“But they hardly ever freeze now”: Exploring weather-heritage, memory, and change in southeastern England

The concept of ‘weather-heritage’ suggests that weather is so central to everyday life that it should be considered a form of intangible cultural heritage, and protected through this lens. Weather contributes to sense of place, and it is through perceived changes to normal weather that people experience atmospheric changes caused by greenhouse gas emissions. This study explores and develops this concept through a study of the weather memories of mainly older people in southeast England. Participants situated their weather memories in relation to notable years in the cultural memory such as the warm summer of 1976, and constructed prototypical seasonal conditions associated with particular weather conditions, such as snow in winter, and phenological progressions such as the date of flowering plants in spring. Whilst researchers did not specifically ask questions about climate change, many participants situated their weather memories in dialogue with their perceptions and comprehension of recent change, although they occasionally questioned the reliability of these memories. Participants were wary of generalisations, but felt that recent changes in what they considered to be normal weather conditions were eroding sense of place, and in some cases, sense of Englishness. We argue that weather-heritage represents a promising entry point to alternative productive engagements with climate change, but draw attention to pitfalls that must be avoided if climate change is to be viewed through a heritage lens.