In the summer of 1783, one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in European recorded history occurred in Iceland when the Laki volcano erupted. A huge volume of sulphur dioxide was expelled into the air over a period of year which when mixed with moist sea air converted to sulphuric acid. None of this would have affected residents of Great Britain except for unusally weather patterns in that summer which caused the smoke and gas to blow across Scandinavia through Germany and France and then across England. Contemporary newspapers reported the strange 'fog' in that summer. Aside from affecting crops in the field, the poisonous gases causes breathing problems particularly with the weak or labourers performing strenuous activities in the open, perhaps harvesting. It is estimated that in that summer the death rate doubled.
Perhaps Mary Pitham a victim of the Laki volcano...