IT WAS billed as the day when tarmac would melt beneath our wheels, eggs would fry on bonnets and Britons would descend upon the beach to catch a cooling sea breeze.

Not for almost a century has the sun beat so fiercely upon English soil in July. In Wisley, Surrey, the temperature reached 36.5C (97.7F), beating the previous record for the month — set in Epsom on July 22, 1911 — by 0.5 degrees. For much of the day Charlwood near Gatwick, which reached 36.3C (97.3F), had the record.

During those long, languorous prewar days skimpy bathing costumes, with sleeves ending at the elbow rather than the wrist, made an appearance at seaside resorts as the country struggled to cope with a five-month heatwave.

The Editor of the Pall Mall Gazette joined Lord Curzon for a game of tennis — in the nude.

As the heatwave continued, however, people began to suffer. Fields were scorched, fires broke out along railways and The Times introduced a column entitled “Deaths from Heat”.

In Britain yesterday trains were delayed, schools were closed, there was at least one death from heat and a bridge refused to close after its metal expanded.

Although falling short of the all-time British record of 38.5C — set in Faversham, Kent, on August 10, 2003 — the 36.5C recorded was hotter than Bermuda, Athens and Miami.

At the Stanhill Court Hotel in Charlwood, Elizabeth Tennant said that staff and customers were melting.

The bookmakers were feeling hot under the collar, too. William Hill has stopped taking bets on temperatures breaching 100F (37.8C) and is preparing for the largest weather-related payout since 2003.

The soaring temperatures seem to have lifted the country’s spirits. Thousands flocked to beaches on the South Coast, while many a toe was dipped in pools to the west of London. Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire all recorded between 33C and 35C.

Bournemouth beach was one of the busiest, with about 15,000 bathers, many of whom were workers taking an impromptu vacation. Four times that many are expected by the weekend, when some schools break up for the summer holidays.

Gritters were out again spreading crushed rock to stop the road surface melting. Many drivers stuck in traffic jams abandoned their vehicles.

In the Midlands railway lines buckled, causing cancellations and delays on commuter services. Across the rail network, speed restrictions were imposed, causing delays. On the Tube, temperatures were estimated to be about 47C.

• A Sheffield schoolboy is protesting against being forced to wear long trousers for lessons by turning up in a skirt. Silverdale School’s uniform policy prevents boys wearing shorts, so Billy White, 13, borrowed a classmate’s skirt.

  “The rules discriminate against boys in this kind of weather and this seemed a good way to make my point,” he said.

  Helen Storey, the school’s head teacher, said: “We realise it is very hot. If he wants to wear a skirt, he is welcome.”

• The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, relaxed the dress code that compels journalists to wear jackets in the Press Gallery.

• In Antarctica, the temperature measured -17C. It was 4C on the Falkland Islands

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