The 1185 East Midlands earthquake happened in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the first

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

in England for which there are reliable reports indicating damage. The moment magnitude of the shock was estimated to be above 5.0 and its intensity was placed at VII (''Damaging'') on the

European macroseismic scale The European macroseismic scale (EMS) is the basis for evaluation of seismic intensity in European countries and is also used in a number of countries outside Europe. Issued in 1998 as an update of the test version from 1992, the scale is referred ...

Earthquake

The earthquake of 15 April 1185 in the region of

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

was one of the largest and most damaging earthquakes the British Isles had ever encountered. The magnitude has been estimated at around 5 . Some think the

epicentre The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

of the earthquake was close to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in East Midlands. The epicentre has also been suggested to be in or around

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. However, it could possibly be anywhere from

Dogger Bank Dogger Bank (Dutch: ''Doggersbank'', German: ''Doggerbank'', Danish: ''Doggerbanke'') is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. During the last ice age the bank was part of a large landmass c ...

to the East Midlands. Some references talk of the earthquake happening somewhere offshore in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

east of northern England; its effects may have been felt as far away as

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The historian

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...

did not report it as being felt in London. His history records show that the first major earthquake in England since 1133 was the one of 13 February 1247.

Damage

There are reports of complete villages being totally demolished, including the villages of Raleigh and Danethorpe. The hamlet of Grimston, now referred to as Wellow, may also have suffered damage, but that is debatable as the land was used for expansion of

Rufford Abbey Rufford Abbey is a country estate in Rufford, Nottinghamshire, England, two miles (4 km) south of Ollerton. Originally a Cistercian abbey, it was converted to a country house in the 16th century after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. ...

, and there is confusion as to what actually happened to the small hamlet. Masonry houses were knocked down completely, which indicates an intensity of more than VII EMS at certain locations.

Ralph of Diceto Ralph de Diceto (or Ralph of Diss; c. 1120c. 1202) was archdeacon of Middlesex, dean of St Paul's Cathedral (from c. 1180), and author of two chronicles, the ''Abbreviationes chronicorum'' and the ''Ymagines historiarum''. Early career Ralph is ...

reported in writings done in London that it struck in northern England and that "in some places buildings were destroyed". There are also reports that stones were split ("''petrae enim scissae sunt''"); stone houses were knocked down; and that parts of

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

were brought down. The damage to Lincoln cathedral has been a controversial issue because it cannot be determined to what extent the earthquake damaged it and what parts fell on their own due to poor construction. The city of Lincoln was reported to have been damaged by the earthquake.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores ; 36.) (London : Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1865) *Annales monasterii de Bermundeseia (A.D. 1042-1432), p. 446 in Annales Monastici Vol. III / ed. Henry Richards Luard. (Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores ; 36.) (London : Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1866) *Annales prioratus de Wigornia (A.D. 1-1377), p. 385, in Annales Monastici Vol. IV / ed. Henry Richards Luard. (Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores ; 36.) (London : Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1869) *Memoriale Fratis Walteris de Coventria, Pars secunda: Annales Angliae, p. 336, in Annales Monastici Vol. III / ed. Henry Richards Luard (Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores ; 36.) (London : Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1864-1869) *Annales Prioratus de Dunstaplia (A.D. 1 -1297), p. 23, in Annales Monastici Vol. III / ed. Henry Richards Luard. (Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores ; 36.) (London : Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1866) {{Authority control Geology of Great Britain 12th century in England

1185 Year 1185 ( MCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August – King William II (the Good) lands in Epirus with a Siculo-Nor ...

12th-century earthquakes 1185 in England East Midlands