The Commonplace Book of Thomas Gardiner
Farm account books, although very informative about agricultural practices in the past, can be tedious and repetitive, but every now and then the pages are enlivened by some family event, legal dispute, or natural disaster. In doing some last-minute checks for the Chippenham volume, I inspected in the Wilts & Swindon History Centre the commonplace book kept by members of the Gardiner family, farmers of Tytherton Lucas (WSA 811/216). Very naturally, and since farming began, the weather has been a primary concern. Here, in the ‘original spelling’, is an account of the weather in 1681-2:
A memmorandum of two most strang unwonted seasones of weather the first of drith [dearth?] the second of rain: : in the year 1681 – the month off Apriell and the month of May and the month of June till the 20 th day Afforded noo raine of any cansernment att all which brought soo great A scarcity of gras that cattell was lickt to bee starved but then after the Aforsaid 20 th day of June the rain cam with thunder stormes And showering weather Abbundant by which brought at the later part of the yeare A verey great store of grase but the harvist was verey raynney And all the winter after till the month of March continued with A most Abundance of rayne And very tempesteouse windes then the Aforsaid month of March and the first eaight days of Apriell was A very seasonable seed time so much written for that season
The ninth day of the Aforsaid apriell 1682 beeing sunday it beegun rayning: that wicke was not exterordinary excese of raine: the satter-day of the sam wick was wholy drey: but the next day following beeing sunday And the 16 th of the Aforsaid Apriell the raine Cam Again at A most exterordinary manner: And the 25 th day and 26 of the Aforsaid Apriell ther was A most unwonted flood for hith of water and the 30 th day and first of May ther was Another most Unwonted flood: from the 15 th of Apriell to the 15 th of May ther was not on drey day with As it wer dayly flodes the water for All that tim was hardly ever downe but only these too unwonted flodes Aforsaid I have mensioned theyer pertickuler days: this rain was soo dredfull that if God in his mersey had not with-helld it At that tim when it was it Appeared lickly to destroy A most All the lent Crap [crop] which A great part therof was much impoverished Ther have been no shuch rain by the dayes of Any of this generation nor I suppose in lat Ages beefor Us And I pray god that never noo such Rain may Com Again neither by this Age nor Ages too Com which the lord our god According to the riches of his mersy grant Untoo Us Amen
By John Chandler