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The following is a list of notable earthquakes that have affected the British Isles. 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 (2003) 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 threw down newly built cathedrals may simply have been catastrophic failure of overloaded masonry, particularly towers, rather than actual tectonic events.

Earthquakes DateLocationLatLongIntensityCasualties CommentsSource 15 April 1185 Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England ~VIII Lincoln Cathedral badly damaged. See 1185 East Midlands earthquake. 20 February 1247 South Wales to London, England 5.5≳5.5 Felt in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland 21 December 1248 South West England VII–VIII Wells Cathedral reported to have been badly damaged 11 September 1275 South Wales to Southern England >VII 6.0~6.0 Multiple fatalities In Glastonbury, the Abbey was damaged and the Church of St. Michael on the Torr Hill destroyed. "Only contemporary report of earthquake fatalities before 1580". See 1275 British earthquake 21 May 1382 Strait of Dover, England 51.34 2.00 VII–VIII 5.5>5.5 The 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 (MMVI) and lent its name to the "Earthquake Synod". See 1382 Dover Straits earthquake 28 December 1480 Norwich, England VIII Severe damage reported affecting a wide area 6 April 1580 Strait of Dover, England 51.06 1.60 VII–VIII 5.8~5.8 2 fatalities See Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 11 April 1650 Cumberland, England 54.98 −2.78 VII 4.9 Epicentre probably near Carlisle, felt at Glasgow 18 September 1692 Duchy of Brabant, Belgium 50.8 4.8 6.0~6.0 Felt in most parts of England, France, Germany and the Netherlands 19 July 1727 Swansea, Wales 51.57 -3.76 VII 3.3 Rang church bells as far away as Oxford. 8 September 1775 Swansea, Wales 51.73 −3.81 VII 5.1 Some buildings said to have collapsed, felt from Devon to Lancashire to Surrey 7 September 1801 Comrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland 56.4 −3.99 VI 4.6 2 fatalities Two farmworkers were killed when part of a barn collapsed 17 March 1816 Mansfield, England 53.09 −1.18 VII 4.2 Several injuries Falling masonry injured several in the church at Mansfield, felt from Blackburn to Hull to Gumley 27 August 1834 Chichester, England 50.82 −0.82 VII 3.3 Last in a sequence of damaging earthquakes starting with an event in September 1833 that caused the death of a quarryman 23 October 1839 Comrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland VII 4.8~4.8 Part of a long-lived earthquake swarm. This was the largest of all known Comrie earthquakes, and was felt over most of Scotland. It caused a dam near Stirling to breach. 9 November 1852 Caernarfon, Wales 53.02 −4.30 VII 5.3 Similar to the 1984 Llŷn Peninsula earthquake, felt in Dublin, Belfast, Carlisle and Cheltenham 15 February 1865 Barrow in Furness, England 54.07 −3.18 VIII 2.2 Small area of high intensity indicating a shallow focus (≤1 km) 28 November 1880 Argyll, Argyll and Bute, Scotland 56.19 −5.30 VI 5.2~5.2 Largest recorded earthquake in Scotland. 22 April 1884 Colchester, Essex, England 51.82 0.90 VIII 4.6~4.6 2 fatalities The most damaging earthquake since 1580. At least two indirect fatalities reported. Felt in France and Belgium. See 1884 Colchester earthquake. 18 August 1892 Pembroke, Wales 51.70 −5.04 VII 5.1 Felt most strongly in Wales and South West England, but also felt in SE Ireland 17 December 1896 Hereford, England 52.02 −2.55 VII Felt widely throughout England and Wales and E Ireland 18 September 1901 Inverness, Scotland 57.43 −4.32 VII 5.0 Considerable minor damage, many falling chimney pots. Many foreshocks and aftershocks. 24 March 1903 Derby, England 53.05 −1.70 VII 4.6 Felt from Hoylake, to Boston and Richmond to Barnt Green 27 June 1906 Swansea, Wales 51.62 −3.81 VII 5.2 3 injured One of the most damaging British earthquakes of the 20th century. See 1906 Swansea earthquake. 14 January 1916 Stafford, England 52.85 −2.19 VII 4.6 Significant damage at Chebsey 4 April 1924 Mansfield, England 53.11 −1.34 VII Most damaging of a sequence that started on 3 March 15 August 1926 Ludlow, England 52.31 −2.66 VII 4.8 Felt from Plymouth to Hull 3 May 1931 Manchester, England 53.50 −2.35 VII 3.7 Small but damaging earthquake 7 June 1931 Dogger Bank, North Sea 54.08 1.50 VII 6.1 2 fatalities Strongest recorded instrumentally. See 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake. 16 July 1940 Kilsyth, Scotland 56.00 −4.00 VII–VIII 3.7 House gable collapsed at Carronbridge 12 December 1940 Caernarfon, Wales 53.03 −4.18 V 4.7 1 fatalities An elderly woman was killed after she fell down the stairs 30 December 1944 Skipton, England 53.86 −2.02 VII 4.8 Generally minor damage 11 February 1957 Derby, England 52.80 −1.33 VII 5.3 Felt across central England. Largest UK post-war earthquake until 1984, and one of the most damaging earthquakes of the twentieth century. 26 December 1979 Longtown, Cumbria, England 55.03 −2.82 VI 4.7 Damage to buildings in Canonbie, Carlisle, and Glasgow. 19 July 1984 Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd, Wales 52.96 −4.38 VII 5.4 Several injuries Felt across Ireland and western Great Britain. See 1984 Llŷn Peninsula earthquake. 2 April 1990 Bishop's Castle, England 52.43 −3.03 VI 5.1 Very widely felt in Wales and England. See 1990 Bishop's Castle earthquake. 22 September 2002 Dudley, West Midlands, England 52.53 −2.16 V 4.7 Widely felt in England and Wales. 21 October 2002 Manchester, England 3.9 Largest in an earthquake swarm of 116 earthquakes, 36 of which were felt 28 April 2007 Folkestone, Kent 51.10 1.17 VI 4.3 2 injured Caused significant damage in Folkestone, felt throughout Kent. See 2007 Kent earthquake. 27 February 2008 Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, England 53.400 −0.332 VI 5.2 1 injuries Felt widely in England and Wales. See 2008 Market Rasen earthquake. 1 April 2011 Blackpool, England 2.3 First of two minor earthquakes that were caused by fracking carried out by CuadrillaNote: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability essay that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

See also Geology of England Geology of Great Britain List of volcanoes in the United Kingdom

References

Citations

Bibliography

BGS Historical earthquakes listing BGS Interactive UK earthquakes map Archives of the British Geological Survey R M W Musson, "Fatalities in British earthquakes". Astronomy & Geophysics. Vol. 44, p1 (2003)

External links Historical UK earthquakes – BGS List of Earthquakes in the British Isles Q&A: UK's small-scale earthquakes