I don't know whether any of our experts can help with this one - I've Googled till I'm blue in the face - but is there any way to find out (publications etc) just what the weather was like on a certain day in the past? I'd thought of Old Moore's Almanac but that was concerned with predictions of weather patterns, rather than a report of what occurred. I know some newspapers may have recorded weather, but what about before they were widely available?
I am about to start writing up my family history, and have decided to do it in semi-novel fashion, beginning with the family gathering for the burial of my earliest known man in Northenden, Cheshire. I suppose it's not crucial to chuck in a comment about the weather, but it would be nice to be able to add such a detail if at all possible. Almost everything else can be researched, in much the same way as the historical novelist researches her material, but I just wonder if there is something out there in the archives or wherever that would give us a clue.
Any ideas, ladies and gents?
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Thread: Sources for historical weather
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13-05-2009, 6:35 PM #1MythicalMarianGuest
Sources for historical weather
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13-05-2009, 6:41 PM #2
Not sure if this will help, the Met Office has a archive going back to the late 1800's.
Good luckNeil
www.claycross.org.uk
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13-05-2009, 6:53 PM #3
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13-05-2009, 7:03 PM #4MythicalMarianGuest
Great, guys! That will certainly be wonderful for my later 'chapters' - but I'm beginning in the late 16th century, so I guess I'm going to struggle on this one. I'll try googling 'historical weather patterns' though, to see what comes up. Sometimes these things are found by thinking laterally and searching for an event near the time and location. It's all hit and miss though. At least I have the date, so I could perhaps cobble something about an early March day in north Cheshire
And forgive me for not noticing the earlier thread on this - I'm always half asleep after tea!
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13-05-2009, 7:14 PM #5
Last edited by Neil Wilson; 13-05-2009 at 7:15 PM. Reason: spell checker not working after tea :)
Neil
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13-05-2009, 7:19 PM #6
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This might sound daft but if you know any Quantity Surveyors they might be able to help you. I worked where there was one who used a website that had seriously useful details about 'historical' weather when dealing with disputes between companies - not sure how far back they went. Unfortunately I've lost touch with him and don't know what the site was called.
Anyhow. Here's a few that might help if you're really stuck!
https://www.john-daly.com/stations/england.gif
https://www.john-daly.com/stations/cet-1770.gif
https://www.john-daly.com/stations/cet-1659.gif
If I find anymore...Browneyes
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13-05-2009, 7:24 PM #7
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https://theweatheroutlook.com/twodata/dathistdata.aspx
Perhaps you'll understand it??Browneyes
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13-05-2009, 7:28 PM #8MythicalMarianGuest
Thanks, Fin - that link looks great, and I certainly do have a very colourful 18th century with my lot!
Thanks, Browneyes - I'll have a root around. You're all wonderful, really
Is there anything our kind folks here don't know? This site should be advertised as a crucial source in all forthcoming family history publications, as far as I'm concerned.
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13-05-2009, 7:52 PM #9
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Can you say roughly what years you're thinking about? Only Times Online might be helpful?
Browneyes
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13-05-2009, 9:27 PM #10MythicalMarianGuest
Alas, my start would be in 1581, so that one's going to be a tough one. But I could certainly have a look at the Times Online for late 18th/early 19th century.
I'll keep you all posted if I find something that would be useful to others. So far, I'm sketching out the start with the burial of my Henry, and trying bring the area to life on that day, rather than just beginning my history with 'Henry Siddall, yeoman, was buried at Northenden, St. Wilfred on Wednesday, 8th March 1581. His eldest son, William....' etc. I've read countless histories like that, which reduce our forebears to names and dates and I just wanted to try something a bit different. I know there's not a lot we can gather beyond names and dates for ancestors of this period, but by setting him in his historical context and placing him in his village at the time in question I hope to make it more lively.
By the way - to anyone else who may be lucky enough to be this far back and wants to compile a history, I can recommend a really good book: Piggins, Husslements and Desperate Debts by Jill Groves ISBN 0 9517782 3 4. The subtitle is 'A social history of North-east Cheshire through wills and probate inventories, 1600-1700' and this particular study centres on Northenden and its environs. The book was published by the Northern Writers Advisory Services and I bought it a few years ago via the Cheshire Family History Society (it may still be available). The author's study (originally part of her PhD thesis, I believe) is directly concerned with the people who would have been neighbours of my family, and gives a good analysis and conclusion to how such people lived. As it was originally for a thesis it is a bit academic in scope, perhaps, but it is a very good source and I am sure that the information it contains and some of the conclusions it draws could be adapted (with the usual caveats and cautions) to a study of many northern English hamlets in the 17th century. I can highly recommend this publication.
Unfortunately, Jill gleans nothing of the weather from her many studied inventories and wills
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