Suffolk’s Victorian weatherman – Orlando Whistlecraft

This resource is aimed at KS1 pupils for learning about significant people from their own locality. It can be used as a standalone resource or as part of wider topics on local history, science, geography, or art.

Orlando Whistlecraft (1810-1893) was a pioneering meteorologist who for several decades kept a detailed record of the weather in his garden in Thwaite in mid-Suffolk. He published annual almanacs with his predictions for the year’s weather, and notes on what plants and animals you could expect to see at different times of year.

The presentation tells a biographical story about Whistlecraft, and compares present-day weather recording with Victorian weather recording.