Bills of Mortality
Encyclopedia
The London
Bills of Mortality were the main source of mortality statistics, designed to monitor deaths from the plague
from the 17th century-1830s. They were used mainly as a way of warning about plague epidemics.
They began to be made in London
after an outbreak of plague in 1592 (although there are a few earlier instances). From 1603, after another outbreak
, they were made regularly on a weekly basis, with the view to giving authorities and inhabitants full information as to the increases or decreases in the number of deaths. The information was collected by Parish Clerks and published every week.
By 1570 the bills included baptism
s; in 1629 the cause of death
was given, and in the early 18th century the age at death. In 1836 they were superseded by the Registrar General's returns under the Births and Death Registrations Act.
The following places were within the boundaries of the Bills of Mortality:
1Formed 1767 by separating the Middlesex portion of the parish St Andrew Holborn from the remainder in the City of London and merging with the parish of St George the Martyr.
2Formed from part of Stepney in 1743.
3Formed from part of Stepney in 1729.
4The remainder of the parish lay in the Liberty of Westminster.
5The parish of St John was formed from part of St James in 1723.
6The two parishes of St Giles and St George were united in 1774.
7Formed from of Stepney in 1725.
8Parish created 1733 from the part of St Giles Cripplegate outside the City of London.
9The remainder of the parish lay in the City of London.
10Formed from part of Stepney in 1670.
11Formed from part of Stepney in the early 17th century.
12Parish of Christchurch, Southwark formed 1670: originally the Liberty of Paris Garden.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Bills of Mortality were the main source of mortality statistics, designed to monitor deaths from the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
from the 17th century-1830s. They were used mainly as a way of warning about plague epidemics.
They began to be made in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after an outbreak of plague in 1592 (although there are a few earlier instances). From 1603, after another outbreak
Outbreak
Outbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected at a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious...
, they were made regularly on a weekly basis, with the view to giving authorities and inhabitants full information as to the increases or decreases in the number of deaths. The information was collected by Parish Clerks and published every week.
By 1570 the bills included baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s; in 1629 the cause of death
Cause of Death
Cause of Death is a 1990 album by American death metal band Obituary. Cause of Death is considered a classic album in the history of death metal. The artwork was done by artist Michael Whelan...
was given, and in the early 18th century the age at death. In 1836 they were superseded by the Registrar General's returns under the Births and Death Registrations Act.
The following places were within the boundaries of the Bills of Mortality:
| County | Parts thereof |
|---|---|
| City of London City of London The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of... |
Entire, comprising: City within the Walls; City without the Walls; Inns of Court Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional... and Chancery |
| Middlesex Middlesex Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time... |
The City and Liberty of Westminster Liberty of Westminster The City and Liberty of Westminster was an independent liberty, located to the west of the City of London in the county of Middlesex, England.... ; The Tower and its Liberty Liberties of the Tower of London The Liberties of the Tower, or the Tower Liberty was an area adjoining the Tower of London, which was outside the jurisdiction of either the City of London or the County of Middlesex.... (including the Old Artillery Ground Old Artillery Ground The Old Artillery Ground is an area of land in Spitalfields, London formerly designated one of the Liberties of the Tower of London and Crown Land.... ); St Andrew Holborn above Bars with St George the Martyr Holborn Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct... 1; St Matthew, Bethnal Green Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,... 2; St Botolph without Aldgate; The Charterhouse London Charterhouse The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Smithfield, London dating back to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square. The Charterhouse began as a Carthusian priory, founded in 1371 and dissolved in 1537... ; Christchurch, Spitalfields Spitalfields Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday... 3; St Clement Danes St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren and it now functions as the central church of the Royal Air Force.The church is sometimes claimed to... (part)4,; St James and St John, Clerkenwell Clerkenwell Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance... 5; Liberty of the Duchy of Lancaster (part); Ely Place Ely Place Ely Place is a gated road at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden in London, England. It is the location of the Old Mitre Tavern and is adjacent to Hatton Garden.-Origins:... ; St Giles in the Fields St Giles in the Fields St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, is a church in the London Borough of Camden, in the West End. It is close to the Centre Point office tower and the Tottenham Court Road tube station. The church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England... and St George, Bloomsbury Bloomsbury -Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland... 6; St George in the East St George in the East (parish) St George in the East was a parish in the metropolitan area of London, England.-History:The parish was largely rural at the time of its creation, the main settlement a hamlet known as Wapping Stepney... 3; Liberty of Glasshouse Yard Glasshouse Yard The Liberty of Glasshouse Yard was an extra-parochial liberty adjacent to the City of London. The liberty took its name from a glass manufacturing works established there. The area now forms part of the London Borough of Islington.-Formation:... ; St John, Hackney Hackney (parish) Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1789, replacing the nearby former 16th century parish church dedicated to St Augustine . The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be... ; St Mary, Islington St Mary's Church, Islington The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the historic parish church of Islington, in the Church of England Diocese of London. The present parish is a compact area centered on Upper Street between Angel and Highbury Corner, bounded to the west by Liverpool Road, and to the east by Essex Road/Canonbury... ; St Katherine near the Tower; St Ann, Limehouse Limehouse Limehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east.... 7; St Luke, Middlesex St Luke's St Luke's is an area in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London near the Barbican and Shoreditch. It takes its name from the church of St Luke's, on Old Street west of the tube station. The area extends north of the church to City Road and south to Finsbury Square and... 8; Liberty of the Rolls Liberty of the Rolls The Liberty of the Rolls was a liberty, and civil parish from 1866, in the metropolitan area of London, England.It consisted of the part of the ancient parish of St Dunstan-in-the-West that was in the Ossulstone hundred of Middlesex, the rest was within the City of London... ; Liberty of Saffron Hill Saffron Hill Saffron Hill is the name of a street in the south eastern corner of the London Borough of Camden, between Farringdon Road and Hatton Garden. The name of the street derives from the fact that it was at one time part of an estate on which saffron grew.... and Hatton Garden Hatton Garden Hatton Garden is a street and area near Holborn in London, England. It is most famous for being London’s jewellery quarter and centre of the UK diamond trade, but the area is also now home to a diverse range of media and creative businesses.... ; St John the Baptist in the Savoy; St Sepulchre (part)9; St Paul, Shadwell Shadwell Shadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the south and Ratcliff to the east... 10; St Leonard, Shoreditch Shoreditch (parish) Shoreditch was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex. It was both a civil parish, used for administrative purposes, and an ecclesiastical parish of the Church of England... ; St Dunstan, Stepney Stepney (parish) Stepney was an ancient civil and ecclesiastical parish in the historic county of Middlesex to the east and north east of the City of London, England.-Origins:... (the hamlets of Ratcliff Ratcliff Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a former hamlet lying by the north bank of the River Thames between Shadwell and Limehouse. It is now a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and is located to the south of Stepney.-Etymology:... e, Mile End Old Town and Mile End New Town Mile End New Town Mile End New Town is a former hamlet within the East End of London. Its area is now part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.Following a period of rapid growth it became a hamlet within the large ancient parish of Stepney from 1690, and was split off as a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1841... ); St John, Wapping Wapping Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway... 3; St Mary, Whitechapel Whitechapel Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the... 11 |
| Surrey Surrey Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of... |
The Borough of Southwark Southwark Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north... (the parishes of St George the Martyr; St John Horsleydown; St Olave; St Saviour and St Thomas and Christchurch)12 St Mary, Rotherhithe Rotherhithe Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area... ; St Mary, Bermondsey Bermondsey Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:... ; St Mary, Newington Butts Newington, London Newington is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was an ancient parish and the site of the early administration of the county of Surrey... ; St Mary, Lambeth Lambeth Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:... |
1Formed 1767 by separating the Middlesex portion of the parish St Andrew Holborn from the remainder in the City of London and merging with the parish of St George the Martyr.
2Formed from part of Stepney in 1743.
3Formed from part of Stepney in 1729.
4The remainder of the parish lay in the Liberty of Westminster.
5The parish of St John was formed from part of St James in 1723.
6The two parishes of St Giles and St George were united in 1774.
7Formed from of Stepney in 1725.
8Parish created 1733 from the part of St Giles Cripplegate outside the City of London.
9The remainder of the parish lay in the City of London.
10Formed from part of Stepney in 1670.
11Formed from part of Stepney in the early 17th century.
12Parish of Christchurch, Southwark formed 1670: originally the Liberty of Paris Garden.
