List of earthquakes in the British Isles

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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.

DateLocationLatLongIntensityCommentsSource 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 Felt in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland 21 May 1382 Strait of Dover, England 51.34 2.00 VII–VIII >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 6 April 1580 Strait of Dover, England 51.06 1.60 VII–VIII 5.8~5.8 See Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 19 July 1727 Swansea, Wales 51.57 3.76 VII 3.3 Rang church bells as far away as Oxford. 14 January 1916 Stafford, England 52.85 −2.19 VII 4.6 Significant damage at Chebsey 21 October 2002 Manchester, England 3.9 Largest in an earthquake swarm of 116 earthquakes, 36 of which were felt 27 February 2008 Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, England 53.400 −0.332 VI 5.2 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.