Great Britain Historical Database: Vital Statistics for England and Wales, 1840-1911

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><p>The <span style="font-style: italic;">Great Britain Historical Database</span> has been assembled as part of the ongoing Great Britain Historical GIS Project. The project aims to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain at sub-county scales. Further information about the project is available on <a href="https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/gbhdb/" target="_blank">A Vision of Britain</a> webpages, where users can browse the database's documentation system online.</p><br><p>
<p>These data were originally published in the reports of the Registrar-General for England and Wales. They were computerised by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and its collaborators. They form part of the Great Britain Historical Database, which contains a wide range of geographically-located statistics, selected t<span>o trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain, generally at sub-county scales.</span></p>
<p><span>This study mainly comprises data from the RG's Annual Reports, with some data from the Quarterly Returns. A very extensive transcription from the Decennial Supplements forms a separate study.<br>
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<span>In this pre-1911 period, the main reporting units were approximately&nbsp; 630 Registration Districts, grouped into Registration Counties and subdivided into around 2,000 Registration sub-Districts.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Latest edition information</span></p><p><span>For the second edition (December 2022) the previous data and documentation files were replaced with new versions, and access conditions were changed from safeguarded to open access.</span><p></p>
</p><br><B>Main Topics</B>:<BR><br><p>Annual counts of births and deaths for all Registration Districts in all years 1850 to 1910, with marriages for some years.<br>
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<p>Annual cause-of-death data for all Registration Districts in all years, 1856 to 1910. The causes of death focus on epidemic diseases.<br>
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Annual age-specific mortality data for all Registration Districts for 1840-42, 1850-52, 1860-1882, 1890-92, 1900-02, 1908-1910 (i.e. for most of the period, census years plus immediately adjacent years).</p>
<p>Quarterly counts of births, deaths and selected causes of death from the Registrar-General's Quarterly Returns, for Registration sub-Districts. This is limited to (1) a full transcription of all four quarters for each census year within the period covered by the <i>Quarterly Returns</i>: 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911; (2) numbers of births and infant deaths in all sub-districts in the County of London from the full run of reports from 1871 to 1911; and (3) a full transcription of all four quarters of 1876, but limited to the north-west of England, defined as Cheshire, Lancashire and Westmorland plus Chapel-en-le-Frith and Hayfield Registration Districts in Derbyshire and Saddleworth in the West Riding.</p>
<p>Individual cholera deaths in London in summer and autumn 1866 arranged by date and causes of death, plus a variant which is adjusted for deaths in hospitals (these data were created by Graham Mooney).</p>
<p>A separate UKDS study contains decennial age-specific cause of death data for all Registration Districts in all decades from 1851-60 to 1901-10.<br>
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Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.<br>
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