Deep spectroscopy of distant 3CR radio galaxies: the data

Deep long-slit spectroscopic data are presented for a sample of 14 3CR radio galaxies at redshift z|1, previously studied in detail using the Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Array, and the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Analysis of the [O ii] 3727 emission-line structures at |5 Å spectral resolution is carried out to derive the kinematic properties of the emission-line gas. In line with previous lower resolution studies, a wide variety of kinematics are seen, from gas consistent with a mean rotational motion through to complex structures with velocity dispersions exceeding 1000 km s −1. The data confirm the presence of a high-velocity gas component in 3C 265 and detached emission-line systems in 3C 356 and 3C 441, and show for the first time that the emission-line gas in the central regions of 3C 324 is composed of two kinematically distinct components. Emission-line fluxes and the colour of the continuum emission are determined down to unprecedentedly low observed wavelengths, λ<3500 Å, sufficiently short that any contribution of an evolved stellar population is negligible. An accompanying paper investigates the variation in the emission-line ratios and velocity structures within the sample, and draws conclusions as to the origin of the ionization and kinematics of these galaxies.