Langham Village History Group
The Laki eruption occurred on the 8th June 1783 and lasted for 8 months. It had profound
effects on the population of europe, its effections on Langham can be clearly seen from the
Parish Record data.
1783/4 has been recognised as a mortality “crisis year” in the population history of England.
The summer (July) of 1783 was very hot and the following winter (January) was exceptionally
cold. It is considered that these natural events may have contributed to the higher than
normal mortality rate at this time. However, it has been suggested that the extremes in the
weather, particularly the hot summer, where by themselves insufficient to account for the
increased mortality. It is believed that a portion of the increase mortality that occurred in
August/September 1783 was a result of the haze from the eruption that extended over
Europe and eastern England.
The 1780/88 burial records for Langham are in part illegible and burials can not be subdivided
into monthly rates for the key years 1783/4. Nevertheless, it is evident from those that can
be read that each burial is reported on a separate line of text. On the basis of this
assumption the number of burials has been assessed by counting the number of lines of text
entered against each year. This gave the following statistics:
For the years to either side of 1783 and 1784, the annual number of burials was relatively consistent in
the mid to high teens. However, the number of burials recorded for 1783, the year of the eruption,
and 1784 are significantly differed from those reported in the preceding and following years.
A closer look at the records for 1783 shows that 7 burials where recorded up to the 11 June. On a pro
rata basis this equates to about 15 burials over the full year, which is consistent with the annual
number of burials during the years to either side of 1783 and 1784. The remaining 19 burials reported
for 1783 occurred in the half year following 11 June.
The 9 burials reported for 1784 was the lowest annual number for the period 1780 to 1788. However,
taken together with the 26 burials in 1783, the average annual number of burials for the two years is
17.5. This is again consistent with the annual number of burials during the years to either side of 1783
and 1784.
These observations lead to the following conclusions:
•
1783 was a mortality “crisis year” for the population of Langham, which may in part be
associated with the Laki eruption.
•
The reduced mortality rate in 1784 could be interpreted as indicating that the eruption
and hot summer did not cause any additional deaths in the Langham population but it did
result in the early death of those members of the population that would otherwise have
died within the following 6 to 18 months.
•
LAKI was a non-explosive volcano and as a result of its eruption July 1783 was the hottest
on record, June and August were also extra warm. The winter of 1783/4 was
exceptionally severe. This is the normal non-explosive pattern. The eruption of an
explosive volcano results in a warm winter followed by a cool summer.
