Books on Hertfordshire

'Observations of Weather'

The Weather Diary of Sir John Wittewronge of Rothamsted

1684-1689

Edited by Margaret Harcourt Williams & John Stevenson

Hertfordshire Record Society

Published 1999 (ISBN 0 9523779 4 2)

Sir John Wittewronge (1618-93) was squire of Rothamsted. The Introduction covers his family history, political career and other aspects of seventeenth century Hertfordshire life. The diary gives a picture of the climate in a small part of the county at a time when Europe was experiencing the Little Ice Age, including the winter of 1683/4, the coldest on record, together with some details of crops and household matters.

Page updated May 2005