The following is an extract from Heavisides Almanack 1911 about the Great Frost of 1860…
It may be mentioned that the end of the year 1860 the frost was most severe. So much so that the Tees was frozen over for several weeks, and all manner of sports were indulged in on the ice. All traffic was stopped, the local steamers discharging and loading their cargoes at Middlesbrough, until the one bearing the name of the town was ordered to proceed to the proper place of discharge, and forced her way through the ice, much to the annoyance of those interested in the various amusements.
Photograph taken from Heavisides Almanack 1911.
In 1963, I will of been a young boy of 6 and a half years. Must of been wonderful for me with that deep snow, playing around in it and can just about remember that year. Also, another bad winter was 1978 and 1979. My Mum always said and still does, that 1947 was a bad winter. The last harsh winter was only a couple of years ago, that was fun, going to work on the bike in somewhat two feet of soft snow, that had drifted. How did they manage back in 1947 and 1963?
Believe your Mum Martin. The first 3 months of 1947 were very snowy in much of the country. I was in the army at the time based near Oswestry doing infantry training but also helping to clear the roads to distant villages. Towards the end of March I was posted to Alton Towers, yes! Then the Army School of Education but with quite a lot of snow still lying. From letters from home I knew that Stockton had it’s share of snow.
With ‘weather patterns’ being very much in the news over the past few years, it’s worth noting that just 100 years after the above picture was taken, the River Tees experienced a similar big ‘freeze’ during the harsh winter of 1962-63.