		Lincoln & Chester Cathedrals and Tewkesbury Abbey begun	1092/93 Severe frost; English rivers frozen so hard the horsemen and wagons could travel on them, when the thaw came, drifting ice destroyed bridges. A very wet year.
1093 AD		Durham Cathedral (begun)
1094 AD
1096 AD		Norwich Cathedral & Canterbury Cathedral Crypt (begun)	Disastrous famine
1096 AD	Start of the Crusades (1096 AD to 1291 AD)
1097 AD	From Oct 4th for a week a shining evening (comet) appeared in the South West.	Westminster Hall (begun)	Untimely weather
1098 AD			Heavy rains all year, ruined all the tilled land in low places.
1099 AD	At Martinmas, on the first of the new moon, came a great sea-flood		Tidal flooding in the Thames estury and in Kent on 11th November. According to legend, this flood produced the Godwin sands
1100 AD	Blood bubbles from earth in Berkshire at Whitsun		Benign climatic conditions in Europe allows villages to develop around previously unworked land.
1102 AD			Drought with excessive heat
1103 AD	Death of cattle and perished crops (both corn and fruit), (?Blood from earth at Finchampstead in Birkshire)		Great Storm on St Lawrence's Day, which did much harm
1104 AD			Eruption Hekla, Iceland
1105 AD			Perished crops
1106 AD	Feb 16th appeared unusual evening star in the SW, said beams shone out towards NE, other stars also seen. Easter saw 2 full moons, one in east one in west, before daylight. That same day the moon appeared in its 14th night.	Sandwell Priory in West Midlands constucted. Southwark Cathedral & Tiverton Castle (begun)	Comet seen in evenings for 40 days
1107 AD
1108 AD		Southwell Minster (begun)
1109 AD			Much thunder this year
1110 AD	Night 15th May, very clear night, moon appear very bright then dissapeared. June star in NE streaching to SW in day and night.		1110/11 Long hard winter. Bad weather, earth crops spoiled and tree-crops perished. 15th May Tree-fruits taken by frost.
1111 AD			Very long severe winter, earth-crops spoiled and livestock deaths.
1112 AD	Raging pestilence	Exeter Cathedral (begun)	Very good year, fruitful in woods and fields.
1113 AD		Hexham Abbey (begun)
1114 AD	End of May saw shining comet. Great edd-tide everywhere, men able to walk over Thames east of London Bridge.		1114/15 Sever winter in England, rivers froze and weight of ice broke many bridges. Year is regarded as one of the driest on record. Great winds in October & terrible storm on night of Nov 18th damaged trees and buildings
1115 AD		c. Saxon Wood Church at Greenstead, near Ongar, Essex.	Severe winter, snow and frost killed countlessd livestock.
1116 AD			Severe long winter, for cattle and all things. Heavy rains August to Candlemas ruined crops.
1117 AD	Theobold of Etempes called himself Master of Oxford and was lecturing to over 60 students	Peterborogh Cathedral (begun)	Heavy rains nearly all year, disastrous for corn.& Dec 1st violent weather, storms with hail. Dec11th red moon which darkened. Dec 16th Red heavens. Jan 3rd great earthquake in Lombardy.
1118 AD			Evening in week of Epiphany violent lightning and thunder strorm. St Thomas's Day saw very great wind, seen after in houses and trees.
1119 AD	Order of the Knights Templar is founded
1120 AD		Llandaff & Bangor Cathedral (begun)
1121 AD	Moon darkened on eve of April 5th (14 day of moon)		Nativity of Lord night saw very great wind over land and effect seen everywhere afterwards.
1122 AD	Dec 7th fire in NE sky from dawn until full light.		March 22nd, great wind, Sept 8th great wind from morning to night. July 25th earthquake over Somerset and Gloucestershire.
1123 AD		Almost all the borough of Lincoln was burnt down.
1124 AD			Untimely weather causing espensive corn prices
1125 AD	Famine and disease this year and more crop-failure than in many years before.		Exceptionally severe winter in France and Netherlands may also haveaffected Britain. Great flood on St. Lawrence's Day, many towns, bridges and lowland crops ruined.
1128 AD	Solar Activity peak, earliest known drawing of sunspots on 8th September		Severe winter with heavy snow at easter. May be confusion with 1125 Red aurora on 13th Dec (5-day time lag typical of solar activity)
1129 AD	Earthquake on eve of St Nicholas's Day
1131 AD	11th Jan buring fire in heavens in the North. Year of massive death in livestock, cattle, swine and fowls all died and meat, cheese and butter were short.	Tintern & Quarr Abbey (begun)
1132 AD		Fountains & Rievanlx Abbey (begun)
1135 AD	At Lammas on the second day, day darkened, sun became as a 3 day old moon and there were stars around it.	Buildwas Abbey (begun)	May have been a dry year
1136 AD	Welsh uprising against Norman rule		An exceptionally dry year with a hot summer
1137 AD	Earth all in ruin. Poor men died of hunger, famine more in the east. Corn, meat, cheese and butter all short and expensive.		May have been a dry year
1138 AD
1139 AD	Start of Civil war in England (1139 AD to 1153 AD)
1140 AD	March 20th the sun and the day darkened about noon and people lit candles to eat by.
1141 AD			Very cold weather with snow in Dec
1142 AD			Thames frozen over
1145 AD		Jervaulx Abbey, Yorkshire, (begun)
1149 AD			1149/50 or 1150/51 Severe winter; Thames was frozen and crossed by foot & horse
1153 AD
1154 AD
1155 AD	By Henry II reign the Kings of England held as much as one-tenth of the country in their own right as royal forests or chases.
1158 AD			Eruption of Hekla, Iceland. Possibly because of an earthquake, the Thames at London was waterless and could be crossed dry-shod.
1165 AD	Malcolm IV was the last Gaelic-speaking monarch
1166 AD
1169 AD	English conquest of Ireland begins
1170 AD	Thomas Becket Assassinated
1173 AD	King William of Scotland invades northern England	St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall (begun)
1174 AD		Wells Cathedral (begun)
1175AD			Severe winter; frost and snow 25 December to 2 February in Normandy and possibly England {Britton, 1937}
1176 AD	First reference to rabbits in England (in Scilly Isles)	Old London Bridge (first stone bridge over the R. Thames
1177 AD			1st Dec high east winds destroy woods and buildings
1178 AD	Violent explosion seen on the moon. Astronomers calculate it was the meteor impact that created the creater known as Giordano Bruno/Eclipse of the sun (Sept 13th)		Heavy snow, sea flooding on coasts (esp from North)
1179 AD	Good Harvest	Bishop's Palace, Hereford constructed.	Good year, dry winter and long growing season
1180 AD		St David's Cathedral & Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire (begun)
1183 AD		Boldon Book described the Bishop of Durham hunting-lodge built of a simple timber-post construction 60ft. long and 16 ft wide, with a roof over the whole.
1185 AD	Earthquake in N.England some buildings destroyed, Eclips of sun (May 1st, afternoon)	Lincoln catherdral except one wall shattered by quake
1189 AD
1190 AD
1192 AD		Lincoln catherdral rebuilding
1193 AD	For 2 hours sky appeared on fire, Aurora Borealis?		A wet and thundery year
1194 AD
1196 AD	Double sun observed
1198 AD		Abbot Sampson gave directions that the stables and offices in the court lodge which was formerly covered with reeds should be newly roofed and covered with tiles, so that risk of fire might be prevented.
1199 AD
1200 AD
1201 AD			A wet year with violent thunder and hailstones in the summer
1202 AD	Great earthquake in Jerusalem effects many places in England		Hail and strong winds through-out August. A wet year.
1203 AD	Sudden flood causes much damage in England (unexpected as little rain preceded it )
1204 AD			1204/05 One of the severest winter in history. Continuous frost January to March 1205. Thames frozen and crossed on foot
1205 AD	Famine, as winter crops almost destroyed by cold.		Harsh Winter, Thames frozen over, ground frozen from Jan 1st to March 25th.
1209 AD			Bermondsey flooded by the Thames
1210 AD			Severe frost in January and early February
1212 AD	Shower of blood seen at Caen and 3 crosses seen in sky at Falaise	Making of floor & roof tiles well established / London building regulations record tiles could be used instead of thatch	Storm damaged even stone towers (Sept 8th)
1214 AD	First chancellor of Oxford University appointed
1215 AD	Magna Carta (Start of the Baron's Wars)
1216 AD
1217 AD	End of the Baron's Wars
1218 AD			Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain on 29th November {Short, 1750}
1220 AD		Salisbury Cathedral (begun) and completed in AD 1258.
1221 AD			Violent north-east gale did much damage in London on 18 October
1222 AD			Dry year; hot and dry summer
1223 AD			A very wet year with much flooding
1224 AD		Foundation stone of Elgin Cathedral is laid. Master Jordan the carpenter draws timber from the Forest of Oddiham for the making of the Kings trebuchet at Dover.	A great drought in winter
1225 AD		Wealdern Iron - Bishop of Chichester advised to obtain supplied from Gloucester suggesting W. Sussex iron not easily obtained or of poor quality	1225/26 Severe winter
1226 AD		Glassmaking: a land grant shows the first record of glassmaker, a Norman who settled in Chiddingfold. Most ordinary folk and parish churches used oiled paper or linen for window coverings throughout the middle ages.
1230 AD		Lincoln Cathedral constructed. Peel Cathedral, Isle of Man (begun)	St Paul's damaged by lighning
1232 AD			Thundery weather on 15 days in November in London
1233 AD			Long and severe frost from Dec to 2 Feb, with a wet summer with much flooding. Gale on 10 February
1235 AD	First authenticated mention of native mainland rabbits
1236 AD			Very heavy rain from Jan to Mar, then dry and hot summer. Thames flooded Westminster Palace. High Thames tide flooded Woolwich area on 12th Nov
1236 AD			Heavy rains in February; the Thames flooded great stretches of the country
1238 AD		Early reference to slates used to roof a mill at Woodstock
1240 AD			Dry from January to March
1241 AD			Drought, dry and hot from 25 Mar to 28 Oct
1242 AD		Archbishop of Canterbury asked to provide 8000 horseshoes and 20,000 nails from his ironworking estates in the Weald	Heavey rain and thunder on 19 Nov and days afterwards, the Thames flooded Westminster and Lambeth
1244 AD		Aisled hall at Thorley Hall, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire constructed.	Dry autumn
1245 AD		Westminster Abbey (rebuilding begun)
1246 AD
1247 AD		Great Oxenbold monastic range at Monkhopton, Shropshire constructed.
1249 AD			Gale on 28 October
1250 AD	Earthquake in Midlands destroys some buildings	c. From 1250s record-keeping quickly advances.	c. Unknown eruption acidity layer (+/- 3 years)
1251 AD			Violent thunderstorms destroyed houses at Windsor on 19 May
1252 AD		The Royal Master Carpenter at Windsor demands 2000 board from Norway for "Waynescoting" (meaning partitioning) a word introduced in Pipe rolls around this time and providing evidence for Baltic timber trade as it derives from the German used by the Hanseatic League timber merchants.	Drought & very hot and dry spring and summer. Heavey rains & flooding in Oct.
1253 AD	Thames in flood in October, probably tidal	Sheriff of Sussex had to provide 30,000 horseshoes and 60,000 nails from Ironworks. Kings house at Freemantle used iron from Gloucester & Weald	Prolonged drought in spring and summer (1252 and 1253) thought to be the driest consecutive years in History
1254 AD		Forge Cottage an aisled hall with scissor-braced roof constucted in Dunsfold, Surrey. Wealden iron industry - 30,000 horseshoes & 60,000 nails	Severe frost Jan to Mar
1255 AD		27 ironwork forges operating in the Forest of Dean	Drought in spring and summer
1256 AD			A wet year
1257 AD	Felling for crown gifts of timber stopped, due to anxiety of timber shortage	Alexander (the Kings Carpenter) appointed.	A wet year
1258 AD		Glasgow Cathedral constructed	A wet year
1259 AD			Dry autumn
1260 AD	Roger de Norton, became abbot of St Alban's Cathedral	Alexander (the Kings Carpenter) orders 1000 boards for "Waynescoting" and 500 Esrich boards (meaning boards from Eastern Reichs i.e, Norway, The Baltic countries & Prussia)	Drought in summer
1261 AD		York Minster (begun)	Frost and snow during Feb
1262 AD		The Royal George in Cottingham, Northants built, it is a three-bay building and the earliest cruck-built hall house identified. Fortified manor house at Stokesay, Shropshire constructed.
1264 AD			Gale on 13 May
1265 AD	Simon de Montford, leader of rebellious barons, defeated and killed at Evesham
1266 AD		300 arrow shafts sent by sheriffs of Sussex and Surrey to the king at Kenilworth
1267 AD		Manor house Hergest Court in Kington, Herefordshire constructed.
1268 AD		The Church of St Brannock in Barnstaple, North Devon with broach spires constructed.
1269 AD		Upton Magna, Shropshire, early cruck built. Alexander (the Kings Carpenter) still active at Westminster.	1269/70 Long severe winter. Thames froze and men and beasts crossed from Lambeth to Westminster
1270 AD		Accounts from Beaulieu Abbey (Hants) show 1 acre of grove of 24 years collected 400 bundles of small burning wood and a four-wheeled cart with two horses could carry 20 dozen bundles. Elgin Cathedral is burnt	Heavy rains caused the Thames to flood in February
1271 AD		c. 1270-1370 Fortified houses begin to develop instead of Castles	Gale, the bell tower of the church of St Mary-le-Bow was blown down and killed several people.
1272 AD	Famine in England		Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather (severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers)
1273 AD
1275 AD		Lichfield Cathedral (begun). Wealden iron industry - 406 iron wedges or pegs
1276 AD			Dry from Apr to Jul
1277 AD	Famine in England	Flint Castle, Wales (begun)	Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather (severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers)
1278 AD		Wealden iron industry - 343 iron wedges or pegs
1280 AD		Holdgate Castle (Salop) rebuilt by Robert Burnell (Chancellor of England)
1280 AD			Heavy snow on 9 Oct
1281 AD	Edward I ordered extermination of wolves in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire & Shropshire		1281/82 Very severe winter from Christmas to March. Thames frozen; five arches of London Bridge collapsed owing to force of the ice. People walked across the river between Lambert and Westminster
1282 AD	Wales loses independence with Llywlyn the Last killed in a skirmish	58 ironwork forges operating in the Forest of Dean
1283 AD	Famine in England	Carpeter at Norwich Cathedral paid to buy timber in hamburd and transport itto Yarmouth, then Norwich.	Wet summer and Autumn
1284 AD	English common law introduced to Wales by Statute of Wales	Abbey of Vale Royal carried on glassmaking from 1284 to c. 1309.
1285 AD
1286 AD			Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather (severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers)
1287 AD			Dry from April to July
1288 AD			1288/89 Severe winter. Dry and hot summer. Tidal flooding in the Thames in Jan
1290 AD	Jews expelled from the country by Edward I	Aisled hall of Abbas Hall at Great Cornard in Suffolk constructed.	Wet summer and autumn
1291 AD	Roger de Norton, abbot of St Alban's Cathedral from AD 1260 died	Wealden iron worker name in Sussex roll	Dry summer
1292 AD	Famine in England		Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather (severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers)
1293 AD		Storm drives 11 German ships into Scarborough, where they are recorded to be carrying 20,060 fir boards and 300 bow staves
1294 AD			Heavy snow on 14 May. The Thames flooded Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, Tothill and Westminster on 18 Oct.
1295 AD	Last known reference to wolves in Oxfordshire	Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey established
1296 AD	Edward I becomes the first direct ruler of the whole of Britain.	Base-cruck hall of Chennelsbrook Farm in Horsham, West Sussex constructed. Wealden iron worker name in Sussex roll.
1297 AD
1298 AD	Battle of Falkirk
1299 AD		60 thousandweight of Spanish iron imported into Sandwich
1300 AD		Cruck building of the Old Cheriton Rectory in Cheriton Bishop, Devon constructed.	General deteriation in European Climate. Eruption of Hekla, Iceland
1303 AD		Glastonbury Abbey (largely rebuilt). Wealden iron industry - London ironmonger bought horseshes & nails from the Weald
1305 AD	Edward I encouraged tinning industry through exemption of ordinary taxation	Imported timber & staves taxed for the repair of London Bridge	A hot and dry summer. 1305/06 Severe winter
1306 AD
1307 AD
1308 AD
1309 AD			1309/10 Severe winter; Thames frozen; London Bridge damaged by ice. People walked across the frozen river
1311 AD	Famine in England		Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather, severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers
1312 AD
1213 AD	Live-stock epidemics
1314 AD	Scottish victory at Bannockburn & Live-stock epidemics		A wet year. Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather, severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers.
1315 AD	Great famine (1315 AD to 1316 AD) & Live-stock epidemics		A wet year. Very heavy rain on St Swithin's day caused widespread flooding; this may be the origin of the St Swithin lwdgend
1316 AD	Live-stock epidemics		A wet year. Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather, severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers.
1317 AD	Live-stock epidemics		Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather, severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers
1318 AD	London to Gloucester journey took 8 days		Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather, severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers
1319 AD	Live-stock epidemics		Harvest failed with greater extremes of weather, severe winters and unusually hot or wet summers
1320 AD	Peak of grain prices & Live-stock epidemics	Evidence of Wealden iron industry - 30,000 horseshoes & 29,000 nails	Wet cool summer and disastrous harvest
1321 AD	Live-stock epidemics		Hot, dry summer. Wet cool summer and disastrous harvest
1324 AD			1324 AD - 1326 AD Floods, and continual threat of inundation of low-lying coastal marshes
1325 AD	Gunpowder first used in England	Wealden iron - bars bought by manor of Rotherfield for repair of ploughs	Hot and dry summer. Drought; rivers and streams dry, because of lack of fresh water the Thames was salty.
1326 AD		Evidence of Wealden iron industry - carriage of 32 blooms from Newenden to Dover Castle	Dry summer. Drought; great shortage of water; river Thames salty for nearly the whole year.
1327 AD		Evidence of Wealden iron industry - 3,000 horseshoes & 80,000 nails
1328 AD
1329 AD		Wealden iron - Bloomeries accounts at Tudeley, nr Tonbridge. Wood cut from forest of Southfrith and outside the estate
1330 AD
1331 AD	The export of unwashed wool was prohibited by King Edward III. He encouraged weavers from Flanders to settle in England. They brought their weaving and dying techniques to England, and at Buxted , they produced silk materials.		Spring drought; no rain for 15 weeks
1332 AD
1334 AD		Wealden iron industry - 7 blooms of Wealden iron bought for estate smiths at Boxley Abbey, Maidstone.	Tidal flooding in the Thames on 22 Nov
1335 AD	Death of Cnut; collapse of Scandinavian Empire	Earliest reference to the making of wall tiles (word Brick not used until 15th century) at Ely	A 15th century chronicle states that 1335 was a wet year; this may be correct or be due to confusion with the floods of 1334
1337 AD	Beginning of the Hundred Years' War with France
1338 AD		Horsham, Surrey centre of trade in arrows 6,000 (uncertain whether points were iron) bought there.	Very wet October to Dec. 1338/39 Hard frost started in December and lasted 12 weeks
1340 AD	Start of decade of Low grain prices, and uncertain food supplies		In Denmark agricultural decline widespeard & villages being abandonded in parts of Jutland
1341 AD		Penhurst Place, Kent (begun)
1342 AD		Horsham, Surrey centre of trade in arrows provided part of batch collected by the Sheriff of Kent	Thunderstorm in London on 16 Jan. The gale on the 16 Jan destroyed the tower of the church of the Friars Minor in London.
1346 AD		Horsham, Surrey centre of trade in arrows, 150 & 266 sheaves supplied to London. Wealden iron blooms purchased to repair carts in Penshurst.
1347 AD	Englands population estimated at 3.5 to 4 million.		Last reported voyge to Vinland, Greenland, as sea ice and storms made voyages more difficult
1348 AD	At the end of June a ship docks at Melcombe Regis (Dorset) bring with it the Black Death		Wet autumn and winter
1349 AD	Black Death sweeps England wipes out 3rd of English pop.	Wealden iron - bars bought by Manor of Petworth for repair of ploughs, dear cost by reason of mortality
1350 AD	Black Death reaches Scotland
1351 AD		Between 1351-55, John Alemagne of Chiddingfold, Surrey, sold substantial quantities of white window glass. Evidence for major glass industry in Surrey & Sussex Weald using local sand from Hambledon and fuel from woodland.
1352 AD			Drought, exceedinglydry summer. There is some doubt whether this occurred in 1352 or 1353
1353 AD			1353/54 Long, cold, hard winter lasting from early December to mid-March
1354 AD		Timber generally bought at so much per load, being the amount of wood that could be placed on a one-horse cart. Four elms bought for works at Windsor for sum of one shilling each
1355 AD	Wealden iron - Legislation prohibiting export of iron, among other commodities, from the ports of the south-east	Wye tileries belonging to Battle Abbey had an output of about 100,00 tiles, cost 2s 6d the thousand
1356 AD		Survey describes Hardwick Wood in W Cambs being cut for underwood on average on a five-year cycle.	Dry spring
1359 AD		Evidence of Wealden iron industry - 500 steel arrow heads supplied for Kings use
1360 AD		Wealden iron - bars bought by Robertsbridge Abbey for repair of carts	Black Monday (Apr, 14th) so full dark of mist and hail and so bitter cold that many men died on their horsebacks with the cold.
1361 AD	Second major outbreak of plague (lasting until 1362). Severe effect in the Weald
1362 AD	Volcanic ash fall		Eruption of Oraefajokull, Iceland. A wet year. Severe gale on 15 Jan caused great damage on land and sea. Probably the severest gale on record, apart from the great storm of 26 Nov 1703
1363 AD			1363/64 Severe winter; frost from December to March
1365 AD		36,000 tiles from Nettlebed at 4s the thousand brought for work at Wallingford
1367 AD		By 1367 at the latestnJohn Shurterre, who leased a property in Chiddingfold, Surry was engaged in glassmaking
1368 AD			A wet year. There is some doubt about the year; it may be 1369
		Iron nails & bars purchased for works at Leeds Castle, Kent for windows, spikes and repairing cogwheels in the mill
1371 AD
1372 AD		Wealden iron - Ore digging at Horley outlier of Manor of Banstead, Surrey damaged public highway {Cleere 1995}
1374 AD
1375 AD		9,500 stone slates bought for Rockingham Castle at 8s the thousand from Collyweston quarry, in Northants	Exceptionally warm year
1376 AD		"mysterie of the woodmongyres" first mentioned in the City of London consisting of firewood dealers, not timber merchants.
1377 AD
1378 AD
1379 AD	Outbreak of plague
1380 AD		John Shurterre's widow brought John Glazewryth from Staffordshire to Chiddingfold for glassmaking.
1381 AD	The "Peasents Revolt" crushed
1382 AD			Heavy rain from 18 to 20 December; Thames inflood between Westminster and Windsor {Short, 1750}
1383 AD		5,000 slates bought at 6s 8d the thousand
1386 AD
1387 AD	Canterbury Tales
1389 AD
1390 AD	4th outbreak of plague in Britain
1391 AD
1392 AD		Oak for Westminster Palace procured from woods near Farnham, Surrey. These timbers were convayed by "waynes" from Farnham to Kingston, then brought down river Thames to Westminster.	Severe thunderstorms in London on 3 September
1395 AD		Water-powered iron forges at Creskeld, Yorkshire
1397 AD		The George Inn, Norton St Philip, Somerset,
1399 AD
1400 AD
1403 AD
1406 AD	c. Windsor Forest dwindled to a circumference of 77 miles, from its former extent of 120 miles.
1407 AD	5th Outbreak of plague in England		1407/08 Severe winter. Frost lasted for 15 weeks (December to March). Thames frozen and could be crossed on foot.
1408 AD		Water powered bloomery producing 200lb bloom at Byrkeknott,County Durham
1410 AD		Engtlish merchants imprisoned at Danzig, by Burghers of the Hanse tring to prevent them from buying "Waynescotes" and bow staves in the contryside.
1411 AD		Guildhall, London (begun)
1413 AD	Henrey V's coronation (9 April)		Snow-storm on 9th Apr
1414 AD
1415 AD		The Bull, Long Melford, Suffolk
1416 AD	The construction of Henry V's warship Gracedieu started at Bursledon. At 1400 tuns it was probably the largest clinker built vessel ever made. Six tons of iron needed for nails etc came from Dartmouth.
1429 AD
1422 AD
1423 AD			A wet year
1424 AD			Thunderstorm during the night on 29 Dec
1426 AD			Dry year
1428 AD			A wet year
1429 AD		Caen Stone for London Bridge brought in at 2s 6d a ton (carrage was 5s a ton)
1433 AD		Wealden iron - place for a forge granted at Croucheland, Ticehurst	1433/34 Very severe winter; Thames frozen from December to February, and horse and carriage could be driven over it.
1434 AD		Wealden iron - records of newly built forges at Derefoldgate, Burwash and Ashburnham
1437 AD
1438 AD			Gale on 23 November did much damage in London
1439 AD			A wet year
1440 AD			Thunderstorm in London on 12 Aug
1444 AD			Thunderstorm in London on 1 Feb; belfry of St Paul's struck by lightning
1447 AD		Earl of Warwick in 1447 expressly commanded that no English glass be used in the windows of Beauchamp Chapel (imported glass generally of better quality).
1448 AD			Thames flooded Poplar, Stepney and other places during Mar
1449 AD		Heney VI brought John Utyman from Flanders to make coloured glass for Eton and King's Collage, Cambridge.
1452 AD			Eruption of Kuware
1455 AD		Last recorded evidence of salt-making in Fleet, Lincolnshire
1450 AD
1452 AD		The George, Castle Cary, Somerest, built
1456 AD	Halley's Comet blamed for earthquakes and red rain
1457 AD
1460 AD			A wet summer; reputed to be one of the worst for 100 years
1461 AD
1463 AD
1464 AD	Another outbreak of plague
1465 AD
1469 AD
1471 AD
1472 AD
1473 AD			Drought, very hot summer
1474 AD		Magdalen College, Oxford built	Drought, very hot summer
1475 AD		The George & Pilgrim, Glastonbury built	Drought, hot weather
1476 AD
1477 AD	William Caxton produces first printed book in Britain	Act passed regulating the process of manufacture and size of tiles. Wealden iron - new second forge at Burwash.	Eruption of Bardarbunga, Iceland. Drought with great heat
1479 AD			Drought with great heat
1480 AD		Lord of Bergan & merchants of London make an arrangement that the sailers of Bergan are bound to close the hold and hatches over "timber and other good on pain of making good damage caused by rain or seawater".
1481 AD			Poor English Harvest
1482 AD			Very Poor English Harvest
1483 AD	Edward V acceded, uncrowned	c. The best yew staves came from abroad, being tough and elastic. Under an act from Richard III no wine was allowed to be imported from Spain by ship's masters unless they also brought in their ships a specified quota of yew for bow-making.	Poor English Harvest
1485 AD	Battle of Bosworth Field
1486 AD
1488 AD			Great snow and frost
1489 AD
1490 AD		Divinity School, Oxford one of finest examples of 15th century vaulted architectures completed. Wealdern iron - founders of Buxted.	Eruption of Katla, Iceland. Drought & Poor English Harvest
1491 AD		First record of French immagrant iron worker
1494 AD			Good English Harvest
1495 AD			Good English Harvest
1496 AD		First definative reference to a blast furnace from Newbridge in the Weald. Humphrey Coke appointed a member of a Commission to draft carpenters and labourers for the royal work in the North.
1498 AD			A dry year
1499 AD	An epidemic of plague sweeps across Scotland		Good English Harvest
1500 AD		c. Black-leaded pencils used in England	Eruption of Java (DVI = 180) Poor English Harvest
1501 AD			Poor English Harvest
1502 AD			Poor English Harvest
1503 AD			Dry summer Poor English Harvest
1506 AD			Great frost. Thames frozen during January; horse and carts could cross the frozen river
1507 AD	London ravaged by an epidemic of the "sweating sickness"
1508 AD			Good English Harvest
1509 AD	Henry VIII start of Reign		Very Good English Harvest
1510 AD			Very Good English Harvest
1511 AD	All men under 40 are required to possess bows & practace archery
1512 AD			Poor English Harvest
1513 AD		George Lord given office of Purveyor of the King's Timber and proceed in the suppling of wood for work to be done at the Tower of London. Thomas Stokton was a Master Carpenter at the tower.
1514 AD		Earliest known use of mahogany is a cross preserved in the Cathedral of San Domingo (West Indies)	Intense frost. Thames frozen during January, and horse and cart could crossed from Lambeth to Westminster
1515 AD		Hampton Court Palace (begun)
1516 AD			Hot and dry
1517 AD			A very hot summer.
1518 AD
1519 AD
1520 AD			Very Poor English Harvest
1521 AD			Poor English Harvest
`1522 AD
1523 AD
1524 AD
1525 AD	Act for the Preservation of Woodlands passed, imposing fines on any that did not leave twelve store oaks (or as many elms, ash or beech etc) on each acre of underwood cleared. The felling of trees on commons was prohibited. Introduction of potatoe from South America
1526 AD
1527 AD			Very Poor English Harvest. First of two very wet years; may be the wettest consecutive years.
1528 AD	Halley's Comet with a tail the colour of blood?		Poor English Harvest. Second of two very wet years; may be the wettest consecutive years.
1529 AD	Another epidemic of "sweating sickness" sweeps through England		Thames in flood on 2 October
1530 AD		One of the earliest sawmill said to have been established in Norway.
1531 AD	Halley's Comet causes widespread panic. The Act for the punishment of Beggars passed
1532 AD	The Act for the submission of Clergy recognised	St James Palace, London (begun)
1533 AD
1534 AD	The Treasons Acts passed		1534/35 Frost lasting from November to February. Thames frozen below Gravesend
1535 AD	Royal commissions survey of all church property in England & Wales		Poor English Harvest
1536 AD	Dissolution of the Monasteries from 1536 to 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland and transferred a fifth of England's landed wealth to new hands.	Mary Rose refit. Nicholas Hisham of York licenced by the King to sail to Prussia with 4 ships in search for wood for spears and bows, due to this trade in the hands of the Nuremberg merchants who hold the monopoly from Emperor Charles V.	1536/37 Thames frozen during December and January; the King drove on the ice from London to Greenwich (Some authorities give the date as 1537/38)
1537 AD			Good English Harvest. A wet summer.
1538 AD	Cromwells Injunction to the Cleargy, instructing them to keep parish registers of webbings, baptisms and burials.	Nonesuch Palace, Surrey, begun	Drought, dry hot summer. Good English Harvest.
1539 AD			Good English Harvest
1540 AD			Dry and warm from Feb to Sept. Thames so low that salt water flowed above London Bridge.
1541 AD			Drought; Thames so low that even at ebb, sea water extended beyond London Bridge
1542 AD			A wet summer
1543 AD		Buxted works produced the first one-piece cast iron cannon in 1543
1544 AD	Law that a certain number of mature oaks were to be left (for national needs) during logging (but Weald excluded.
1545 AD	Mary Rose sinks in the Solent		Poor English Harvest
1546 AD	Population in England tops 4 million		Thousands close to starvation after a succession of poor harvests. Very Good English Harvest.
1547 AD	Henry VIII death		Very Good English Harvest. Intense frost at the end of the year.
1548 AD			Good English Harvest.
1549 AD		53 forges and blast furnaces operating in the Weald.
1550 AD			Poor English Harvest.
1551 AD			Poor English Harvest. Tidal flooding in the Thames, as far up-river as Millwall, in December.
1552 AD			Drought.
1553 AD	Jane Gray reigned, uncrowned
1554 AD	The corn law of 1436 is re-enacted in an effort to relieve serious food shortages & Anti-heresy laws restored
1555 AD	The burning of heretics begins	Begininng of naval rebuilding program	Poor English Harvest. A wet year. Thames flooded Westminster Hall on 21 Sept.
1556 AD			Drought so great that the spings failed. Very Poor English Harvest.
1557 AD		Henry Studwick of Kirdford in Sussex, bequeathed his sons his glassmaking house. Jean Carre emigrated from Antwerp and secured a licence from the Queen to build furnaces for window glass in the Weald.	Good English Harvest
1558 AD	Act passed "that no timber of the breadth of one foot square at the stub and growing within fourteen miles of the sea . . shall be converted to coal or fuel for making iron." but Weald exempt	Jean Carre builds three furnaces (one crystal furnace within Crutched Friars and abandonded monestry near the Tower of London and two in Fernfold Wood, near Alford in Sussex).	Very hot summer. Very Good English Harvest.
1559 AD
1560 AD			Poor English Harvest
1561 AD			Thunderstorm in London on St Matthias day, 24 February. St Paul's struck by lighning in June
1562 AD			Poor English Harvest
1562 AD		The first conservatory in Britain built
1563 AD	Plague brought from France to England, where it kills 20,000 people in London alone & The Witchcraft Act passed	Thomas Peytoe of Chiddingfold bequeathed his son his glassmaking house. It is thought that there were only two glassmaking families before the coming of foreigners in the 1560s.
1564 AD			Tidal flood in the Thames on 20 Sept. 1564/65 Severe frost, Thames frozen solid from Christmas Day to 3 January, people walked and played on the frozen river.
1565 AD	Tobacco introduced into Britain, manufacture of pencils begins in England	A Privey Council ranked glass as thirty-fifth in imported commodities at a total valuation of £1,622, less than the valuations of imported tennis balls or playing -cards in lists drawn up five years earlier.	Poor English HarvestThames in flood, probably tidal, on 24 December.
1566 AD			Drought all summer and harvest
1567 AD		A master glassmaker near near Chiddingfold (presumably a Peytoe) stated he could not make window glass, and there is no record of any protest in a monopoly patent in window glassmaking made to aliens in this year.	Dry summer and severe winter.
1568 AD		A total of 214 cases of glass imported between Michaelmas 1567 and 1568 by English merchants was less than the more than 400 normally produced in a year by a glassmaker with a single furnace.	Excessively hot with drought
1570 AD			Tidal flood aggravated by heavy rainfall, in the Thames as far up-river as Erith on 5 October
1572 AD			1572/73 Hard frost from early November to about mid-January
1573 AD			Poor English Harvest
1574 AD		Ironworking: 110 furnaces and forges in the Weald. Glassmaking: window glass shipped down Arun from a site near Wisborough Green to Littlehampton then on to London by sea.
1576 AD		Glassmaking: between 1576-1579 there was 1 (possibly two) glasshouses in Buckholt in Hampshire.4 pollard elms near Epping cut down containing 60 feet of timber.
1578 AD	Automatic fine and penalty for further offence is 12d for 'hedgebreaking' (the taking parts of a hedge for mending tools and domestic implements) in Epping.
1579 AD		Glassmaking colony in Wisborough Green	Snow followed by a thaw and heavy rain caused the Thames to flood Westminster in February
1580 AD	An earth tremor kills 2 people in London and damages Old St Pauls Cathedral	Before c. 1580 plantations of trees thought to have been rare, a possible early example of an oak plantation exists in Windsor Great Park, attributed to Lord Burghley. Glasshouse erected in Northiam shipped glass to London from 1580-84 in spite of protests from Rye town council about the glassmakers destruction of timber.
1581 AD	Act forbade the felling of trees for any reason within three miles of the coast, within 22 miles of the River Thames, or within the Weald.	Glassmaking: a furnace at Ratcliffe was pulled down.
1582 AD	Londons first waterworks installed, pumping water to private houses for the first time	Glassmaking: Glass engraver was naturalised and took up residence in London. Glassmakers settled in Bishop's Wood near Eccleshall in Staff's and industry stayed there until 1612.
1583 AD		Further Acts limiting the places where trees could be felled	Drought, very hot and dry summer
1584 AD	Law passed requiring every sixth ironworks wagon to carry stone and gravel to re-surface the road it was using.
1585 AD
1586 AD	In area of Epping record of timber rights of lord of manor being fiercely protected. If tenant wanted timber, even on his own land, had to get a licence unless local custom gave him freedom to fell		Eruption of Kalud. Poor English Harvest
1587 AD	Mary Queen of Scots executed in Fotheringhay Castle	Glassmaking: a furnace was set up in Godalming, Surrey.
1590 AD		By c. 1590 there were 14-15 glassmaking houses in England, Staffordshire and the Weald were the chief centres in the early Elizabethan period.	A dry year
1591 AD			Drought. The Thames so low that a man on hourseback could ride across it near London Bridge.
1592 AD	Plague in London kills 15,000 people.		Very Good English Harvest
1593 AD	Londons theatres close for a year because of the plague.	A bill went before Parliament seeking to outlaw glass-making furnaces within eight miles of any river in the country.	Eruption of Ringgit
1594 AD	Probably the year refered to in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"		The first of 5 consecutive bad harvests, starts an economic recession. Wet and unseasonable summer
1595 AD	The bow is abandoned by the English army as a weapon of war		Poor English Harvest
1596 AD	Tomatoes introduced to Britain	Early Dutch mill for sawing wood erected at Saddam	Very Poor English Harvest
1597 AD			Very Poor English Harvest
1598 AD			Great drought and very hot
1600 AD		c. 1600-1700 Start of Decline of hardwood timber frame buildings, due to scarsity of oak especially in S. England	Eruption of Huaynaputina
1601 AD			Unknown Eruption. Storm in London on 1 February. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1602 AD			Drought in autumn and winter
1603 AD	(Jul) Plague becomes widespread in Britain
1604 AD
1605 AD		Knole, Kent (begin)
1606 AD	Union Jack is adopted as the English flag
1607 AD	Frost fair held on the Thames		Dry and hot summer. 1607/08 Severe frost mid-December to early February.
1608 AD		A survey of the New Forest registered 123,927 trees as likely to be suitable for Nave use.	Poor English Harvest
1609 AD			Great frost commenced in October and lasted four months. Thames frozen and heavy carriages driven over it (This may be a reference to winter of 1607/08).
1610 AD			Hot dry summer. Deeside, Scotland recorded persistant snow on the top of the hills during summer for the first time in living memory
1612 AD			Drought January to May
1613 AD			Poor English Harvest
1614 AD		By 1614 glassmaking changed from timber to use coal as fuel.	Eruption of Little Sunda
1615 AD		Firewood becomes increasingly scares and expensive, cheap coal becomes a popular substitute for the first time
1616 AD			Hot summer with drought
1620 AD		Whittlebury Forest, Northamptonshire surveyed by the Royal Commission to contain 50,046 sound oak-trees valued at £25,755, with 360 decayed trees valued at £123. Assuming the trees contained 50 ft. cube each, this gives a value standing of about 2 shillings per ft. cube.	Very Good English Harvest. 1620/21 Frost fair held on the Thames
1625 AD			Faroese cod fisheries failed
1626 AD			Dry and hot summer
1628 AD		4000 tons of cannon were shipped to Holland
1629 AD			Faroese cod fisheries failed
1630 AD		Sash windows are used for the first time, installed by Inigo Jones at Raynham Hall in Norfolk
1632 AD	Sir Christopher Wren born (1632-1723)	The Haycock, Wansford, Cambridgeshire built
1635 AD			Severe winter; Thames frozen
1636 AD			Very hot and dry summer, not a drop of rain from March to August.
1637 AD	King's ship Sovereign of the Seas, launched in 1637, carried 102 guns		Very hot and dry summer.
1638 AD			Eruption of Roung. Very hot and dry summer
1640 AD			Eruption of Komogatake. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1642 AD			Eruption of Mt. Parker?
1643 AD			Hot summer
1645 AD		Wallpaper is used for the first time as a cheap substitute for tapestry	Hot and dry summer
1648 AD			Very wet year; very cold wet summer. 1648/49 Great frost. Thames frozen.
1649 AD
1650 AD
1651 AD	End English Civil War		Dry year, hot summer
1652 AD	The first tea reaches Britain		Dry year, hot summer
1653 AD			Dry year, hot summer
1654 AD			Dry year, hot summer
1657 AD
1658 AD	Cromwell died on the night of the 3 September		Very cold winter with snow cover most of the time. Gale during the night unroofed houses, blew down chimneys and uprooted trees on 3 September.
1659 AD
1660 AD			Eruption of Piichincha, Katia, Teon & Omate. Great floods in Thames valley on 11 November. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1662 AD	Tea-drinking is introduced to Court. Ice skating introduced to England		1662/63 Severe frost. Thames frozen.
1663 AD			High Thames tide flooded Whitehall on 7th December
1664 AD			1664/65 Severe frost from 28 December to 7 February. 6 February reputed to be one of the coldest days ever in England.
1665 AD	Comet / The Great Plague is first reported in London (3rd Jun), 70,000 people die by October.	The Royal gunmaker made 1500 cannon in this year	Drought / 3rd June exceptionally hot day
1666 AD	Great Fire on 2nd Sept destroyed 4/5th's of the unplanned medieval City of London, some 400 streets and over 13,000 houses. By Dec the Great Plague comes to an end.		Hot with drought in Aug and Sep droughts culminated in tinder dry buildings. 1666/67 Cold weather, Thames covered with ice on 1 Jan
1668 AD	Navigation Acts suspended as far as the importation to London of foreign timber and boards concerned, to permit the greatest possible import of Eastland and Norwegian timber for rebuilding London.	Sanmuel Pepys Sectetary to King Charles II's Navy dealt principally with - Mr Castle (who specilized in wood from British American Colonies, principally pine and Fir from New Engalnd), Sir William Warren the great Baltic importer of his day (One contracts amounted to 40,000 Scandinavian deals at £3 17s per hundred. The timber shipped from Gefle, Swinsound and Christiania).
1669 AD			Dry year, hot summer. Colder in London on 26 Dec than for past 5 or 6 years. Much colder than 1665 or 1666
1673 AD			Eruption of Gamma Kunnora
1674 AD			Cool summer causing harvest failures above 300m
1675 AD	Faroese cod fisheries failed completely until returns in early 20th century		2nd consecutive cool summer causing harvest failures above 300m. Wet summer
1677 AD			Thames frozen; huts to sell brandy built on the river Thames
1680 AD			Eruption of Tongkoko & Krakatoa. 1680/81 Severe winter. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1681 AD			Drought scarcely any rain from Christmas 1680 to mid-Jun.
1682 AD	Halley's Comet, realized that it returns every 76 years.		Thames flood
1683 AD	The last wild boar in Britain killed. Frost fair held on the Thames during the second half of January. The winter described in "Lorna Doone"		Rained toads on the village of Acle in Norfolk . 1683/84 Severe winter; Thames frozen from beginning of Dec to about 5 Feb. The longest frost on record
1684 AD		First attempt to light the streets of London	Drought, dry and hot spring and summer
1685 AD			Drought, no rain for many months before June
1686 AD			Hot dry summer
1688 AD	Frost fair held on the Thames. Introduction of a salt tax	Smoking chambers imporvised in buildings connexted to the introduction of a salt tax.	Great frost lasting from 20 December to 6 February
1689 AD
1690 AD			1690's decade was one of the coldest on record in European history
1691 AD			Hot and dry during late summer and autumn & dry winter 1691/92. Severe winter.
1692 AD			Wet summer. Cold year.
1693 AD			Eruption of Hekla (Iceland) & Serua (Indonesia)
1694 AD			Eruption of Amboina (Indonesia) & Celebres. Cold year & Severe winter, frost lasted for seven weeks
1695 AD	Famine in Scotland. Famine & Social distress across Europe. Finland estimated to have lost a third of its population & famine in Norway	Norwegian fisheries fail & Cod is spare as far south as the Shetland Islands	Unattributed large eruption. One of the coldest years ever known. Outstandingly sever weather across Europe
1696 AD			Wet summer. 1696/97 Severe winter. Intense frost on 26 January, temperature 9 degrees below in London
1697 AD			A dry year. 1697/98 Severe winter.
1698 AD	Pollarding practice outlawed in New Forest.	Shepherd Neame brewery Est. in Kent (19th oldest company in England)	Reputed to be the coldest year between 1695 and 1742. Frequent heavy frost, hail and snow from January to May, a great dep snow all over England on 3 May. The most backward spring for the past 47 years
1699 AD			A dry year. A dry summer, first ofseveral hot summers after nine successive cold summers
1700 AD			A dry sumer
1701 AD			Little rain for several months before May. Warm summer.
1702 AD		Mohogany wood adverside for sale in London Gazette, as part of cargos of two prize ship taken from the Spaniards.	Waterspout caused damage at Hatfield on 21 June
1703 AD	Terrible storm recorded in British Isles. Twelve warships with 1300 men on board were lost in site of land. Damage in London estimated at 2,000,000 pounds	Eddystone lighthouse compleatly destroyed by storm	Storm from 26 Nov to 1 Dec, in resulting floods in the Thames and Severn valleys and in Holland, 8000 people lost their lives & tidal flood in the Thames on 28 Nov. Very wet from Apr to Jul.
1704 AD			A dry year; a warm summer
1705 AD			A dry year
1707 AD		Wars of seventeen century had a disastrous effect upon forests. Navy Surveyors could only report 12,476 trees fit for their use, whereas in 1608 the figure had been 123,927. A single ship at this time requiring no fewer than 4000 well grown oak-trees (around 150,00 ft. cube of timber).	A dry year
1708 AD			The coldest summer , sping and autumn for 47 years, the cold of 1709 was greater, more destructive and continued longer than in any year since 1698. Severe frost Dec to Mar Thames frozen and crossed on foot.
1709 AD			A wet year; a dry summer
1712 AD	Last witch trail and execution in England	First water-driven sawmill errected at Gorsky-Kotor, in the province of Croatia.
1714 AD			Outstandingly day year. Drought.
1715 AD	Frost fair held on the Thames	Mohogany was originally used in shipbuilding, but in England from 1715 Mohogany (along with walnut, coromandel, rosewood and amboyna) was imported and used by Georgian cabinet-makers.	Drought. A wet summer . 1715/16 Severe frost 24 Nov to 9 Feb.
1716 AD	First central-heating system in Britain since Roman times a hot water system in a greenhouse		A dry year, dry summer, extream drought. Thames so low that people walked under the arches of London Bridge.
1718 AD	Cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale born (1718-1779).		Hot dry summer; good crop of grapes at Richmond.
1719 AD			A dry year. One of the hottest summers; a good crop of grapes at Richmond.
1720 AD	c. Start of general European wide depletion of walnut wood	Buckler's Hard shipbuilding yard in the New Forest, founded by the Duke of Montagu as a port for West India trade, the Duke owning the island of St Lucia. Largest ship built was the Illustrious, with 74 guns.
1721 AD			Eruption Katla, Iceland
1723 AD			Long fine summer but a wet July
1724 AD			Severe thunderstorm with hail on 10 June
1725 AD			Dry mid-Jan to mid-Apr. Cold summer, with no grapes at Richmond. 1725/26 Severe winter.
1726 AD			On 8 Mar Thames was four inches higher than had been known for 40 years. Very thundery from end May to mid-June.
1727 AD			A dry summer
1728 AD			Eruption of Krafla, Iceland. A wet year; a wet summer. Severe winter. Frost and snow from mid-Dec to end of Jan.
1729 AD			Very backward spring
1730 AD			Eruption of Lanzarote, Canary Is
1731 AD			Much snow and frost from Jan to mid-Dec. As cold as in Dec 1708, temperature in London 0F, but warm summer. Very dry year.
1732 AD			Dry summer. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1733 AD			Dry year. Hot July.
1735 AD		Holkham Hall, Norfolk & Nostrell Priory (begun). Hungercut Hall, Creeting St. Mary, Suffolk construcuted	Westerly gale on 8 January did great damage in London, flooding at Kingston on 19 July. Severe storm on 24 August damaged houses and trees.
1736 AD			Highest tide for 50 years in the Thames on 16 February. Another high tide on 24 December caused the Thames to flood Westminster Hall
1737 AD		Tan Hill Inn, Tan Hill, N. Yorkshire	A wet summer Violent gale on 3 August, innumerable trees uprooted, chimneys blown down and ships sunk in the Thames; A violent gale on 1 Dec did much damage.
1738 AD			Violent thunderstorms with hailstones bigger than walnuts on 25 July; several people injured
1739 AD	Frost fair held on the Thames which was completely frozen above London Bridge		A wet year; 1739/40 Severe winter; frost from about 24 Dec to about 17 Feb was severest frost since winter of 1715/16.
1740 AD			Dry spell in England. Stormy with snow and rain on 1 October. Cool summer in Scotland . Gale on 1 Nov caused much damage and blew down one of the spires of Westminster Abbey.
1741 AD			Heavy thunderstorms with hail on 25 January
1742 AD			A dry year. Severe frost for about three weeks in December. Much ice in the Thames.
1743 AD			A dry year. Great gale in London on 3 Feb and on 27 April and hailstones as big as nugmegs at Enfield on 15 July.
1744 AD		Inverary Castle, Scotland (begun)	Temperature at 8 a.m. on 20 April 65F, maximum temperature for the month 75F on 21 April.
1745 AD			A wet summer. Gales from 18 to 20 November
1746 AD	Battle of Culloden		Hottest day on 18 July, temperature in the shade 85F.
1747 AD		London Tradesman states that a London timber merchant was "furnished with deal from Norway, either in logs or planks; with Oak and Wainscoat from Sweden and some from the Counties in England; with Mahogany from Jamaica; walnut from Spain".	Thames in flood
1748 AD			Hot days in June and July; temperature at 1p.m. on 23 July was 85F; Violent thunderstorms with hailstones about 2 inches in diameter on 12 June; Severe frost 11 to 14 Nov.
1749 AD			A dry summer. Shade temperature at about mid-day on 2 July was 88F and a sharp frost on 15 November.
1750 AD	Earth tremor in London (2nd Mar), Warrinton (2nd Apr), Northhampton (30th Sept) Spalding (23rd Aug)	Stone No 14 at Stonehenge falls over.	Thunderstorms on 8 Feb, 8 Mar and 10 and 26 June. Thunderstorms with hail caused flooding on 11 and 24 July
1751 AD			A wet year. A wet March with continual rain from the 1st to the 11th. Heavy rain during the first 18 days of May. Severe gale did much damage on 26 February and thunderstorm with snow and hail caused flooding on 21 November.
1752 AD			Eruption of Little Sunds Is. Cool damp summer, dry and warm in October. The thunderstorm of 20 July was the only one in London during the year
1753 AD	5,000,000 cubic feet of mahogany, sent to England through Jamaica.		Whitehall flooded on 22 March
1754 AD			Eruption of Taal
1755 AD			Eruption of Katla, Iceland. A wet summer.
1756 AD			A wet summer. Gales from 18 to 20 November
1758 AD	Halley's Comet		A wet summer. Gales from 18 to 20 November
1760 AD			In July Bishop Pococke noted snow on north face of Ben Nevis (1343m) all year around
1761 AD		Plan for first sawmill commisioned by Royal Society of Arts, and soon later built at Limehouse.
1762 AD			Great flood in Thames valley. Snow on 28 October. 1762/63 Intense frost with easterly winds from 25 Dec to the end of Jan.
1763 AD			Thames flooded
1764 AD			A wet summer
1765 AD		Nelsons ship Victory built at Chatham, Kent can still be seen at Portsmouth today.	A dry summer. 1765/67 Severe winter.
1766 AD			A wet summer
1767 AD			A wet summer. Wet Summer diminished yields of hay, potatoes and grain. Severe frost in January. Navigation on the Thames suspended. Snow on 5 May.
1768 AD			Severe frost and deep snow in January. A wet year. A wet summer, but the heaviest rain fell in the autumn and the Thames flooded on 1 December. The wet autumn affected wheat production in the lowlands.
1769 AD	The first recorded cremation took place in Britain - illegally. Harvest failier in central & western Europe		Wet Summer & long winter, long winter damaged seeds in the uplands & depleted hay stocks
1770 AD			Wet Summer. Snow on 2 to 4 May.
1771 AD	European wide poor harvests for second consecutive year		A wet summer. Wet & snowy Summer / Thomas Pennart noted perpetual snow on Cairngorms & be Wyvis in Ross-shire at 1045 m.
1772 AD			A dry warm summer
1773 AD			A wet summer
1774 AD			The Thames flood 12 March was partly tidal but was mainly due to heavey rain. Henley bridge was carried away.
1775 AD		From 1775 to outbrake of Napoleonic Wars the bulk of Wainscot logs reaching the British market came from Riga a province of the Ukraine.	Severe winter, 1775/76 severe frost with snow from 7 Jan to Feb. Thames frozen.
1777 AD		William Bass first brewed Bass Ale in Burton-on-Trent.
1778 AD			A fine warm summer but a wet July.
1779 AD			A wet summer. A fine and warm August. 1779/80 Severe winter
1780 AD			A dry year; a dry warm summer
1781 AD			A dry year. A warm summer
1782 AD		Royal Society of Arts stated in their transactions public and undertakers sawmill are now firmly established in England.	A wet year; a wet summer {Gregory, 1924; Brazell, 1969} Cool summer in Scotland, oats harvest in uplands delayed until December
1783 AD	Harvest failier in northern Europe	Near London the Crown forest of Hainault had been reduced by encroachment to less than 3000 acres. A surey in 1783 states that there were only come 11,055 oak-trees, of which only 2760 were of Navy grade and size.	Eruptions of Grimsvotn, Iceland, Elldeyjar, Jokull & Asama, Yama (DVI = 460). A warm summer. 1783/84 Severe winter, almost continuous frost late Dec to late Feb. Thames completely frozen in February and traffic crossed on the ice.
1784 AD			A wet summer. Cold year. Heavy snow on 25 Oct.
1786 AD			A dry summer. Cold year.
1788 AD	Frost Fair held on the river Thames	50,000 loads, or 2½ million feet cube, of oak timber used used in the repair and buiding of the Royal Navy. The Commisisoners give there opinion that the present Crown forests and private woodland estates could no longer be relied upon to produce anything like this annual quantity.	A dry year. Sever winter, hard frost from 25th Nov to 14 Jan. Thames frozen below London Bridge.
1789 AD			A wet summer
1790 AD		Anchor Inn, Barcombe, E. Sussex. Great Britain imported close to 200,000 loads of fir timber from Northern Europe alone.	Temperature of 91F on 22 June. Thunderstorms with hail on 22 and 23 Dec.
1791 AD		Samuel Bentham, Inspector-General of Naval Works, invented the first planing machine for wood..	High Thames tide flooded Westminster
1792 AD		Coal gas used for the first time in lighting	A wet summer.
1793 AD	The French Revolutionary Wars 1793-1802. France declared war on Britain on 1 Feb, and the conflict lasted 22 years.	Map of Surrey shows about 20% of the county as heath and 4% as woodland, which compares with 15.6% woodland in 1990s (most of the change caused by spontaneous growth). British Government duty on Baltic deals (sawn timbers and floorboards) of 6 shillings and 8 pence.	A dry summer.
1794 AD		House of Jeramy Bentham, situated in Queen's Square Place, Westminster turned into the first factory in this contry soley devoted to the manufacture of woocutting machinery.	A dry, warm summer. 1794/95 Severe winter. Hard frost 24 December to 8 February.
1795 AD	The Dutch enter the war on the French side.		A dry year, hot and dry in September. Extreamly cold winter. Thames flood in mid-February
1796 AD	Spain, France's ally, declares war on Britain.	Construction of a thatched corn rick the Skeleton Barn, Oak Farm, Hampstead Norreys, Berkshire {Miles 2001}	A dry year; a dry summer. Temperature down to -6F in London on 24 December, and intense cold on Christmas Day, mean temperature about 10F. Thames frozen.
1797 AD		Admiralty decide to istall a number of Bentham woodworking machines in their dockyards at Portsmoth and Plymouth.	A wet summer
1798 AD			1798/99 Severe frost late December to early January.
1799 AD		Greene King brewery est. in Bury St. Edmunds.
1800 AD	Britain's trading interests in the North Sea and Baltic are threatened by the 'Armed Neutrality of the North' agreed between Russia, Prussia, Denmark and Sweden (a coalition independent of both France and Britain).		A dry summer
1802 AD	27 March, the Peace of Amiens formally ends the French Revolutionary Wars. Britain and France return most of their conquests, but Britain keeps the islands of Trinidad (West Indies) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).	West India Docks opened.	A dry year
1803 AD	Napoleonic Wars 1803-15. In May, war resumes between France and Britain because of the former's interference in Italian and Swiss affairs and the latter's refusal to return Malta immediately to the Knights of Malta.
1804 AD	Spain declares war on Britain after British ships attack its silver convoys from South America.
1805 AD	21 Oct Admiral Nelson defeats the French and Spanish fleet at Trafalgar, off Cadiz.		A wet summer. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1806 AD	Napoleon issues the Berlin Decrees, creating the 'Continental System' that forbids the import of British goods into Europe. He hopes to cut British trade and starve the country into defeat.
1807 AD		Gas lighting introduced to London (by 1820 much of city is lite by gas)	A dry year; a dry summer
1809 AD			Large unatributed eruptions known through ice acidity. Thames in flood at Windsor at end of January and on 26 April.
1810 AD		Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire (begun)	Snow on 30 Oct
1811 AD			Thunderstorms on 9 days in May. Thames froze over in January.
1812 AD	The price of wheat peaked at 1.9.6 pounds per hundredweight, a level which was not reached again until 1953.	Extension of a corn rick at Skeleton Barn, Oak Farm, Hampstead Norreys, Berkshire. Lord Sumers Eastnor Castle first private house in which the principal part of the roof was iron.
1813 AD	Last frost fair held on the frozen River Thames	Last furnace in the Weald, at Ashburnham, closed in 1813	1813/14 Severe winter. Heavy snow fell from the 3rd to 5th Jan. Snow was followed by a thaw which only lasted a day then the frost returned and persited until 5 Feb. By 31 January, the Thames was completely frozen. The thaw on the 5 to 7 February caused great damage.
1814 AD			Eruption of Mayon. A cold year.
1815 AD	End of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). On 18 June, Wellington and the Prussian general Gebhard Blücher defeat Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo in Belgium.	Royal Pavilion, Brighton, begun	Eruption of Tambora, Indonesia. Largest volcanic eruption in Holocene. 1815/16 Severe winter. Thunderstorms daily from 2 to 5 May
1816 AD			A cold year which was called "the year without a summer". Heavy snow all day on 14 April. Snow on 12 May. Cool summer causing harvest failures above 300 m.
1817 AD			A wet year; a wet summer. 2nd consecutive cool summer causing harvest failures above 300m. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1818 AD			A long, dry, hot summer. Very severe gales did much damage on 4, 7 and 8 March.
1819 AD		British Government duty on Baltic deals (sawn timbers and floorboards) 65 shillings, while Colonial timbers were admitted either free or with very small tax	A wet year & 1819/20 was a severe winter. Snow on 21 and 22 October (2 inches). Shipping held up by the ice in the Thames on 6 January.
1820 AD		The Bentham Brothers manufacturers of woodcutting machinery joined by Isambard Brunel, who introduced improvements to the circular saw. Cast-iron pipes begin to replace wooden ones	A wet summer
1821 AD			A wet year .Thames in flood at Henley, Maidenhead and Kingston.
1822 AD		Tetley's brewery est. in Leeds by Joshua Tetley.	Eruptions of Vesuvius & Galunggung (DVI = 240) 1822/23 Severe winter, a severe gale did a great deal of damage on 5 February. Much ice in the Thames at Greenwich on 30 December.
1823 AD			Thames in flood at Windsor at beginning of November. Gales on 31 October and 17 December did a lot of damage.
1824 AD			A wet year, a wet summer, serious damage caused by gale on 3 March.
1825 AD			A dry summer, three days with maximum temperature 90F or above between 15 and 19 July; Snow on 20 and 21 October; Violent gales did much damage on 5 August and 3 November
1826 AD			A great deal of ice in the Thames at Greenwich on 13 January, Thames nearly frozen at Deptford on 17 January. A warm summer
1827 AD		Theakston brewery est. by Robert Theakston in Masham, Wensleydale, Yorkshire.	A dry summer
1828 AD			A wet year, a wet summer. Gale damaged houses and trees on the night 9/10 August. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1829 AD			Cold year and a wet summer. 1829/30 Severe winter. Frost 23 to 31 December, 12 to 19 January, and 31 January to 6 February. Much ice in the Thames on 29 December and 22 January. Thames at Greenwich blocked by ice on 3 February.
1830 AD		First water-driven sawmill errected in 1712 at Gorsky-Kotor, in the province of Croatia converted to steam-power.	A wet summer. Minimum temperature at Greenwich on 25 December was only 11F.
1831 AD		Great Britain imported 700,000 loads of timber of all sorts, both hardwood and softwood.	A wet year. During a severe storm 1 inch of rain fell in about 30 minutes. Thunderstorms daily from 2 to 5 August. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1832 AD		Development of plate glass
1834 AD		Marston's brewery est. by John Marston in Burton.	A wet summer, a dry spell from February to June
1835 AD	Halley's Comet (also visible through into 1836)		Eruptions of Coseguina. A dry summer
1836 AD		Houses of Parliment (built 1836 AD to 1865 AD)	Heavy snow on 29 October, 6 inches deep at 8a.m. and 12 inches deep by 2 pm. Severe gale blew doen trees, and unroofed houses on 29 November
1837 AD			Eruptions of Avachinskaya & Sopka. Snow showers in May. 1037/38 Severe winter; the temperature fell to 3F at Greenwich on 20 January; the Thames at Greenwich was completely covered with ice at high water on 27th January. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event
1838 AD			Cold year. Snow showers on 13 October.
1839 AD		Steam-powerd multicolour printing by roller invented: very influential for wallpaper manufacture	A wet year, a wet summer. Showers of snow, sleet and hail on 14 and 15 May.
1840 AD		Glazed stoneware pipes first used	A dry year; a dry summer. 1840/41 Severe winter.
1841 AD			extream low temperature in winter
1844 AD	Potato famine in Ireland
1845 AD	Potato famine in Ireland continues	Great Britain imported 1,300,000 loads of timber of all sorts, both hardwood and softwood.	Eruption of Hekla, Iceland
1846 AD		Great Britain imported 2,000,000 loads of timber of all sorts, both hardwood and softwood.
1847 AD	Potato famine in Ireland continues	Warren House pub, Postbridge, Devon (built)
1849 AD		Everards brewery est. by William Everard in Leicester.
1850 AD		The 1850s sees the development of the railways. Damp-proof courses introduced
1851 AD	Act of Parliament removing grazing from New Forest for plantations	Repeal of window/glass/brick tax. Young's "Ram Brewery" est. in Wandsworth, London (oldest site in Britain on which ale has been continuously brewed)
1858 AD		Timothy Taylor brewery est. in Keighley, West Yorkshire	July heatwave in Kent (unofficial highest ever recorded temperature at Tombridge, at 38 degrees C)
1860 AD			Severe cold conditions recorded for Christmas 1860
1861 AD	Great Comet in skys into 1862		Small early vessels in the growth ring for oak from Cadzow, Scotland
1863 AD			Astroid Impact?
1866 AD			Tree-rings suggest notable frost event
1868 AD		St Pancras Station Hotel (built 1868 AD to 1874 AD)	Hot Summer
1870 AD	Aurora borealis seen in S England it appears in a rear arch shape (24th Oct)
		Batemans brewery est., in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire
1872 AD		Adnams brewery est. in Southwold, Suffolk by George & Ernest Adnams.
1875 AD		Wadworth brewery est. by Henery Alfred Wadworth in Devizes, Wiltshire.
1879 AD			Cool summer in Scotland
1883 AD	Krakatoa eruption causes spectacular red sunsets in Britain for seveal weeks		Eruption of Krakatoa
1884 AD	On 22nd Apr an Earthquake (mag 4.7) in Colchester area damages a large number of buildings. Cremation legally accepted by a court of law.		Ranked 5 summer drought in Yorkshire. Tree-ring suggest notable frost event.
1887 AD		Winter storms wrecked boats.	Rank 1 Summer drought in Yorkshire. Snow Drifts - Trees Blown Down in The Broad Walk, Kensington Gardens.
1888 AD	Sussex was divided into half. The woodlands in West Sussex alone account for 15% of the UK's total land cover.		Ranked 8 winter drought in Yorkshire
1890 AD
1891 AD			Rank 2 Winter drought in Yorkshire
1893 AD			Extreamly long drought (60 days in Sussex) / (Longest recorded in a single place, 73 days without rain in East London). Rank 4 summer drought in Yorkshire
1894 AD			Ranked 11 Summer drought in Yorkshire
1895 AD			Ranked 7 Winter drought in Yorkshire
1896 AD		Caledonian Brewery, est. in Edinburgh	Ranked 10 Summer drought in Yorkshire
1900 AD	Outbreak of Bubonic plague in Glasgow	Stone No 22 and its lintel at Stonehenge fall down	50 people die as gales sweep across Britain (30th Dec)

General references

• Brazell, J H, 1969 London Weather, London (HMSO Meteorological Office).
• Cleere, H, and Crossley, D, 1995 The Iron Industry of the Weald, Cardiff (Merton Priory Press).
• Grove, J M, 1988 The Little Ice Age, London (Methuen).
• Moss, S, and Simons, D, 1992 Weather Watch, London (HMSO The Met. Office).
• Rowley, T, 1988 The High Middle Ages 1200-1550, London (Routledge & Kegan Pual plc).

Return to top

Updated: 13/01/2011