Post by Catsmate on Apr 5, 2016 14:12:13 GMT
Ice skating was an immensely popular pastime in Victorian Britain (as in fact was roller skating, after the development of the 'Woodward' skate in 1859). But on one bright January day in 1867 the eagerness of the public for this amusement would lead to more than forty deaths.
In the southwestern corner of the park (opposite Sussex Terrace) Regent's Park lake had frozen weeks earlier and was a popular destination for ice skaters. Over five hundred people were on the ice that afternoon, despite warnings that the ice was dangerously thin. In fact about twenty people had ended up in the water the previous day when the ice cracked. However a light snowfall overnight had hidden cracks in the surface of the lake and people ignored the warning signs erected.
At about 3:30PM the ice suddenly and massively shattered, dumping hundreds of people into the freezing water, nearly 4m deep. Bystanders tore branches off trees, improvised ropes and launched small boats to rescue those in the water. They were aided by the experienced 'icemen' the stewards of the Skating Club. Many of the skaters had managed to cling to broken pieces of ice and others were able to afloat in the icy water; these were soon dragged to safety.
But a total of 40 people died in the tragedy, many dragged down by their heavy skates.
Recovering the bodies of the dead was difficult, in the cold weather the ice quickly froze over again, requiring cutting through the ice, and channels had to be cut through. It took more than a week to recover all the dead.
As a precaution against a similar tragedy, the lake was drained and the bed raised with soil and concrete, so the lake is now only about 1.25m deep. Some years later a similar incident happened, though the shallower lake meant no-one died.
The greatest ice skating tragedy in Britain
Tragedy in Regents Park 1867
The Regent's Park Skating Tragedy
- Regents Park is one of the Royal Parks, about 160 hectares in size, incorporating numerous features, many designed by John Nash for the Price Regent
In the southwestern corner of the park (opposite Sussex Terrace) Regent's Park lake had frozen weeks earlier and was a popular destination for ice skaters. Over five hundred people were on the ice that afternoon, despite warnings that the ice was dangerously thin. In fact about twenty people had ended up in the water the previous day when the ice cracked. However a light snowfall overnight had hidden cracks in the surface of the lake and people ignored the warning signs erected.
At about 3:30PM the ice suddenly and massively shattered, dumping hundreds of people into the freezing water, nearly 4m deep. Bystanders tore branches off trees, improvised ropes and launched small boats to rescue those in the water. They were aided by the experienced 'icemen' the stewards of the Skating Club. Many of the skaters had managed to cling to broken pieces of ice and others were able to afloat in the icy water; these were soon dragged to safety.
But a total of 40 people died in the tragedy, many dragged down by their heavy skates.
Recovering the bodies of the dead was difficult, in the cold weather the ice quickly froze over again, requiring cutting through the ice, and channels had to be cut through. It took more than a week to recover all the dead.
As a precaution against a similar tragedy, the lake was drained and the bed raised with soil and concrete, so the lake is now only about 1.25m deep. Some years later a similar incident happened, though the shallower lake meant no-one died.
The greatest ice skating tragedy in Britain
Tragedy in Regents Park 1867
The Regent's Park Skating Tragedy