Visit to the Quaker Burial Ground
Winchmore Hill
20 March 2026
Winchmore Hill
20 March 2026
This visit continued a now annual tradition of commemorating the anniversary of Luke Howard's death (21 March 1864) at the place where he was buried next to his wife Mariabella.
A group of 18 people gathered to pay our respects and to consider Luke Howard's legacy, focussing in particular on the theme of urban climate studies.
The warm spring sunshine was pleasantly tempered by a soft, cooling breeze as we sat outside in the burial ground on benches facing the headstone. Margaret Burr of Tottenham Clouds reminded us of the esteem accorded to Luke Howard during his lifetime by reading from the frontispiece of his book 'The Climate of London' (second edition, published 1833):
A group of 18 people gathered to pay our respects and to consider Luke Howard's legacy, focussing in particular on the theme of urban climate studies.
The warm spring sunshine was pleasantly tempered by a soft, cooling breeze as we sat outside in the burial ground on benches facing the headstone. Margaret Burr of Tottenham Clouds reminded us of the esteem accorded to Luke Howard during his lifetime by reading from the frontispiece of his book 'The Climate of London' (second edition, published 1833):
“BY LUKE HOWARD, GENT.
CITIZEN OF LONDON; HONORARY CITIZEN OF MAGDEBURG; FELLOW
OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, AND HONORARY ASSOCIATE OF THE
SOCIETIES OF ARTS OF HAMBURGH AND LEIPSIC.”
CITIZEN OF LONDON; HONORARY CITIZEN OF MAGDEBURG; FELLOW
OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, AND HONORARY ASSOCIATE OF THE
SOCIETIES OF ARTS OF HAMBURGH AND LEIPSIC.”
This esteem continues today, with Luke Howard being acknowledged not only for his work as 'namer of clouds', but also as the first person to recognise the effect that urban areas have on local climate. Margaret also read out the following quotes:
“The genius of Howard’s cloud classification scheme is that it provides a visual description of cloud types that are universally recognisable and linked to underlying atmospheric process. The same intellect is evident in the pages of Climate where his rigorous approach to measurement and analysis revealed the UHI phenomenon and its causes. For this reason, Luke Howard is recognised by the International Association for Urban Climates (IAUC) as the father of urban climate science.”
From the IAUC's message to Tottenham Clouds on the 250th anniversary of Luke Howard's birth.
“Luke Howard identified virtually all of the factors that are responsible for the urban heat island (UHI) - that he did so in 1820, at the very beginning of the scientific study of weather and climate is remarkable. By any measure, “Luke Howard’s account is monumental”.
From Professor Gerald Mills' essay, Luke Howard and The Climate of London, Weather, 2008, Vol. 63, No. 6
Over tea and biscuits, we discussed the impact of the UHI effect, and how climate change might interact with it. The Trees & Design Action Group (TDAG) have a number of useful online publications aimed at Built Environment Practitioners, but very readable. Looking at First Steps in Urban Heat we explored their list of factors affecting urban heat and discussed ways to mitigate these and implement cooling measures such as trees, ventilation and blue and green infrastructure.
Finally, we had a look at this complicated-looking equation, which describes the relationship of the heat island to meteorology:
ΔTu–r = 2.8 – 0.10N – 0.38U – 0.02T + 0.03e
In words, this equation states that the strength of the heat island is inversely related to cloud cover (N), wind-speed (U) and air temperature (T) and positively correlated with absolute humidity (e).
This equation was proposed in 1950 by Sundborg, who studied the local climate of Uppsala in Sweden, and created a spatial picture of its UHI by using a thermometer attached to a car. The work confirmed Luke Howard’s hypothesis that the UHI grows in magnitude from the suburban margins to the urban centre.
“The genius of Howard’s cloud classification scheme is that it provides a visual description of cloud types that are universally recognisable and linked to underlying atmospheric process. The same intellect is evident in the pages of Climate where his rigorous approach to measurement and analysis revealed the UHI phenomenon and its causes. For this reason, Luke Howard is recognised by the International Association for Urban Climates (IAUC) as the father of urban climate science.”
From the IAUC's message to Tottenham Clouds on the 250th anniversary of Luke Howard's birth.
“Luke Howard identified virtually all of the factors that are responsible for the urban heat island (UHI) - that he did so in 1820, at the very beginning of the scientific study of weather and climate is remarkable. By any measure, “Luke Howard’s account is monumental”.
From Professor Gerald Mills' essay, Luke Howard and The Climate of London, Weather, 2008, Vol. 63, No. 6
Over tea and biscuits, we discussed the impact of the UHI effect, and how climate change might interact with it. The Trees & Design Action Group (TDAG) have a number of useful online publications aimed at Built Environment Practitioners, but very readable. Looking at First Steps in Urban Heat we explored their list of factors affecting urban heat and discussed ways to mitigate these and implement cooling measures such as trees, ventilation and blue and green infrastructure.
Finally, we had a look at this complicated-looking equation, which describes the relationship of the heat island to meteorology:
ΔTu–r = 2.8 – 0.10N – 0.38U – 0.02T + 0.03e
In words, this equation states that the strength of the heat island is inversely related to cloud cover (N), wind-speed (U) and air temperature (T) and positively correlated with absolute humidity (e).
This equation was proposed in 1950 by Sundborg, who studied the local climate of Uppsala in Sweden, and created a spatial picture of its UHI by using a thermometer attached to a car. The work confirmed Luke Howard’s hypothesis that the UHI grows in magnitude from the suburban margins to the urban centre.
The Luke Howard Award
The Luke Howard Award for outstanding contributions to the field of urban climatology is given annually
by the International Association for Urban Climates (IAUC) to an individual
who has made outstanding contributions to the field of urban climatology
in a combination of research, teaching, and/or service
to the international community of urban climatologists.
To see recipients of the Award click here
The Luke Howard Award for outstanding contributions to the field of urban climatology is given annually
by the International Association for Urban Climates (IAUC) to an individual
who has made outstanding contributions to the field of urban climatology
in a combination of research, teaching, and/or service
to the international community of urban climatologists.
To see recipients of the Award click here
