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Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11) is considered one of the best analogues for the Holocene. In the UK the long lacustrine sequence at Marks Tey, Essex, spans the entirety of the Hoxnian interglacial, the British correlative of MIS 11c. We present multiproxy evidence from a new 18.5-m core from this sequence. Lithostratigraphy, pollen stratigraphy and biomarker evidence indicate that these sediments span the pre-, early and late temperate intervals of this interglacial as well as cold climate sediments that post-date the Hoxnian. The d 18O signal of endogenic carbonate from this sequence produces several clear patterns that are interpreted as reflecting the climatic structure of the interglacial. As well as providing evidence for long-term climate stability during the interglacial and a major post-Hoxnian stadial/interstadial oscillation the d18 O signal provides strong evidence for abrupt cooling events during the interglacial itself. One of these isotopic events occurs in association with a short-lived increase in non-arboreal pollen (the NAP phase). The results presented here are discussed in the context of other MIS 11 records from Europe and the North Atlantic, particularly with respect to our understanding of the occurrence of abrupt climatic events in pre-Holocene interglacials.

Resolving marine and terrestrial records of glacial and interglacial stages has long been a challenge for Quaternary studies. We present a tephra‐based correlation for MIS 11c of a North Atlantic marine core and a British terrestrial record (Marks Tey). A varved chronology is presented for the annually laminated lake sequence at Marks Tey and the proxy data from this site are plotted on an annual timescale for the first time. This record shows clear evidence for an abrupt cold event and corresponding ecological and landscape response. Varve counting shows that the abrupt event lasted for ca 185 a but the impact on the landscape persisted for ca 560 a. The co‐occurrence of a single tephra layer in Marks Tey and ODP 980 allows these two records to be correlated. Furthermore, this synchronisation shows that the abrupt cold event in Marks Tey was coincident with a centennial‐scale cold event in ODP 980, as evidenced by an increase in Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s) percentage. In both ODP 980 and Marks Tey the age of this abrupt event was ca 414 500 a indicating that, at this point in MIS 11c, a widespread cold event occurred in the northeastern Atlantic and the British Isles.

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