3 - Geographical patterns of mortality

Summary

By comparing the extracts of sundry registers of parishes on different soils, situations, etc. we come to the surest proof of the healthiness or longevity of various soils: for where the greatest disproportion is between christenings and buryings in favour of the first, the healthier the place (supposing the registers are faithfully kept, and all christenings, marriages, and buryings registered) and no uncommon resort of strangers to the place, nor dispersion of its inhabitants, as in sea-ports, manufactures, etc.

(Short, 1750, pp.306–7)

PARISH REGISTERS AND REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC STUDIES

The mortality experience of different communities in past times is a central aspect of this regional study. The burial ceremonies of generations of men, women and children are recorded in the Anglican parish registers and in the books of nonconformist meeting houses and these comprise the main quantitative source from which to sketch the contours and outlines of mortality in the parishes of south-east England. The registers for Essex, Kent and Sussex contain many thousands of entries though we know that many others have been missed, lost or obliterated with the passage of time. The burial registers record the final departure of the deceased from this world; they tell us little about the individual, his or her status in life, the cause of death or any intimate details that would help furnish our imagination of past times. For the most part we are left with endless lists of long-forgotten names – bare reminders of all those who ended their days in the little villages and towns of Essex, Kent and Sussex.