71:
624:. The weekly returns were based on death certificates, and therefore much more accurate than the bills of mortality based on burials. When the Registrar General began weekly returns in 1840 to the Metropolis defined in the 1831 census were added the parishes of Bow, Camberwell, Fulham, Hammersmith and the Greenwich Poor Law Union. This area was used for annual returns from 1837 and was the definition of the Metropolis in the 1841 census.
19:
41:, before reaching its maximum extent in 1636. New parishes were then only added where ancient parishes within the area were divided. Factors such as the use of suburban cemeteries outside the area, the exemption of extra-parochial places within the area, the wider growth of the metropolis, and that they recorded
82:
during outbreaks of plague. The first Bill is believed to date from
November 1532. The first regular weekly collection and publishing of the number of burials in the parishes of London began on 21 December 1592 and continued until 18 December 1595. The practice was abandoned and then revived on 21
627:
In 1844 the
Wandsworth and Clapham Poor Law Union was added and in 1847 the parish of Hampstead and the Lewisham Poor Law Union were added to the weekly returns. This was the definition of the Metropolis used in the 1851 census. This area, with minor adjustments, became the district of the
148:
ceased to provide returns from 1823. From then until 1858 the practice of producing bills of mortality was in decline, as parishes ceased to provide returns to the
Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks. The last surviving bill of mortality is believed to be from 28 September 1858.
204:
were generally elderly women, some of whom were “notorious for their habits of drinking.” Sometimes two searchers would attend and demand a shilling each. In some cases, they would also demand an item of clothing in which the deceased had died as a
45:
rather than deaths, rendered their data incomplete. Production of the bills went into decline from 1819 as parishes ceased to provide returns, with the last surviving weekly bill dating from 1858. They were superseded by the weekly returns of the
199:
would then proceed to the place of death for an inspection to authenticate the information. For this service they were entitled to ask a fee of one shilling from the family or friends of the deceased in the 19th century. The
617:, the Bills of mortality area and the "five villages beyond the Bills" consisting of the parishes of Chelsea, Kensington, Marylebone, Paddington and St Pancras were designated the "Metropolis" in the 1801 to 1831 censuses.
157:
The area fixed in 1636, adding only St Mary le Strand in 1726 which was already within the outer boundary of the bills. The area quickly became much smaller than the growing metropolis. The bills recorded burials in
984:
929:
441:
Formed 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.
74:
Deaths attributed to plague recorded in the weekly Bills of
Mortality, 1639–1647. A significant annual peak during the warmer months of the year is evident.
33:, designed to monitor burials from 1592 to 1595 and then continuously from 1603. The responsibility to produce the statistics was chartered in 1611 to the
174:. Extra-parochial places and certain churches within the area failed to give returns because they were outside the normal parish system. For example, the
682:"Validation of inverse seasonal peak mortality in medieval plagues, including the Black Death, in comparison to modern Yersinia pestis-variant diseases"
933:
561:
The population of the parishes in Bills of mortality area, as it was fixed in 1726, consisting of some 21,587 acres (87.36 km), was:
955:
789:
763:
621:
83:
December 1603 when there was another outbreak of plague. In 1611 the duty to produce the Bills was imposed on the members of the
614:
620:
From 11 January 1840, the bills were superseded by the
Registrar General's weekly returns for the Metropolis, following the
84:
34:
1029:
913:
300:
263:
409:(the parishes of St George the Martyr; St John Horsleydown; St Olave; St Saviour and St Thomas and Christchurch)
835:
328:
316:
175:
171:
186:. These defects meant that the bills failed to record approximately a third of deaths in the Metropolis.
1004:
629:
114:
51:
1019:
280:
989:
930:"Wellcome Library | Introduction to mortality statistics in England and Wales: 17th-20th century"
170:
or those of other faiths. From 1830 burials started to take place outside the bills area in the large
332:
1024:
145:
195:
by an undertaker or relative or friend with the name, age and cause of death of the deceased. The
340:
1009:
308:
257:
959:
360:
356:
141:
695:
656:
Penge added 1855, Penge removed 1900, South
Hornsey added 1900, North Woolwich removed 1965
510:
344:
267:
191:
96:
793:
767:
8:
368:
284:
814:
The Lancet London: A Journal of
British and Foreign Medicine, Volume 2, Elsevier, (1840)
699:
113:
In 1632, the Clerks were asked to identify five different infectious diseases caused by
1014:
718:
681:
163:
92:
50:
from 1840, taking in further parishes until 1847. This area became the district of the
549:
Parish of
Christchurch, Southwark formed 1670: originally the Liberty of Paris Garden.
99:
in 1636 and 1639. The Bills covered 129 parishes at the granting of the 1639 charter.
909:
723:
420:
384:
380:
206:
159:
47:
713:
703:
633:
372:
324:
292:
182:
was added in 1729, but was excluded in 1730 because of a successful claim of being
134:
55:
42:
708:
320:
189:
When someone died within the prescribed limits of London a message was sent to a
183:
179:
167:
231:
107:
88:
79:
38:
998:
352:
276:
244:
144:, coming directly from the Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks. The clerk of
985:
Guide to mortality statistics in
England and Wales from the Wellcome Library
847:, Vol. 7, No. 1. (April 1844), pp. 69-85. (JSTOR), accessed February 6, 2008
70:
727:
637:
348:
288:
118:
59:
37:. The bills covered an area that started to expand as London grew from the
841:
The Metropolis: Its Boundaries, Extent, and Divisions for Local Government
412:
392:
296:
901:
839:
416:
312:
130:
406:
336:
304:
252:
122:
140:
In 1819 the bills ceased to be published under the authority of the
95:), to coincide with the city calendar. New charters were granted by
18:
686:
376:
364:
217:
These places were within the boundaries of the bills of mortality:
78:
Bills were produced intermittently in the several parishes of the
424:
388:
272:
126:
103:
491:
The two parishes of St Giles and St George were united in 1774.
482:
The parish of St John was formed from part of St James in 1723.
400:
30:
473:
The remainder of the parish lay in the Liberty of Westminster.
956:"Vision of Britain | 1861 Census: General Report |"
110:
was given, and in the early 18th century the age at death.
162:
churchyards and not deaths. The bills did not include the
540:
Formed from part of Stepney in the early 17th century.
522:
The remainder of the parish lay in the City of London.
273:
St Andrew Holborn above Bars with St George the Martyr
880:Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England
747:
996:
826:, Vol III, (1847) London, Charles Knight, p.318.
743:
741:
739:
737:
91:. Annual returns were made on 21 December (the
460:
458:
456:
679:
845:Journal of the Statistical Society of London
824:The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge
734:
608:
680:Welford, Mark R.; Bossak, Brian H. (2009).
675:
673:
453:
212:
152:
874:
717:
707:
882:, Vol. I: Southern England, London, 1979
872:
870:
868:
866:
864:
862:
860:
858:
856:
854:
670:
69:
29:were the weekly mortality statistics in
17:
622:Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836
997:
900:
782:
851:
509:Parish created 1733 from the part of
531:Formed from part of Stepney in 1670.
464:Formed from part of Stepney in 1729.
450:Formed from part of Stepney in 1743.
258:The City and Liberty of Westminster
85:Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks
35:Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks
13:
790:"Parish Clerks Company - Lectures"
14:
1041:
978:
764:"Parish Clerks Company - History"
301:Liberty of the Duchy of Lancaster
297:St James and St John, Clerkenwell
357:St John the Baptist in the Savoy
948:
922:
894:
885:
650:
543:
534:
525:
516:
503:
494:
485:
476:
467:
444:
242:16 parishes without the Walls;
990:Map of bills of mortality area
829:
817:
808:
756:
435:
240:97 parishes within the Walls;
1:
663:
556:
176:Church of St Peter ad Vincula
709:10.1371/journal.pone.0008401
500:Formed from Stepney in 1725.
102:By 1570, the Bills included
7:
750:The Parish Clerks of London
630:Metropolitan Board of Works
513:outside the City of London.
333:St Katherine near the Tower
115:human-to-human transmission
52:Metropolitan Board of Works
10:
1046:
748:Reginald H. Adams (1971).
289:Christchurch, Spitalfields
281:St Botolph without Aldgate
65:
609:Registrar General returns
277:St Matthew, Bethnal Green
264:The Tower and its Liberty
1030:Social history of London
906:London: a social history
643:
421:St Mary, Newington Butts
146:St George Hanover Square
87:by a charter granted by
878:Frederic A Youngs Jr.,
613:Under the direction of
213:Places within the bills
153:Problems with the bills
369:St Leonard, Shoreditch
309:St Giles in the Fields
75:
23:
22:Annual return for 1665
317:St George in the East
313:St George, Bloomsbury
142:Corporation of London
73:
21:
511:St Giles Cripplegate
413:St Mary, Rotherhithe
407:Borough of Southwark
393:St Mary, Whitechapel
345:Liberty of the Rolls
268:Old Artillery Ground
908:. London: Penguin.
700:2009PLoSO...4.8401W
417:St Mary, Bermondsey
373:St Dunstan, Stepney
237:Entire, comprising:
172:suburban cemeteries
1005:Bills of mortality
936:on 2 February 2014
796:on 2 February 2014
770:on 2 February 2014
341:St Luke, Middlesex
329:St Mary, Islington
164:English Dissenters
93:feast of St Thomas
76:
27:Bills of mortality
24:
1020:Health in England
962:on 29 August 2016
606:
605:
431:
430:
385:Mile End New Town
381:Mile End Old Town
365:St Paul, Shadwell
337:St Ann, Limehouse
160:Church of England
48:Registrar General
1037:
972:
971:
969:
967:
958:. Archived from
952:
946:
945:
943:
941:
932:. Archived from
926:
920:
919:
898:
892:
889:
883:
876:
849:
833:
827:
821:
815:
812:
806:
805:
803:
801:
792:. Archived from
786:
780:
779:
777:
775:
766:. Archived from
760:
754:
753:
745:
732:
731:
721:
711:
677:
657:
654:
634:County of London
564:
563:
550:
547:
541:
538:
532:
529:
523:
520:
514:
507:
501:
498:
492:
489:
483:
480:
474:
471:
465:
462:
451:
448:
442:
439:
425:St Mary, Lambeth
389:St John, Wapping
375:(the hamlets of
325:St John, Hackney
293:St Clement Danes
285:The Charterhouse
220:
219:
56:County of London
1045:
1044:
1040:
1039:
1038:
1036:
1035:
1034:
1025:Death in London
995:
994:
981:
976:
975:
965:
963:
954:
953:
949:
939:
937:
928:
927:
923:
916:
899:
895:
890:
886:
877:
852:
836:Joseph Fletcher
834:
830:
822:
818:
813:
809:
799:
797:
788:
787:
783:
773:
771:
762:
761:
757:
746:
735:
678:
671:
666:
661:
660:
655:
651:
646:
611:
559:
554:
553:
548:
544:
539:
535:
530:
526:
521:
517:
508:
504:
499:
495:
490:
486:
481:
477:
472:
468:
463:
454:
449:
445:
440:
436:
410:
321:Glasshouse Yard
271:
266:(including the
261:
243:
241:
239:
215:
184:extra-parochial
180:Tower of London
168:Roman Catholics
155:
68:
12:
11:
5:
1043:
1033:
1032:
1027:
1022:
1017:
1012:
1007:
993:
992:
987:
980:
979:External links
977:
974:
973:
947:
921:
914:
893:
884:
850:
828:
816:
807:
781:
755:
733:
668:
667:
665:
662:
659:
658:
648:
647:
645:
642:
610:
607:
604:
603:
600:
597:
594:
591:
588:
584:
583:
580:
577:
574:
571:
568:
558:
555:
552:
551:
542:
533:
524:
515:
502:
493:
484:
475:
466:
452:
443:
433:
432:
429:
428:
403:
397:
396:
255:
249:
248:
234:
232:City of London
228:
227:
226:Parts thereof
224:
214:
211:
154:
151:
108:cause of death
106:; in 1629 the
80:City of London
67:
64:
39:City of London
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1042:
1031:
1028:
1026:
1023:
1021:
1018:
1016:
1013:
1011:
1010:Biostatistics
1008:
1006:
1003:
1002:
1000:
991:
988:
986:
983:
982:
961:
957:
951:
935:
931:
925:
917:
915:9780140105933
911:
907:
903:
897:
888:
881:
875:
873:
871:
869:
867:
865:
863:
861:
859:
857:
855:
848:
846:
842:
837:
832:
825:
820:
811:
795:
791:
785:
769:
765:
759:
752:. Phillimore.
751:
744:
742:
740:
738:
729:
725:
720:
715:
710:
705:
701:
697:
694:(12): e8401.
693:
689:
688:
683:
676:
674:
669:
653:
649:
641:
639:
635:
632:in 1855, the
631:
625:
623:
618:
616:
601:
598:
595:
592:
589:
586:
585:
581:
578:
575:
572:
569:
566:
565:
562:
546:
537:
528:
519:
512:
506:
497:
488:
479:
470:
461:
459:
457:
447:
438:
434:
427:
426:
422:
418:
414:
408:
404:
402:
399:
398:
395:
394:
390:
386:
382:
378:
374:
370:
366:
362:
358:
354:
353:Hatton Garden
350:
347:; Liberty of
346:
342:
338:
334:
330:
326:
322:
319:; Liberty of
318:
314:
310:
306:
302:
298:
294:
290:
286:
282:
278:
274:
269:
265:
259:
256:
254:
251:
250:
247:and Chancery
246:
245:Inns of Court
238:
235:
233:
230:
229:
225:
222:
221:
218:
210:
208:
203:
198:
194:
193:
187:
185:
181:
177:
173:
169:
165:
161:
150:
147:
143:
138:
136:
132:
128:
124:
120:
116:
111:
109:
105:
100:
98:
94:
90:
86:
81:
72:
63:
61:
57:
54:in 1855, the
53:
49:
44:
40:
36:
32:
28:
20:
16:
964:. Retrieved
960:the original
950:
938:. Retrieved
934:the original
924:
905:
896:
887:
879:
844:
840:
831:
823:
819:
810:
798:. Retrieved
794:the original
784:
772:. Retrieved
768:the original
758:
749:
691:
685:
652:
638:Inner London
636:in 1889 and
626:
619:
615:John Rickman
612:
560:
545:
536:
527:
518:
505:
496:
487:
478:
469:
446:
437:
411:
361:St Sepulchre
349:Saffron Hill
262:
236:
216:
201:
196:
190:
188:
156:
139:
119:tuberculosis
112:
101:
77:
60:Inner London
58:in 1889 and
26:
25:
15:
902:Porter, Roy
891:1871 Census
587:Population
999:Categories
940:22 January
800:22 January
774:21 January
664:References
602:1,353,345
557:Population
207:perquisite
131:French pox
1015:Pandemics
966:16 August
640:in 1965.
599:1,180,292
596:1,011,948
377:Ratcliffe
305:Ely Place
253:Middlesex
202:searchers
97:Charles I
62:in 1965.
904:(2000).
728:20027294
687:PLOS One
363:(part);
303:(part);
295:(part);
197:searcher
192:searcher
123:smallpox
104:baptisms
719:2791870
696:Bibcode
593:856,412
590:746,233
178:in the
127:measles
89:James I
66:History
43:burials
912:
726:
716:
401:Surrey
223:County
135:plague
133:, and
31:London
644:Notes
582:1841
968:2016
942:2014
910:ISBN
802:2014
776:2014
724:PMID
579:1831
576:1821
573:1811
570:1801
567:Year
405:The
383:and
351:and
311:and
714:PMC
704:doi
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
