Temperatures dropped worldwide as summers became cold and wet while winters became colder, long and harsh.
In the Swiss Alps encroaching glaciers destroyed farmlands and villages.
Canals and rivers in Great Britain and the Netherlands froze up frequently hampering navigation.
Greenland was largely cut off by sea ice for three hundred years.
With failing crops, many Norse colonies in Greenland starved to death and disappeared.
While famine and death became common across Europe, people also started taking advantage of the cold weather.
Frozen ponds and rivers became impromptu ice skating rinks, and outdoor winter sports became popular pastime activities.
A Frost Fair on the River Thames in the winter of 1683-84, by Thomas Wyke.
In London, even the mighty River Thames froze.
For Londoners, the freezing of the river was an event to be celebrated.
One person even setup a printing press on the ice and published a 124-page book.
An eyewitness for the 168384 frost fair reported revelers roasting a whole ox on top of a roaring fire.
Even the Royal family took part in the fairs.
The same eyewitness reported King Charles and the Queen partaking the aforementioned roasted ox.
The frost fairs on River Thames were often brief, lasting not more than a couple of days.
During the fair of 1739, a whole swathe of ice gave away and swallowed up tents and people.
By the 1800s the climate started to warm and the severity of the winters waned.
The Thames no longer froze enough for fairs to be held.
This piece of gingerbread was bought on the Thames.
The frost fair of 1684.
The Frost Fair of 1683.
