This article has a twofold aim: to introduce ongoing work on an electronic edition of English witness depositions from the period 1560-1760; and to demonstrate in two case studies that this edition is particularly appropriate for studies of regional variation in Early Modern English. The first part of the article outlines the background and methodology of the project. It stresses the need for an accurate, large-scale electronic database of witness depositions based on transcriptions from the original manuscripts. These manuscripts originate from a variety of regions across England. In the second part of the article, the two case studies illustrate the importance of region on language use. Regarding the third person neuter pronoun forms (hit, it, 't, and him), the older form hit is only found in the North-west. In the choice between was and were with third person plural subjects, was is only frequent in the North, in particular the North-east.