A collection of descriptions and references to sounds drawn mainly from primary sources such as autobiographies, diaries and statutes, as well as novels written around the times they depict.
| Sub-category | 1st to 10th |
11th to 15th |
16th to 17th |
18th | Early 19th |
Late 19th |
Early 20th |
Late 20th |
| General sounds of street and town | 7 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 6 | ||
| Open-air markets | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Road traffic | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Communal living and confinement | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| River traffic and related sounds | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Plague, war and disaster | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Sound qualities of buildings | 1 | |||||||
| Sounds of crowds | 1 | 1 |
Period referred to: 8 February 1750
Sound category: Ambient > Plague, war and disaster
Title of work: Gentleman's Magazine
Type of publication: Periodical
Author: The Gentleman's Magazine
Year of publication: 1750
Page/volume number: February 1750
The London earthquake of 1750
Between 12 and 1 o'clock afternoon, an earthquake was felt through London and Westminster; the councellors in the court of king's bench and chancery in Westminster Hall were so alarm'd, that they expected the building to fall; and in the new buildings about Grosvenor Square people ran out of their houses, the chairs shaking, and the pewter rattling on the shelves; a slaughterhouse with a hayloft over it, was thrown down in Southwark, a chimney in Leadenhall-Street, and another in Billiter Square.
Period referred to: Mid 18th century
Sound category: Ambient > Plague, war and disaster
Title of work: Letters
Type of publication: Private correspondence
Author: Horace Walpole
Year of publication: 1750
Page/volume number: Not known
Horace Walpole and the London earthquake of 1750
I felt my bolster lift up my head; I thought somebody was getting from under my bed, but soon found it was a strong earthquake, that lasted near half a minute, with a violent vibration and great roaring. I rang my bell; my servant came in, frightened out of his senses: in an instant we heard all the windows in the neighbourhood flung up. I got up and found people running into the streets, but saw no mischief done: there had been some; two old houses flung down, several chimneys, and much chinaware. The bells rung in several houses.