| | | | Aethelstan
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Edmund
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Edgar
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Aethelred
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Knut
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| | 1041 | | A year of storms and disease
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| | | | Stormy weather destroyed crops and diseases killed many cattle during the year. |
Edward the Confessor
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| | 1046 | | Severe winter
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| | | | Extremely cold weather caused many deaths amongst animals and people. |
| | 1048 | | Earthquake
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| | | | A large earthquake is supposed to have been felt across England. |
| | 1049 | May 1 | Earthquake in Midlands
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| | | | A large earthquake was felt in Worcester and Derby and many people were reportedly killed. |
| | 1053 | Dec 21 | Strong winds
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| | | | Extremely strong winds destroyed churches and buildings. |
| | 1054 | Jul | The Crab Nebula seen
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| | | | The supernova that occurred in this year formed the Crab Nebula and the event was recorded by astronomers in China. The explosion was so great that the supernova would have been visible during the daytime. Due to the huge distances involved, the explosion would have happened thousands of years earlier but the light from the event only reached Earth in 1054. |
| | 1066 | Apr | Halley's Comet
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| | | | The comet named after Edmund Halley who accurately predicted the return of the comet in 1758 (unfortunately after his death). It is difficult to determine when the comet would have appeared in the past as the orbit of the comet varies by several years. The Bayeux Tapestry shows what looks like a comet and this could well have been Halley's comet. |
William the Conqueror
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| | 1086 | | Stormy weather and disease
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| | | | Violent storms killed many people while cattle died from disease. |
William Rufus
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| | 1089 | Aug 11 | Earthquake
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| | | | An earthquake was felt across England. |
| | 1091 | | Violent storm hits London
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| | | | London was hit by a terrible storm, possibly a tornado. Damage was done to the Tower of London, the old wooden London Bridge and many churches and buildings. |
| | 1097 | Oct 4 | Comet
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| | | | A star with a long tail was seen in the south-west. |
Henry I
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| | 1106 | | A comet passes by
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| | | | A comet was seen and reported by several civilisations around the World. Lasting for forty days the comet grew steadily in brightness until finally fading away. |
| | | Jan | Venice hit by a series of disasters
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| | | | In January Venice was hit by severe floods. Shortly afterwards a fire broke out destroying several districts of the city. Several months later another more deadly fire started. As many of the buildings were constructed of wood the fire spread out of control. The disasters led to future buildings being constructed of stone and brick. |
| | 1111 | | Severe winter
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| | | | An extreme winter prevented the growing of crops and cattle died of disease. |
| | 1114 | Nov | Earthquake
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| | | | A large earthquake damaged the areas of the Frankish control in the East. Antioch and Edessa were hit by the shocks. |
| | 1118 | | Earthquake
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| | | | An earthquake damages Crowland Abbey. |
| | 1133 | Aug 2 | Eclipse
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| | | | There was an eclipse of the Sun over Scotland and the north of England on this day. |
| | | Aug 4 | Earthquake
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| | | | An eye-witness account (William of Malmesbury) tells of an earthquake affecting many parts of England. (Symeon of Durham’s Historia Regum, by John of Hexham.) This is interesting as it occurred just after an eclipse. See year 1185 when another eclipse and earthquake occurred. |
Stephen
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| | 1140 | Mar 20 | Eclipse
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| | | | The Anglo Saxon Chronicles reported that an eclipse of the sun occurred on this day. |
Henry II
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| | 1164 | | A meteor ?
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| | | | From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'In the tenth year of Henry II, about the first hour there appeared in the sky three circles and two suns; and a dragon of immense size was seen in St. Osyth (Osey Island, co. Essex), sailing the air so close to the earth that divers houses were burnt by the heat.' Is this a report of an airburst meteor? An airburst meteor is meteor that explodes in the air before it reaches the ground and doesn't create an impact crator. A more recent example of an airburst meteor occurred in Russia at a place called Tunguska. This event, known and the great Siberian explosion, happened in 1908 and resulted in the felling of millions of trees. |
| | 1174 | Nov 4 | An aurora is seen across Europe
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| | | | At about midnight, for the space of an hour or more, the whole face of the sky towards the north part was seen to be suffused with a red color like blood. |
| | 1185 | | Earthquake in Sicily
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| | | | Reports of an earthquake in the Plantagenet Chronicles occurring in Sicily. Need to confirm. |
| | | | Lincoln Cathedral damaged
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| | | | Earth tremors damaged the Cathedral at Lincoln beyond repair. The earthquake must have been very powerful as it was said that it was felt throughout the country. Only the West front survived in good shape and rest of the building had to be demolished. |
| | | May 1 | Eclipse
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| | | | There was an eclipse of the Sun on this day over the north of Europe. Interestingly, there was an earthquake that damaged Lincoln Cathedral in 1185. Did the earthquake happen before or after the eclipse? Are the two events related? |
Richard the Lionheart
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| | 1191 | Jun 23 | Eclipse
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| | | | Most of Europe would have seen the Sun eclipsed by the moon just before midday. |
John
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| | 1200 | Jan 2 | Annular Eclipse of the moon
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| | | | An eclipse of the moon occured at around midnight. (Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC) |
| | 1201 | Jun | Storms do much damage
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| | | | Severe thunderstorms and floods during the summer affected England. |
| | 1205 | Jan | River Thames freezes
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| | | | The winter of 1204/05 was so cold that the River Thames froze over and the cold spell lasted until March. |
Henry III
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| | 1224 | | London Fog
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| | | | From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'A London fog occurred while the Bishop of London was officiating in St. Paul's there came on suddenly such a thickness of the clouds and darkness of the sun, accompanied by thunder and lightening and a most foul stench, that the people departed, leaving only the bishop there with one attendant.' |
| | 1250 | Qtr 4 | Earthquake shakes St. Albans Abbey
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| | | | Matthew Paris, the medieval historian, reported that an earthquake shook and damaged the church at St. Albans. Earthquakes are unusual in this area. |
| | 1264 | | Possible comet sighting
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| | | | From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report of the siting of a comet which was said to return every three hundred years. Rising from the east with more brightness than had ever been seen by a living person. |
Edward I
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| | 1303 | | Baltic Sea Freezes over
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| | | | There appears to be a mini ice age during this period (1303 and 1306-7) where the temperatures dropped so far that the Baltic Sea actually froze. |
Edward II
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Edward III
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| | 1337 | Jun | A comet is seen over France
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| | | | A comet was seen in the skies of France and was viewed as a bad omen and that war was on the horizon. |
| | 1338 | Apr | A comet seen in Europe
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| | | | A second? comet trailing fire is seen in the skies over Europe. |
| | 1347 | | The Black Death
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| | | | Kipchak Mongols besieging a Genoese trading centre on the Crimean coast catapulted their own dead into the city. The cause of death was a mysterious disease. The Genoese escaped by sea taking the 'Black Death' with them. They landed at Messina in Sicily. Bubonic plague, which the Black Death was, was spread by the rat flea. The name Black Death came from the colour of the swelling in the groin, armpit or neck. The person suffering went into a coma and dies soon after. In Europe an estimated 25 million people died. The plague reached Britain in 1348 and again in 1360 and the population may have been reduced by a half. |
| | 1348 | Jun | The Plague reaches England
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| | | | The plague reached the shores of England first at Melcombe Regis in Dorset. By winter of the year, the plague had reached London. |
| | 1349 | | Earthquake
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| | | | From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'during Lent, six days before Easter Sunday, there occurred an earthquake throughout the whole of England so great that the monks of Melsa were thrown so violently from their stalls that they all lay prostrate on the ground.' |
| | | | Meaux Abbey hit by epidemic
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| | | | From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'Meaux Abbey suffered so severely that thirty-two monks, and seven conversi died, the majority being taken in the month of August.' |
| | | Summer | The Plague is at its peak
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| | | | The peak of the plague was reached in the summer of 1349. Estimates of a third of the population dying from the infection have been made but being accurate is very difficult. |
| | 1361 | | Another outbreak of the plague
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| | | | Another outbreak of the plague takes its tool. |
| | 1369 | | Again England is hit by the plague
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| | | | Another outbreak of the plague affects England. |
Richard II
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| | 1382 | May 21 | Earthquake
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| | | | An earthquake occurred somewhere in the Straits of Dover and was felt in southern England and in the Low Countries across the North Sea. The event happened during a meeting to condem the works of John Wycliffe. |
Henry IV
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Henry V
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Henry VI
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Edward IV
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Edward V
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Richard III
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Henry VII
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| | 1508 | Sep 19 | Earthquake
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| | | | This earthquake was felt throughout Scotland and England. |
Henry VIII
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| | 1517 | | Plague
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| | | | Londoners were affected by a wide-spread illness forcing Henry VIII and his court to move to countryside where they felt safer. |
Edward VI
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Mary
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Elizabeth I
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Other Monarchs
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| | 1625 | Aug | Plague
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| | | | Britain was affected by another outbreak of the plague. |
| | 1626 | Feb | Plague lessens
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| | | | The plague's affects had diminished in London |
| | 1633 | Apr 10 | Bananas first seen in England
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| | | | A banana tree was shipped from the Bahamas to by a Mr Johnson who put it in his shop. |
