An exceptionally cold spell of London weather had frozen over many of the city's bodies of water, including the lake in Regent's Park. Skaters flocked to the park and despite the clear warning of the day before when more than twenty people had fallen into the water in places, up to five hundred people were on the ice when it gave way across the fifteen foot deep lake. More than two hundred were thrown into the water and forty-one were drowned. It took a week to recover the bodies and the tragedy resulted in the lake being drained and its depth reduced to around five feet where it remains today. (By John Osborne)
"Chronicle of Remarkable Occurences in 1867", The Annual Register or a View of the History and Politics of the Year 1867 (London: F. & J. Rivington, 1868), 3-12.
"The Disaster to the Skaters on the Pond at Regent's Park, London," Frank Leslie's Illustrated Magazine, March 2, 1867, p. 373.
