List of earthquakes in the British Isles


The following is an extensive list of earthquakes that have been detected in Britain & Ireland. On average, several hundred earthquakes are detected by the British Geological Survey each year, but almost all are far too faint to be felt by humans. Those that are felt generally cause very little damage. Nonetheless, earthquakes have on occasion resulted in considerable damage, most notably in 1580 and 1884; Musson reports that there have been ten documented fatalities – six caused by falling masonry and four by building collapse. The causes of earthquakes in the UK are unclear, but may include "regional compression caused by motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates, and uplift resulting from the melting of the ice sheets that covered many parts of Britain thousands of years ago." Medieval reports of "earthquakes" that damaged or destroyed newly built cathedrals may have been caused by catastrophic failure of overloaded masonry, particularly towers, rather than actual earthquakes.

Earthquakes

Pre-18th century

DateEpicentreNotes
00 Jan 974England
1 May 1048English Midlands, EnglandFelt in Worcester, Warwick and Derby.
4 July 1060England
22 April 1076EnglandAlso felt in France and Denmark.
11 August 1089England
28 August 1119Western England
25 July 1122Somerset and Gloucestershire, England
5 December 1129England
4 August 1133England
1 May 1158England
26 January 1165East Anglia, England
25 April 1180Nottinghamshire, England
15 April 1185Lincoln, Lincolnshire, EnglandLincoln Cathedral badly damaged.
00 Jan 1199Scotland
23 April 1228England
1 June 1246Canterbury, Kent, England
13 February 1247London, England
20 February 1247Wales5.5~5.5Damage to St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire.
21 December 1248South West EnglandWells Cathedral reported to have been badly damaged.
11 September 1275Southern EnglandIn Glastonbury, the Abbey was damaged and the Church of St. Michael on Glastonbury Tor destroyed. See 1275 British earthquake.
4 January 1299South East EnglandFelt in Kent and Middlesex; may have caused the collapse of St Andrew's Church in Hitchin.
21 May 1318England
28 March 1343Eastern EnglandFelt in Lincolnshire.
27 March 1349Eastern EnglandFelt in Beverley, Yorkshire.
21 May 1382Canterbury, Kent, England5.8~5.8The bell tower of the cathedral was "severely damaged" and the six bells "shook down". Cloister walls to the Canterbury dormitory were ruined.
In Kent, All Saints Church, West Stourmouth, was badly damaged. Felt in London and lent its name to the "Earthquake Synod."
24 May 1382Canterbury, Kent, England5.0~5.0Aftershock of 21 May earthquake.
28 December 1480Norfolk, England
19 September 1508North SeaFelt in England and Scotland. Recent studies suggest that this earthquake may have been as large as magnitude 7.0, with the epicentre northwest of Scotland.
00 July 1534North Wales, Wales4.5~4.5Felt in Dublin, Ireland.
25 May 1551Croydon, Greater London, England
26 February 1575West Midlands, England5.0~5.0Felt as far apart as York and Bristol.
6 April 1580Strait of Dover, England5.8~5.8First recorded fatality. See Dover Straits earthquake of 1580.
1 May 1580Strait of Dover, England4.4~4.4Principal aftershock of the Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 felt as far as Gravesend.
23 July 1597Scotland4.6~4.6Felt all over the Highlands.
24 December 1601North SeaFelt in London and the east of England.
00 Feb 1602North Sea
8 November 1608Comrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland4.6~4.6
2 March 1622Scotland
11 April 1650Cumberland, Cumbria, England4.9~4.9
00 Jun 1668Scottish Borders, ScotlandNo contemporary account of this shadowy event has come to light, but some later events are compared to it.
6 October 1683Derby, Derbyshire, England4.7~4.7First British earthquake surveyed by the British Geological Survey.
27 August 1690Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales4.7~4.7Also felt in Nantwich, Cheshire and Bideford, Devon.
7 October 1690Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales5.2~5.2Felt from Dublin to London.
8 September 1692Duchy of Brabant, Belgium5.8~5.8Felt in most parts of England, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Citations