The 1727-1731 Demographic Crisis in Non-Metropolitan Surrey

Abstract

This research note adds to the evidence of the scale and nature of the 1727-1731 mortality crisis by describing some evidence from the parish registers of Surrey. It shows that non-metropolitan Surrey experienced waves of raised mortality over a period of several years between 1727 and 1731 and, to a lesser extent, into 1732. The raised mortality affected different parishes at different times and to different extents. The seasonality of peaks in burials and differences in the ages of those buried provides an indication of the diseases which may have been involved. There is some evidence suggesting a degree of social disruption during the crisis.