We are regularly told that it is vitally important to keep global temperatures within 1.5C (it used to be 2C, but apparently that’s no good now) of “pre-industrial” levels. The problem is that (so far as I am aware) “pre-industrial” isn’t formally defined in any of the climate change treaties arising out of the UN COP process. There is quite a lot of vague talk about it perhaps covering the period 1850-1900, though early in 2017 an attempt was made to suggest an appropriate definition, with a view to being more specific. The Climate Lab Book website then published an article which noted the invention of an efficient steam engine by James Watt in 1784, and suggested that 1720-1800 would be a better baseline period for “pre-industrial” purposes. Before 1720, they argue, there was less solar activity than today, but more volcanic eruptions. The early 1800s were also cooled by considerable volcanic activity. Thus 1720-1800 is about right because natural factors affecting the climate were at similar levels to today, and this is the period before the industrial revolution took off.

Isaac Fletcher

By happy coincidence, this period substantially overlaps with the life of Isaac Fletcher (1714-1781), who lived at Mosser in Cumberland and who, most helpfully, kept a diary for the quarter of a century before his death (with only two gaps of any substance, between July 1769 and September 1770 and from February to October 1780). It has been published by the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, and is available for all to read. Fortunately, both as a yeoman farmer (to whom the weather was very important) and as a former schoolmaster and proud owner of a barometer, he was keenly interested in the weather. He makes reference to it on a regular basis throughout the period covered by his diaries. And so we have a detailed record of the weather for one part of northern England on an almost daily basis for a significant part of the period judged by some to represent the hallowed pre-industrial era with which we must compare modern temperatures and climate.

Of course, the diary does have limitations – Isaac didn’t have a Stevenson screen containing modern meteorological instruments. And so his diary can’t tell us things like wind speeds, how much rain fell, nor what the maximum and minimum temperature was on any given day. Nevertheless, subjective though his observations may have been, they shine a light on the weather in north west Cumberland during a significant quarter century. Let’s see what they reveal. I’ll take a detailed look at 1756, before offering more general comments, picking out some illustrations of extreme weather. This isn’t cherry-picking, as 1756 demonstrates. The weather throughout this period was very variable.

1756

January

The month started with “moderate weather”, but by the fourth it was stormy with “a flood of rain”. The following day saw “very wet weather” with high winds. The tenth saw “stormy weather & a flood”. Rain and wind continued for the next two days, then it turned colder for a couple of days with some snow and sleet. By the 15^th Isaac recorded that the tops of the hills were covered with snow. It continued to be cold until the 18^th when the wind turned to the south, but by the 19^th there was another “heavy storm of wind & rain”, which continued on the following day. The 21^st must have been pretty grim: “Dirty weather and a strong south west wind.” The weather seems to have continued wet and windy until it dried up during the afternoon of the 25^th after a very wet morning, then to Isaac’s relief things calmed down for the rest of the month.

February

The month started cold and bright, with frosts and by the fourth it was very cold with snow showers. Then three days of gales with some rain, followed by a brief period of calm then more gales. The 12^th saw another storm. More gales followed with heavy rain overnight on the 15^th. Gales again on the 16^th then cold by the 17^th, becoming very cold on the 18^th with the mountain tops again covered in snow. Cold again on the 19^th before turning milder with a period of “moderate weather”, before very wet and stormy weather returned on the 28^th.

March

A benign start to the month before the 4^th saw “wet dirty weather”, followed by two days of rain, then on the 7^th “stormy weather & a hard gale of wind”. The following day saw more “very wet dirty weather”, but things improved on the 9^th, and he started ploughing. It turned out to be a good decision (did his barometer help him to anticipate the weather?) because for the next week the weather was benign, and he carried on ploughing. By the 19^th it was once again very cold and across the Solway he could see “the Scotch mountains covered with snow”. It carried on being cold and frosty with snow on the 22^nd. The 23^rd continued cold and the ground was “covered thick with snow”, followed by a day of frost then another very cold day with snow. The month ended a little milder, but wet.

April

As the month began, there was still “an abundance of snow on the mountains”. But down in the valley it was foggy with some rain for the first few days. By the 11^th it was cold again, with hail showers and the wind coming out of the east. A brief milder spell was followed on the 16^th with more cold weather and snow on the mountains. The wind remained in the east until the 23^rd, when it came from the west, and this brought more rain, and stormy weather on the 24^th, though there was still snow on the hills. Even at the end of April, winter was reluctant to concede defeat. On the 29^th there was a very severe frost and “abundance of snow on hills”.

May

May started as April ended. “Cold weather; frost & snow” on the second. By the 5^th the wind was still from the north, bringing “wet snowy weather; abundance of snow upon the fells.” The following day saw “snow & rain inclinable to frost” before the temperatures finally relented, not that the weather was kind, as although it was warmer, it rained a lot. As late as 11^th May Isaac was still commenting about the snow on Skiddaw, Grasmoor, etc. Finally it turned warm on the 14^th and at last on the 15^th Isaac enjoyed “very warm pleasant weather”. By the 18^th, not only was the weather fine, but Isaac was describing it as “hot”. Ten decent days followed, but by the end of the month it was again cold – “thick” rainy weather on the 26^th, and cold for the rest of the month.

June

Just as May ended cold, so June started, albeit it was “pretty sunny” on the 2^nd. Showers followed before it turned hot and thundery on the 5^th. Then on the 6^th it was cold again. A week of showers followed, before it turned stormy on the 13^th. The 14^th was cold and the 15^th saw a “hard gale of wind”. Remember, this is June – just a few days before the summer solstice. By the 17^th it was thundery, then it turned showery. On the 20^th his diary contains a cryptic comment: “Loss upwards of £2,000 by a storm of hail in the counties of Kent & Essex (July last)”. Solstice day itself saw “cold weather & pretty strong gale of wind”. The following day saw “fine warm weather”, before turning hot and thundery on the 24^th, yet the 25^th saw “wet dirty weather”. Isaac was at Whitehaven on that day, and it appears he intended to go out to sea, but he couldn’t, due to the weather. He was at Whitehaven for the rest of the month, failing to get to sea due to contrary winds and, on the 30^th, fog.

July

July saw Isaac on his travels, for on the first he finally got to sea, the wind being “fair but very moderate”. It stayed that way on the 2^nd but blew up on the 3^rd. Isaac suffered from sea sickness “all the day, but never got to heaving”. On the 4^th, though, the ship was becalmed off Dublin Bay. Fine sailing weather followed, with a good breeze, until they were again becalmed on the afternoon of the 7^th. On the 8^th he landed at Chepstow, and was shocked by the heat of the south. On the 9^th – “Extreem [sic] hot weather and almost burned with the scorching heat of the sun”. On the 12^th, Isaac was still reporting “very hot weather”, and on the following day he writes of “very hot sultry weather”. On the 15^th it was still “Hot weather, sultry & little wind”. Very warm weather on the 17^th, followed by very hot weather on the 18^th. Hot weather on the 19^th and on the 20^th it was very hot with rain and thunder in the afternoon. Very fine weather on the 21^st was followed by thunder on the 22^nd. Showers and warm weather followed, but on the 27^th (at Bath) it was hot. Pleasant warm weather on the 28^th was followed on the 29^th by some rain, and it was sultry.

August

The beginning of August saw Isaac still in Bath, and he reported rainy weather. On the 2^nd he encountered showers at Bristol. On the 4^th he was back on board a ship, headed for home, though progress was slow. On the 5^th, the boat was still in the river Wye, and it was hot. On the 6^th it was very hot. Journeys were leisurely, perhaps because Isaac was using a trading ship to take him – and some cargo – home. He seems to have been at Chepstow for a while, and on the 8^th he went to see the ruins of Tintern Abbey, where it was very hot. On the 9^th it was warm and on the 10^th, having loaded his cargo, he was at sea. Becalmed on the 12^th, with little wind on the 13^th, the wind “sprang up” on the 14^th. On the 16^th, in Dublin, it was wet. By the 19^th he was back at Whitehaven, and he was home on the 21^st, where he was greeted by cloudy weather, and very little wind. He was pleased with his corn, which “looks well for a good crop”. It was warm on the 22^nd and showery on the 23^rd and 24^th, warm again on the 25^th and 26^th. The weather continued fine and warm, with occasional showers, for the rest of the month.

September

On the first of the month, Isaac’s meadows looked very well, and the weather was fine. The following day was warm, but by the 3^rd it was moist and foggy with some rain. The 5^th was showery, the 6^th was fine, and the 7^th was hot with a southerly wind. The 9^th was fine, but the 10^th was wet in the morning, and the wind had moved to the north. The next day was again fine, and the wind was now out of the west. The weather continued for days in a settled pattern – the 12^th saw “moderate weather” and was cloudy and the following day was the same, but with the addition of some showers. The 14^th was cloudy with some rain, but the 15^th was fine, with sunshine in the afternoon. The 17^th was fine too, but by the 18^th the weather was cold and cloudy. Importantly the 19^th was fine harvesting weather (Isaac was still finishing the hay mow), and it stayed that way for the best part of a week, before it became very rainy on the afternoon of the 25^th. It continued raining on the 26^th, but was fine on the 27^th, and the weather on the 29^th was “moderate”.

October

The month began with showery rain, turning heavy on the afternoon of the 2^nd. The following day saw the advent of stormy weather with the wind blowing hard. The 5^th was showery, and the 6^th was showery, but also cold. Autumn had definitely arrived, for the 7^th saw a violent storm of wind from the west from noon until 4pm. “It tore up abundance of large trees by the roots, uncovered many houses, & did abundance of damage all over the country”. The next day it was still “blowing pretty strong” with showers of hail and rain, with a cold northerly wind. Isaac was “righting the corn” for “there was not one shock standing in all the neighbourhood”. By the following day the wind (“a very great wind”) was from the south, and it was very wet. Then things settled down briefly, the 10^th merely being “cloudy but moderate weather with some rain”. But the 11^th was very wet, and the 12^th saw “great showers of rain”. The 13^th was very cold with a strong west wind and showers, and the weather was causing problems with the corn in the fields still wet. Worse was to come, with work on the 14^th being deferred due to it being “so very wet”, with “a great flood in the afternoon”. Then it calmed down again, the 15^th & 16^th seeing “moderate weather” with some showers. Luckily this continued, and on the 19^th, perhaps against the odds, Isaac “got in two cart loads of oats in the afternoon”. The 20^th was wet in the morning, but on the 21^st Isaac finally got the corn in. The 22^nd saw “moderate weather” and the 23^rd was fine, and the 24^th was a moderate cloudy day. By the 26^th wind was strong from the east and it had turned very cold. The following day was fine, but still cold, and the month closed out with more “moderate weather”.

November

November started as October ended, but by the 5^th it was very cold and rainy, and the 6^th “blew very fresh” with a cold north wind. The 7^th saw a very hard frost, and the wind was still from the north. And so it continued – cold and frosty – though by the 10^th the wind was coming out of the east. The hard frosts continued, though the 13^th was at least fine. Then it turned milder but wetter, before the return of an easterly wind and frost on the 18^th, with a hard frost on the 19^th. By the 21^st, it wasn’t just cold, there were now snow showers. The 22^nd was very cold, with a hard frost and the earth covered with snow. More sharp frosts followed on the 23^rd and the 24^th, and another frost occurred on the 25^th, before a very rainy day on the 26^th. Sharp frost again on the 27^th was followed by fog and wet weather for the rest of the month.

December

The month commenced gently, with “moderate weather” and some rain, but by the 5^th it was cold and snowing, followed by two days of frost and hard frost. A period of moderate weather followed, with rain on the 14^th, and a very wet night on the 15^th. It was very stormy on the 17^th and wet on the 18^th, showery on the 19^th, but stormy weather returned on the 20^th, with “a hard gale of wind”. A few days of moderate weather followed before it turned frosty on Christmas Eve. It remained frosty for most of the rest of the month, and ended with “moderate weather”. Isaac uses the phrase a lot – it seems to me that it represents weather that isn’t particularly worthy of comment, i.e. not extreme in any way.

How can we classify the weather in 1756? A very long and cold winter, not really ending completely until May, and even June saw some atrocious weather. The summer was short but hot (very hot at times – oh for a thermometer). The autumn was stormy and wet with flooding, and the year closed out cold and frosty. Is that any less “chaotic”, any less “extreme”, any “better” than the weather we are experiencing here today? It’s difficult to say with certainty, since Isaac’s diaries contain subjective assessments, and lack hard data. However, my take from reading the diaries is that things are no more extreme or wose now than they were then – possibly the reverse is true.

1757 – 1781

Space doesn’t permit an almost daily recital of the weather for the years 1757-1781, so I confine myself to matters particularly worthy of mention. Having said that, there are rather more of them than I expected.

1757

January and February contain numerous references to stormy weather, but a few are particularly worthy of note, such as those for 17^th – 19^th January. The 17^th saw “a great snow and a hard gale of wind” while the 18^th was more problematic:

In the evening & night a very hard gale of wind from the West & WSW with a flood of rain, the melting of the snow which was pretty thick swelled the rivulets and made them overflow in many places.

The following day was costly:

A hard gale of wind; westerly. Mercury 28.3 [Isaac did love his barometer]. The Nicholas, snow, [a type of boat] from Jamaica, Captain Robert Ginins, was put into Whitehaven by stress of weather being too late in the tide, came aground a little within the old quay end & between 11 & 12 this night beat up with the sea and was entirely lost….A Scotch brig at same time got into the new quay & was saved that tide but sunk the next.

March also saw stormy weather – on the 15^th “A great storm of wind & snow mixt with rain”. Six days later there was a great flood of rain, then the 23^rd was terrible:

A violent storm of wind & rain from the WSW which continued about 24 hours. It blew very hard most of the time with some loud claps of thunder about 2 in the morning & continued lightning most of the night. Very considerable damage is done in many places unroofing of houses & some blown down. Conciderable [sic] damage done to the shipping: a Liverpool guinea man, but last from the West Indies, lost upon the coast near Harrington back. All the hands lost but one boy:all found viz 11 & all buried at Harrington church.

Two days later there was a great quantity of snow, and as late as 12^th April there was still a great abundance of snow on the hills.

Yet late in June and through July the diary entries contain numerous references to hot, very hot and even “extreem” [sic] hot weather. But then, when getting in the harvest, on 26^th August, in the afternoon, there was a great storm of wind and rain and a great flood.

1758

April commenced cold with snow, which persisted. 16^th April saw “A very great storm of snow from the SW which continued all the day. Very deep & great drufts [sic] & a hard gale of wind”.

The summer seems to have been fine, dry and hot, yet on 27^th July Isaac recorded “A very great flood last night”. It was causing him problems on the 29^th – “the flood had damaged some of the hay with mudd”. [sic].

Another flood on the 8^th October. Isaac, stalwart Quaker that he was, attended a Friends’ meeting, but it was “A thin meeting on account of the storm & flood. Rain the whole day & strong gale of wind”. On the very next day it turned cold, and the hills were already covered with snow.

1759

Floods seem almost to have been a commonplace. 28^th January was “a very rainy day & a flood”. As late as 30^th March Isaac was recording “Deep snow & hard frost”. Then April saw prolonged dry weather, with Isaac commenting on 28^th April “a very dry season” which persisted throughout May. Then, suddenly, on 29^th May: “the hills covered with snow. Very cold.” June and July were hot or very hot, but then in time for haymaking, August saw a lot of rain, though there was good weather for harvesting in September.

As we have seen, Isaac was pretty tough, an inveterate traveller, and not easily put off by the weather. Yet, on 13^th December he wrote: “Designed for Whitehaven, but the weather being so extreamly [sic] cold prevented me.”

1760

The middle of February was cold with a lot of snow – on the 16^th: “Very cold frost & thick snow”. Three days later there was a very poor turnout for the monthly meeting of Quakers: “Very few people on account of the great snow then falling”.

7^th July contains a cryptic comment, which today’s climate alarmists would love: “Very uncertain weather: extreams [sic] of heat & cold.”

28^th September: “A hard gale of wind from the south & a flood”. On 22^nd October he set off for Whitehaven, but failed to get there and returned home on account of a great storm. After a benign harvest period, the weather seems to have gone downhill badly, for on 1^st November Isaac reports “A great storm of rain and wind & a flood” and on the following day “A stormy day & a flood”. 6^th December saw “Sharp frost & thick snow” but the following day saw “A great rain & flood: snow going of [sic] very fast”. Rain continued and the 12^th was another very stormy day. Christmas Eve offered no respite: “A stormy day & a hard gale of wind southerly; a flood in the evening”. The 27^th was another very rainy day which brought another flood. The 28^th sees an infuriatingly cryptic reference: “Did not go to the Quaker meeting, the weather so very unseasonable”.

1761

1761 commenced as 1760 ended – with a great storm and a flood. March also commenced with “a hard gale of wind & storm”. As late as 8^th April Isaac was reporting snow and very cold weather. On 1^st May he went fishing, “but the weather was so bad got nothing” and on the following day it was “very cold showry [sic] weather; thick snow on the hills”. The summer seems to have been hot (but unfortunately we cannot say how hot), then on 29^th October there was another flood of rain. Isaac went to London in November, and while there he received a letter on the 28^th informing him of the events of the 20^th – “a very great flood at Cockermouth. Great damage done thereby in our warehouse & at sundry other places in the said town etc.” Back home, on 14^th December, he went to Cockermouth to see for himself, and wrote “The flood done us some considerable damage”.

1762

January 31^st must indeed have been a stormy day, as Isaac reports, for it stopped him going to the Quaker meeting, which he attended religiously (a pun he probably wouldn’t have appreciated). February was a very cold month with frost and snow, which continued into March. As late as 10^th March, after days of snow, Isaac reported “Very cold: snow thick upon the ground”, but then two days later: “A continual storm of rain & a great flood occasioned by the melting of the snow”. It soon turned cold again, however, and as late as 29^th March Isaac reports on “A very cold snowy day” and on the following day he tells us that there was much snow on the hills.

In May Isaac was off to London again, and either it was unseasonably warm, or this inhabitant of the north couldn’t readily cope with the heat of the south. On the 27^th he wrote: “the heat of the weather, dusty roads, little rest & fatigue considered”. The next two days he described as very hot. It must have been a hot dry season, since back at home he reports on 26^th June: “Weather still very hot & dry. Very little grass”.

After a benign early autumn he writes on 9^th October that it has turned cold, and on the following day, wearing his lawyer’s hat, he refers cryptically to gaining a brief “upon the hail storm in the county of Berks”. By 7^th November, there is “A deep snow & very cold weather”. December ends with several references to sharp frosts.

1763

And 1763 commenced with references to sharp and severe frosts. On 12^th February “A very deep snow and blowed much in drifts. Lanes full.”. This was followed by days of frost and snow, then on 26^th February “A stormy day and great flood”. After little comment about weather over the spring and summer, 2^nd October brought “A very stormy day and a great flood”. Then winter arrived on 19^th November – hard frost and snow, and on the following day “Very cold & sharp weather with snow”. But on 1^st December the weather again prevented him from travelling, as planned, to Whitehaven: “Was intended for Whitehaven but the great storm & flood prevented me”. Only eleven days later: “Did not get to Cockermouth on account of the snow”. After Christmas, plans to travel to Wigton were rendered difficult – on the 27^th “A very snowy day. Set forward in afternoon for Wigton but returned”. And on the following day: “Set forward again this morning for Wigton…& got there through great difficulty”.

1764

January doesn’t offer us much out of the ordinary, though the 13^th offers us a cryptic reference to “Very bad, uncertain weather”, and the last day of the month brought very stormy weather. This seems to have culimated in February – the 6^th saw a continuation of “still very wet, unseasonable weather”. What Isaac means by this is a mystery, but I assume that “seasonable weather” in early February would have involved cold and snow rather than masses of rain. In any event, on the 11^th:

Went to Cockermouth. A very great flood. It was near half yard deep in the warehouse, but little damage done.

And on the following day:”A stormy day and another flood” with more stormy weather on the 14^th.

The summer solstice brought “extreem [sic] hot weather”. What a shame Isaac kept detailed barometrical records, but didn’t use a thermometer. Late summer and autumn saw Isaac complaining repeatedly of “very slow hay weather”, and on 29^th September he complained that the harvest was late due to the showery weather, and he was complaining again on 2^nd October about “uncertain” weather. 6^th December brought a “very stormy day”, before the month ended with hard frosts, followed by a gentle thaw on New Year’s Eve.

1765

24^th February was a very stormy day, and it must have been bad, for it prevented Isaac from getting to the Quaker meeting. Snow and hail persisted through much of March, with very stormy weather on the 24^th. As late as 20^th April it was still very cold, with hail and snow. Then the spring was very dry, and on 25^th May Isaac was bemoaning “Very dry weather; ground hard”. It remained hot and dry for three weeks more. Some showers on 15^th June helped, but on 29^th June Isaac was writing that “The drought now as severe as before. A bad prospect for hay”. And on 6^th July: “Viewing the hay ground: grass very short & much burnt up by drought”. There was no respite. On 13^th July Isaac complained that crops were very thin and full of mould, and on 17^th July: “A very severe drought: very little hay”. Three days later it was hot and Isaac was still worrying about the hay. He was mowing on the 22^nd, but the hay was “very thin”. Mowing again on 30^th July, the problem persisted: “Very thin: the drought very severe”. And 1^st August was “extreem [sic] hot”. On 7^th August he finished getting in the hay (such as it was) but “Drought continues”. As late as 16^th August Isaac writes of “Very fine weather. Drought still continues.” Finally, on 31^st August, “Weather is now broken & showry [sic]” but, wouldn’t you know it, on 1^st September: “A very stormy day”. Poor Isaac. On 6^th September: “A great wind in the forenoon with heavy rain after. Corn & fruit suffers”. By the end of October (writing on 2^nd November) “This week mostly cold weather with hail & snow”. December was cold and frosty. What a year.

1766

January started cold and frosty as December had ended, and by February, winter was really making itself felt. 12^th February: “A great snow fell last night. It lies generally above a foot deep. Frost.” On the next day: “Snow much blown into drifts. Roads unpassable”. On the 14^th: “Snow and frost. No moving from home.” And on the following day: “Lime kiln gone out. Could not get it brought away on account of the snow”. On the 16^th he struggled to the Quaker meeting, but not many did: “At meeting: but thin on account of snow”, and two days later the monthly meeting (the Quakers did attend a lot of meetings) was also poorly attended on account of the snow. Winter wouldn’t let up. 1^st March was still very cold, and on the 4^th: “A great snow last night & this morning, so could not go to Keswick as we had proposed”. On 2st March “Cold sharp weather” and on the following day “A very great snow came on in the afternoon”.

Then suddenly everything changed, and April’s entries are peppered with references to very fine weather. On the 27^th Isaac talks of “Very fine weather & a forward spring”. Isaac was away on business for much of May and early June, but on his return to Cumberland he was unimpressed with the weather, which “seems very unsettled” (10^th June). It continued that way, and on 28^th June Isaac complains: “Still showry [sic] wet weather; the roads dirty”. Only on 3^rd July did Isaac express a little optimism about the weather: “A warm day & begins to look like settled weather”. And indeed the hay crop, gathered in through July and August, did well, with some fine warm weather. But August ended “very stormy” (the 29^th) and 1^st September was “wet and blowy”. That month continued wet, and caused problem with the harvest. Isaac was still busy (“thrang” to use the Cumbrian dialect word, though he spelled it “throng”) on 20^th September, when he complained of “A wet, late season”. October was better, and he got his winter wheat planted without difficulty, but the month ended very stormily – 25^th “a very wet stormy day”; 26^th at the Quaker meeting (“Very thin [attendance] on account of the stormy day”); and 27^th “a stormy day”.

December was pleasantly fine for the most part, but the 12^th brought “A heavy easterly storm & flood, so could not get the Moss surveyed as we proposed”.

1767

The year started cold and snowy, so much so that on the 5^th Isaac “Did not go to Cockermouth on account of the snow”, and the following days saw more snow and harsh frosts. By the 10^th Isaac reported that Loweswater was frozen over and people were skating on it. That night there was so much snow that the Quaker meeting on the 11^th was cancelled. And so it continued: on the 12^th “Snow still continues to fall so that it is above a yard deep”; 13^th “No going out of the house the snow lyeth so deep”; 14^th “A very strong NE wind which blows the snow into very great drifts”; 16^th “Snow the same…Severe frost.” 17^th “Snow & frost continue”. 18^th “Could not get to the Meeting for the deep snow.”. 19^th “Could not get to Cockermouth for the deep snow”. On the 20^th

At Monthly Meeting. But 10 men & one woman, so could not go thro’ the business…It appears by the account received from different places of this neighbourhood that there will be a very great loss among the sheep, a great number being already taken out dead from under the mountainous drifts of snow which will be yet some weeks in being thawed away.

On the following day a thaw started, but it froze again before night, and in the 22^nd it rained, but the thaw was slow, and by the 23^rd the wind had returned to the north and it froze hard. On the 24^th, much snow was gone from the fields, though snow drifts still filled the lanes, then on the 25^th, as the thaw went on, there was a flood. Yet still the drifts clogged the roads so badly that on the 26^th they again prevented Isaac from going to Cockermouth, and he wasn’t able to get there until the 29^th. In the meantime (on the 28^th) he reported that several of his fruit trees were broken to pieces by the snow.

It seems that every time Isaac went to do something in connection with the Moss, the weather thwarted his plans. On 20^th February “A storm of wind & rain so could not go out to lay off the shares in the Moss”.

The weather remained cold and unsettled, and as late as 15^th March Isaac wrote “The snow pretty thick; very cold weather.” All through May, and as late as 4^th June, Isaac’s diary is peppered with references to “very cold” and “cold”. On the day before the summer solstice he wrote “The cold dry weather yet continue[s]”.

On 18^th September, having gathered in his wheat, isaac calls it “A good crop, but suffered with weather.” On 3^rd October he was still “thrang” with the harvest, and complains of “an uncommon wet season”. The year ended with hard frosts and snow.

1768

And 1768 commenced with hard frosts and snow, which continued until 12^th January, which was “a very stormy day”. Spring and summer were interspersed with alternate references to “very cold” and “very hot”, but no dramatic weather seems to have occurred, which must have been a relief. Having said that, references to weather in the early part of 1768 are few and far between, Isaac seemingly been preoccupied with that year’s election (his diaries are full of references to it).

From mid-November, into December, there were storms and unsettled weather. 15^th November: “A hard gale of wind and stormy weather”. On the 16th “The gale hardens and the storm grows more violent”. On the 21^st “Did not go to Cockermouth. Very wet stormy weather”. On the 28^th “Did not go to Cockermouth. A very stormy day.” 1^st December: “Hedging this week at Bankheads top. The wind has blown most of it over.” 4^th: “Unsettled weather and much rain with high winds”. The winter solstice brought “Very stormy and unsettled weather” and Christmas Day was worse – “Very stormy; a great flood”. On the 30^th: “Very stormy,” and the year ended with the weather continuing wet and unsettled.

1769

The year started with what we might regard as normal winter weather, but it turned particularly cold and frosty in February, with a fair bit of snow. And spring was no better. On 1^st April Isaac wrote of “Very cold season: frost in the nights; snow on the hills.” As late as 15^th April he was complaining of very cold weather. 12^th June: “Weather still very cold for the season”. Yet July was hot or “extreem” hot. That month Isaac took very ill, and he failed to write the diary for the rest of the year.

1770

Isaac resumed his diary only in late September 1770, but it’s not long before he’s complaining of very wet weather. On 2^nd November, he records getting in the last of the corn, but says it was “wet & in bad condition”. December commenced with stormy weather.

1771

The year started “very wet & stormy”. It turned frosty from the 4^th, and continued that way until a thaw on the 23^rd. The month ended with another “very hard gale of wind”. March started cold. The 3^rd was very cold with a strong NE wind, and on the 9^th the frost was so hard that it stopped Isaac from ploughing. Then the 12^th & 13^th saw gales and storms. But winter hadn’t finished, and on 24^th March Isaac failed to attend the Quaker meeting because of “the weather [being] so very cold; a severe frost. Stopt [sic] ploughing latter end of the week on that account”. April’s weather started fine, but still cold – on the 6^th Isaac records “hard frost in the nights.” It got worse. 14^th April: “Weather cold & sharp frost”. On the 15^th “Snow & very hard frost.” 16^th: “The frost continues. It stops ploughing.”

The end of May was cold and wet. 25^Th: “Showry [sic] cold weather.” 26^th: “A great flood.” And although on 1^st June Isaac thought “Weather seems to be settling again and more moderate at present”, it didn’t last. June 2^nd was “a wet day”, the 4^th was still unsettled and the 6^th was cold. Then the 7^th was “N.B. A very hot day.” Why NB? Was it unusually hot? Certainly Isaac says the 10^th & 11^th were both very hot. But then on the 16^th he didn’t get to the meeting, “it being so very wet.” That, however, is the only such reference for the rest of the month, which is peppered with references to hot and very hot weather. But August was difficult – showery and uncertain weather, when he wanted to be getting in the hay. It continued thus through September, then on 7^th October, “A very stormy day, so did not go to Cockermouth,” followed by a stormy next day, and a strong gale of wind on the 9^th. On the 12^th: “Very wet last night and a flood.” Then the 13^th: “A very stormy day & a very great wind & flood. Did not get to Meeting. Becks much out.” 14^th: “A stormy day, so did not go to Cockermouth.” On the 21^st it was again very stormy, and on the 23^rd: “Weather still very uncertain. Very high winds, storms of rain and great floods.” The next day “A very stormy day & a great flood.” This awful weather caused problems days later. On 3^rd November: “Went to Meeting. Roads very dirty & wet, so that it is with difficulty that I can get along.” November was little better. On the 10^th “A very wet day. Did not go to the Meeting.” 11^th: “A very stormy day and a flood, so did not get to Cockermouth…”. On the 15^th “A very wet stormy day & a flood.” 16^th: “A very stormy day and a very great flood in the night. Waters the hig[h]est they have been for several years.”

1772

January was cold. On the 16^th “Sharp frost & excessive cold.” 17^th: “Frost.” 18^th: “Hard frost & likely to continue.” 19^th: “Frost.” 21^st: “Very hard frost & a covering of snow”. 22^nd: “Frost”. On the 23^rd “The frost continue”. On the 25^th “Frost and very cold, sharp weather.” 26^th: “A snowy day. Did not go to meeting, the snow about a foot thick.” 27^th: “Did not go to Cockermouth. Snow deep and a sharp frost and very cold.” 28^th: “Sharp frost & snow”. On the 29^th “Sharp frost”. On the 30^th “Frost so slape [Cumbrian dialect word for “slippy”] that I durst not go to Meeting. Very cold.” 1^st February: “The frost continue & a pretty thick cover of snow.” 5^th February: “The frost & cold very severe. Hard weather.” After a brief thaw, the frost and snow continued for most of the rest of the month, so it lasted on and off (mostly on) for a good six weeks. Even in the middle of March, winter wouldn’t give up: 14^th – “Cold sharp weather.” 15^th: “Sharp frost”. On the 16^th “Sharp frost.” 17^th: “Very cold weather”. On the 18^th March “A great snow this morning, in general about ankle deep”. As late as 18^th April Isaac complains of cold weather, and on the 19^th of another sharp frost.

The summer passed without incident, but by 3^rd October, Isaac is reporting on “A very wet day and a flood. Weather yet is very unsettled.” Other than a week of good dry weather, he complained all through October that it was wet and unsettled (no good when the last of the harvest was being brought in), then on the 29^th: “A very stormy day and a flood.” November carried on in the same vein: a strong gale of wind on the first, and on the 6^th: “Weather mostly very stormy & great floods so that we can’t get up the potatoes.” And so it continued, with the 13^th seeing stormy weather with “fire” [presumably lightning], thunder and rain. On the 14^th, the wet weather was still preventing him getting up his potatoes. On the 20^th another storm, and on the 21^st, “Weather is still very uncertain and inclined to high winds & much rain.” On the 23^rd: “A storm & very great flood last night & this morning.” By 12^th December he is still reporting frequent floods.

1773

A frosty start to the year, turning stormy around the middle of January. On the 18^th “A very windy stormy day.” 19^th: Few people at the Meeting due to a very stormy day and a flood. By the end of the month it was once more cold and frosty with snow on the hills. And so it carried on for the first two weeks of February before turning stormy on the 13^th. 1^st March saw “A very stormy day & a great flood.” On the 2^nd: “The storm came on again in the night and continued about 24 hours. A very great wind and flood which got into the low garden but did little damage.” The rest of March was fine, though with some frost at night. But on the 12^th April: “Weather cold; great showers of hail & snow upon the hills.” And on the 17^th, “A great storm in the night.” Also on the 22^nd: “a storm & very great flood in the night.”

May started cold, as so often. On the 1^st “A very cold blowy day with several showers of snow.” 2^nd: “Very cold & snow”. On the 4^th “Cold weather; much snow on the hills. Frost in the nights which will much hurt the blossoms for fruit.” 10^th: “A fine day but the eastern mountains cover’d thick with snow. Very cold & sharp frost.” 11^th: “The fells still cover’d thick with snow, more than I ever saw before so late in the season.” 20^th: “A cold showry [sic] day. The grass come very slowly yet.” At last, on the 25^th, spring arrived, though its delayed arrival was causing problems:

A very fine day & warm weather…Beasts [i.e. cattle] mostly put out to grass which is yet but short on account of the cold weather and great snow on the fore part of this month.”

Fortunately June was fine and very warm or hot, and by the 28^th Isaac was able to report “The grass now grow very fast…” but he couldn’t help reminding himself “…but was late in getting forward on account of the cold spring etc.”

July was also fine and the hay-making went well. On the 24^th Isaac was feeling good about the farm, about how much hay was collected in, and commented “A very fine season.” August was mostly hot or very hot, but by the middle of September summer was certainly over. On the 12^th “A very great storm and flood this afternoon & night; the beck very great.” And on the 16^th: “A great storm & flood”. On the 18^th: “Weather still continues broken & unsettled. Cold showers & sudden storms of wind & rain.” 3^rd October: “A very wet stormy day.” 4^th: “Did not go to Cockermouth, weather so very unseasonable.” 7^th: “Weather still very unsettled; heavy rain & high winds.” 5^th November: “Weather continue very wet. Great storms of wind & rain from the south. Can’t get the wheat put in [i.e. can’t plant the winter wheat] on said account.”

After a stormy autumn, winter arrived early. 24^th November: “Very cold weather; frost & snow.” 25^th: “Frost & snow continue”.

1774

The old year had ended with a sharp frost, and so 1774 started. And it carried on. 7^th January: “Severe frost; most of the loughs froze.” After a brief thaw, 17^th January sees Isaac reporting “A great snow & frost.” 18^th: “Very sharp frost & snow upon the ground.” The meeting on the 18^th was poorly attended on account of the snow, and on the 20^th: “Snow & very sharp frost; the roads glaz’d; dangerous riding.” 23^rd: “A thick snow last night and this day no meeting kept. The snow lays about half a yard deep.” 24^th: “The snow continues. As there is little wind it lays yet in common about ½ yard deep. No going to Cockermouth or elsewhere without necessity oblige. Hard frost.” 25^th: “Snow the same and hard froze. No cattle, sheep etc can get anything upon the ground but must be all fed. A very severe season.” 26^th: “Snow continues & it looks as though we would have more.” Then there was the briefest of thaws, but it offered no respite. 27^th: “The snow is a little gone and it thaws, tho’ but very slowly. No meeting held…this day, the snow so thick & deep. Very bad traviling [sic].” Something of a thaw occurred through the next days, but freezing overnight temperatures made things icy and dangerous. 30^th “Went to the Meeting, but thin. [i.e. poorly attended]. The roads all in a glaze with ice. Very dangerous traviling [sic] either on horseback or on foot. A covering of snow yet continue.” 31^st: “Did not go to Cockermouth on account of the roads being one continued platt of ice.” And it continued thus until 12^th February, when there was a storm. The 13^th saw very stormy weather and a flood. The 19^th saw another very great storm and wind. The 21^st was stormy with snow, and the 22^nd & 24^th were also stormy. On 2^nd March it was very cold and the ground was covered with snow. Then on the 6^th it was very stormy. As late as April the weather was still cold, poor and problematic. 3^rd “Weather appears to be breaking & unsettled.” 4^th “Did not get to Cockermouth on account of the day being so very stormy…The day continued showry [sic] and very cold.” 5^th “Much snow on the hills.” 15^th “Weather more cold and showry [sic].” 18^th “A cold showry [sic] day.” 22^nd “Weather cold and showers of hail.” And while May wasn’t so bad as the year before, on 7^th May: “Weather very dry but cold easterly winds & frost in nights.” 23^rd “Weather still continue cold.” 27^th “The weather contimues cold; the grass comes but very slow.” 28^th “Weather showry [sic] but still cold.” Even as late as 23^rd June Isaac was still noting “Weather still cold & showry [sic].”

The summer and autumn passed without much meteorological comment or interest, but December definitely saw the sharp return of winter. 3^rd December: “Intended to have gone to Workington yesterday but was prevented by the weather: a very snowy day. And this day a great storm of rain from the south east.”

1775

10^th, 11^th and 16^th January were stormy or very stormy, as were the 19^th, 24^th & 25^th February. At least the great cold, snow and ice of the previous winters seem to have kept away. Or they did until March, when Isaac might have been looking forward to spring. 4^th March: “A very bad snowy day and severe weather.” 7^th “A cold day of showers and hail.” 9^th “A very violent storm and flood. Wind about SSW and blew very hard. Much ship-wreck on the coasts.” 11^th “A very stormy day…a very great flood.” 29^th “A thick snow and very sharp frost”. 30^th “Weather yet cold and frosty.” Only on 1^st April did Isaac report that the snow and frost were mostly gone. Thankfully April was dry and towards the end of the month even hot – as Isaac said on the 22^nd “a pretty fine season.” But then much of early – mid May was cold and showery. Yet June started hot and dry. On the 1^st “Weather continues hot and dry” and on the 2^nd “Weather still continues very hot and dry; to appearance a drought.” So it continued for most of the month, but in July, as he was wanting to start hay-making, it turned showery. On 8^th July “General complaint this year that the hay is very thinn [sic] owing to the dry weather.” 9^th August: “Last night much rain and a flood.”

1776

January was cold, snowy and frosty. By the end of the month it was desperately cold. 28^th “Extream [sic] cold and very sharp frost. Likely to continue. It has been now three weeks frost. 29^th “Did not go to Cockermouth on account of the extreem [sic] cold & sharp frost. It freezes to the very fire sides.” 30^th “The weather the same. All the water all-most froze up. Can scarce get for the cattle. Nothing but good springs now open.” 31^st “The weather pretty much the same. A great complaint of the potatoes being frosted, the frost being so very severe so no cover can save them.” Finally it thawed in early February, only for it to be stormy on the 4^th. On the 9^th “A very stormy day; wind south and blew very hard in the night. Did damage to several houses etc. Intended to have gone to Workington but prevented by weather.”

Later in the month he went to southern Scotland, but while there the weather caused him problems in early March. On 3^rd March: “Came on a great snow.” Travelling home was difficult. He had to halt his journey for four hours until the snow eased. The 5^th & 6^th were cold, and by the 7^th he was ready to sail back across the Solway to Cumberland but the weather thwarted him: “A great storm of wind with snow and rain from the SE. A very heavy sea getting into this place. Well we did not go out to sea in the night before the storm.” 8^th “Wind…blowing hard and a great sea setting into this place. No prospect of a passage yet.” It wasn’t until the 10^th that the storm abated sufficiently for him to sail home. Once home, a few days later, on the 19^th, it was wet and stormy.

May started cold, and on the 18^th Isaac complained “A strong NE wind and very cold. It stops the spring.” Clearly it did, because on the 26^th he was complaining of a great scarcity of grass. In July he went back to the south of Scotland, but the weather there was as difficult as on his previous visit earlier in the year. On 7^th July Isaac wrote “Stay’d here this day. Very wet and stormy. A great flood, so could not get but little out of the house.” But thereafter it was a decent summer, and he was well pleased with the hay that year.

Then autumn did what it so regularly did. On 19^th October, “Stormy in the afternoon and a flood.” But mostly the autumn was pretty decent, and it did not deteriorate until the middle of November. The 15^th saw “A very stormy day and a flood” as did the 18^th, when the weather was so bad it stopped him going to Cockermouth. On the 24^th it turned cold, and remained that way, with frosts, for the rest of the month, before 1^st December brought “A great storm & flood”. The 22^nd also saw “A stormy night and a flood”, then on Christmas Eve it turned cold and frosty and stayed like that, with some snow, for the rest of the year.

1777

The new year started as the old one ended. On the 2^nd, Isaac reported “The weather continues very severe frost and snow. Can do nothing out of doors.” On the 4^th “Weather the same: the snow covers the ground about three inches deep and hard froze, so that the goods [i.e. cattle] can get little.” On the 8^th “Weather very severe frost, which has continued now two weeks.” On the 10^th “Severe frost and snow about 3 inches deep.” The following day there was a thaw, but as so often happens in such cases, the change in the weather was simply to something else problematic. The 12^th was a very stormy day, and the 13^th was stormy too. The month ended very cold, and 1^st February saw “Weather very severe: frost and snow.” It continued, remorselessly. The 10^th & 11^th “Cold hard weather”. On the 18^th “The weather very severe; frost & snow.” On the 20^th “A thick snow about a foot or half a yard deep in general. Some considerable drifts.” On the next day “A strong east wind & showers of snow….Snow pretty deep and blown into drifts.” On the 22^nd “The snow yet continues. Obliged to fodder the sheep twice a day.” Finally on the 23^rd there was a thaw. But on 8^th March it was cold with snow. March was again a cold month, and as late as the 30^th Isaac complained that it was a very cold day. April started fine, but with overnight frosts. It was still cold on the 12^th. On 16^th May Isaac wrote that the weather was cold and unsettled. Late May and June were better, and July was warm, but August was wet (as usual – hay time). The end of the month was Apocalyptic. On the 23^rd “Corn much laid down. Wheat appears to be a very bad crop. A great complaint of its being blasted.” On the 24^th “It came on a very great storm and flood. Much wet before I got home. The greatest flood here that hath been for several years. Water run thro’ the byar [sic], fill’d the cellar and the swine house, so was obliged to remove the swine.” The following day “Weather wet & stormy. Did not get to Cockermouth. Hay in many places wash’d away by the floods or almost cover’d with water upon the ground.” Gathering in the hay was problematic into September. On the 27^th Isaac complained that the barley crop was very poor and much grown over with weed. It was a bad barley crop that year in general, and the barley was very small.

The start of October was no better. On the 2^nd “A very great flood this night.” On the 4^th “Weather still continues to be unsettled. The corn in bad condition; beaten down to the ground and much grown over with weed.” On the 7^th “Corn very light this year and in general a failing crop.” It rained all day on the 8^th and was followed by a stormy night. On the 24^th “Weather broke; stormy and unsettled; great floods.” Two days later he didn’t get to the Meeting – the weather remained “stormy & unsettled.” The rest of the month was wet and on Halloween the potato crop was a disappointment – “they are not large but pretty rank”. 1^st November was cold with hail showers and the 2^nd was stormy. The potatoes were all up by the 6^th, small compared to the previous year and about only half the quantity. The month continued wet but ended with cold and snow – a “great fall” of snow on the night of the 28^th. December was uneventful, but ended as usual, New Year’s Eve seeing “Very hard weather with frost & snow, which concludes the year”.

1778

The first two days continued the bitter cold, the 3^rd saw a hard gale with snow, the 4^th brought hail showers. It was “Very slape [slippy] and dangerous walking”. The 8^th brought a sharp frost and snow on the hills. Despite that, the month ended with Isaac’s approbation: “Weather in general very moderate and fine for winter. Very little frost this winter”. As sometimes happened, winter seemed to continue into March. The 6^th was “A very snowy day; it lays now above six inches deep” and it was still lying on the 7^th. The snow didn’t persist, but the cold did. The 22^nd was “A very wet, stormy day so did not go to the Meeting as intended.” Cold, showers of hail followed, then on the 28^th a very wet day and a flood. And once again winter persisted into April, despite a brief hot spell in the second week. 21^st “A very snowy day & very cold weather.” 23^rd “Weather continues very cold and much snow on the hills. Severe frost in the nights.” Wet cold weather persisted as late as 8^th May. On 16^th May Isaac wrote “Weather continues very wet and cold for the season.” On the 20^th “Much barley yet to sow, weather has been so very wet & cold.” The 29^th and 31^st both saw Isaac write “A fine day but cold for the season.” The 1^st and 3^rd June were cold and showery and on the 5^th Isaac wrote “The weather continues cold and wet for the season. Sheep very low & in bad condition this season.”

It was 27^th June before Isaac recorded hot weather, then July was very hot. Then August did it again. On the 2^nd “A very stormy day. Did not get to the Meeting.” On the 5^th “A very stormy day and a great flood.” The 12^th was very stormy too, then Isaac noted with relief that the weather was settled and he could get on with gathering in the hay. Fine dry, even hot weather continued well into September. But then on the 16^th “A stormy night and a great flood.” Fortunately that was an aberration, the month improved, and there was a good harvest, which was just in time. On the 29^th “The weather seems now changeable & blows pretty hard.” On the 30^th “A stormy day…The weather seems to sett [sic] in very rough and stormy.” 1^st October was rough and stormy too, and on the 2^nd the weather was still unsettled. The corn was blown down and very wet. October was mostly fine but with frosty nights from as early as the 12^th. It was 18^th November before the first snow appeared on the hills. December commenced wet and stormy and the roads were in a very bad way. On the 11^th “Weather very stormy; almost one continued storm and floods. The ground very full of water; the meadows mostly overflowed.” The year ended with a very stormy day.

1779

January saw a lot of frost, but it can’t have been too bad because Isaac wasn’t complaining. The month ended with a storm. February saw a lot of wind, but compared to previous years it seems to have been mild, and on the 28^th Isaac wrote “Weather fair; spring very forward.” On 6^th March “Very fine weather. The spring uncommonly forward: trees buding [sic] and putting out their leaves like the middle of May.” On the 9^th “An extraordinary fine season…A very hot day.” He couldn’t get over it – on the 13^th “Extraordinary fine spring weather; season very forward.” On the 18^th “A very fine day…The forwardest spring known in the memory of any one here.” On the 26^th “Weather continues very favourable. Spring very forward; the leaves out on the thorn and some other trees.” On 4^th April, as though he still couldn’t believe it “Spring very forward”. He repeated this mantra on the 9^th and the 13^th. I suppose it couldn’t last. The 20^th was stormy, the 22^nd was very wet and cold, the 23^rd was very cold, then the 25^th saw “Very cold weather with frequent showers of hail…It came on storm and a flood.” The 28^th was very cold with hail showers. 1^st May saw cold weather inclining to frost. On the 2^nd Isaac recorded a hard frost the previous night and commented that although it was a fine day, it was cold for the season. Then, on 3^rd May “A very thick snow last night. It lay this morning about nine inches deep upon an average.” It soon melted, but it remained cold. Now the mantra was that it was cold for the season, and Isaac repeated this on 18^th and 22^nd May.

Then the weather turned dramatically again, and by the end of the month Isaac is writing about very hot days. June was very dry and sometimes hot, as was July. As usual the weather broke in August. On the 4^th “A very stormy day and a flood”, though this was thundery weather and it soon returned to being hot and dry. August contains several references to very hot days. September saw the weather hold decently for harvesting (and it was a good harvest) before turning wet on the 14^th, and staying “wet and unseasonable, but warm”. October began dry and fine, but as early as the 2^nd “inclined to frost”. By the middle of the month it was clearly autumn. On the 15^th “Came on storm about midnight. Ground full of water.” On the 18^th “A very stormy day with much thunder and lightning.” On the 19^th “Weather continues very bad and stormy; a very great flood”. On the 20^th “A heavy rain in the night….Ground very full of water, which hinders us from taking up the potatoes.” It dried up for a few days, but byt the 25^th was once again stormy and unsettled. The 28^th saw a storm of wind and rain in the night and a flood.

16^th November saw the first snow on the hills, and by the 21^st there was a hard frost. December was cold and frosty on and off, but ended very cold. New year’s Eve saw Isaac comment “The frost seems now to sett [sic] in more intense than before.”

1780

January started bitterly cold with very hard frosts, so much so that on 12^th January Isaac wrote “Weather very sharp; the frost got into the houses. Froze the piss in the pous under the beds. Some potatoes frosted in the houses.” People were ice skating on Loweswater on the 15^th – just in time as a thaw commenced on the next day. But the bitter cold and frost returned by the 20^th, and continued for the rest of the month and into February. It continued for at least a couple of weeks, but then Isaac’s diary ceases, once again due to serious illness, and recommences only in late October. November was cold and frosty, with a considerable fall of snow on the 21^st. December was mild with occasional cold snaps.

1781

January started cold with snow showers, and severe frosts were being recorded in the middle of the month. Some snow towards the end of the month, but an unremarkable February followed. March was relatively mild and favourable, before turning cold at the end of the month, with snow on the hills. April saw the usual mixed bag of weather, but with no great drama. May was cold. On the 11^th “Weather very cold and sharp for the season.” On the 12^th “Some cold showers. The grass seems to come very slow. Frost in the nights.” On the 17^th “Weather still continues cold, the season considered.” Then things picked up and on the 29^th it was “very hot”. June was dry and on the 27^th Isaac wrote “Mowed the Bleachyard yesterday but thin of grass; droughted.” On the 30^th “People are just beginning to mow. Grass but short.” The dry weather continued, so that on 20^th July, when busy with the hay, Isaac reported it “Not full but in part droughted.” The corn was all in by 17^th August, and it promised well for a good harvest. All went well, which was just as well since 27^th August saw “A stormy day and a flood.” On 6^th September Isaac reported with satisfaction that “The harvest in general is pretty forward this year in this part of the country.” The weather remained fine throughout October, at which point the diary ends.

Conclusion

Whether “pre-industrial” is 1850-1900, 1720-1800, or some other time period, nobody has ever – to my satisfaction at least – explained why its climate is the paradigm, of all the climates the Earth has experienced during its 4.5 billion years, that must be preserved at all costs. Although, given an ever-changing climate, how we pickle a paradigm in aspic is something else that is never explained.

Isaac Fletcher’s wonderful diaries demonstrate very clearly that if the climate has changed since the late 18^th century, then in the part of Cumberland where Isaac lived then (and where I live now), it has probably changed for the better. If anything, judging by his diaries, it’s not so unpleasantly cold now as then, and winters are no longer so dreadfully prolonged. For every “extreme weather event” Cumbria sees today, Isaac’s Cumberland probably saw several. His diaries reveal long cold winters with spring delayed until late May; they show one spring that came earlier than anyone could remember; there were wet and miserable summers, there were hot summers and there were droughts; there were numerous damaging floods and there were dangerous storms. Some years saw a quite astonishing variety of extreme weather. Nothing was predictable. A glorious early spring morphed into a bitterly cold late spring, followed by a hot summer.

It’s interesting that the new narrative of climate alarmists is that “climate change” is driving “extreme” weather, yet Isaac’s diaries demonstrate extraordinary extremes compared to the UK weather in the early 21^st century. His portion of the pe-industrial era had it all in spades.

If Isaac were to return today, I imagine he would be very favourably taken with our climate. Certainly I don’t like the sound of his. And were we to experience today the climate that Isaac lived through, then rest assured that the media would pronounce on every extreme weather event with near hysteria, and inform us that the end is nigh, because of man-made climate change. The problem with the narrative is that it has to ignore history. Fortunately, people like Isaac Fletcher wrote down what they saw, so we can see that the climate alarmists are wrong.