very severe frost the latter end of the year, by which the Thames was so completely frozen over, that Mrs. Porteus and myself walked over it from Fulham to Putney". The annual register recorded that, in January 1789, the river was "completely frozen over and people walk to and fro across it with fairground booths erected on it, as well as puppet shows and roundabouts". Legacy Engraving In the pedestrian tunnel under the southern end of Southwark Bridge, there is an engraving by Southwark sculptor Richard Kindersley, made of five slabs of grey slate, depicting the frost fair. The frieze contains an inscription that reads (two lines per slab): The inscription is based on handbills printed on the Thames during the frost fairs. In popular culture An early chapter of the novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf takes place on the frozen River Thames during the Frost Fair of 1608. In the Doctor Who episode "A Good Man Goes to War," River Song encounters Rory Williams as she is returning to her cell in the Stormcage Containment Facility. She tells him that she has just been to 1814 for the last of the Great Frost Fairs. The Doctor had taken her there for ice-skating on the river Thames. "He got Stevie Wonder to sing for me under London Bridge," she says. When Rory expresses surprise that Stevie Wonder sang in 1814, River cautions him that he must never tell the singer that he did. The Doctor Who episode "Thin Ice" is set during the final frost fair in 1814, and includes a reference to the elephant crossing stunt. See also Arctic oscillation Chipperfield's Circus - started at the 1684 frost fair and continues to this day in its 7th generation. Dalton Minimum Frost fair definition in Wiktionary Frozen Strait Great Frost of 1709 Maunder Minimum Spörer Minimum Notes Sources Davis, George. Frostiana; Or a History of the River Thames in a Frozen State. (London: printed and published on the Ice on the River Thames, 12mo., 5 February 1814) Drower, George. 'When the Thames froze', The Times, 30 December 1989 External links Print of The Frost Fair, 1684: "Great Britains Wonder" Historical Weather Events, 1650–1699 Climate of England Christmas markets in the United Kingdom Frost fairs Social history of London Fairs in England Winter festivals in the United Kingdom Festivals established in 1608 1608 establishments in England Winter events in