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Early modern and modern
Where the Asylums Were
Britain's asylums mapped: most built between 1845 and 1914, almost none closed until the 1980s, and most closed sites are now homes.
This is an interactive data study by Dr Tristan Hotham, built from open data. The map runs in your browser: explore it, search for places and switch layers. The write-up explains the method and what the data shows, and the data and code are open for anyone to reuse.
More in Early modern and modern
TransportedEvery convict ship voyage to Australia, 1788 to 1868: the busiest port was Cork and the Second Fleet lost a quarter at sea.
Drowned ValleysThe villages and valleys flooded for reservoirs, from Capel Celyn to Mologa, set against the great dam-building boom.
Fencing the CommonsEvery parliamentary enclosure Act in England and Wales mapped place by place: two waves, and half passed in the wars with France.
Ships Before SteamReal ships' logbooks from 1750 to 1850 drawn as voyage lines: the trade winds, the volta do mar, the Brouwer route and how long voyages took.
Pirate Hotspots, Then and Now7,511 pirate attacks from 1993 to 2020, with IMB counts to 2026: piracy moved from the Strait of Malacca to Somalia, the Gulf of Guinea and now the Singapore Strait.
What's Left of the Workhouse?356 traces of Britain and Ireland's workhouses in open data: surviving buildings, Workhouse Lanes and famine graves. 74% of survivors with a known later use became hospitals or homes.