  Recent observations supported by theoretical models have lead to the view
that giant and supergiant stars are over abundant, and/or a high metallicity
component may be present, in the stellar populations at the centres of active
galaxies. Here we attempt to quantify these effects by observing the strengths
of the stellar absorption lines of Mg~b, NaI, CaII triplet as well as molecular
bands such as CN and TiO. Using long-slit spectroscopic data we are able to
separate the stellar populations in and around the nucleus, for a sample
including, normal, LINER, starburst and Seyfert galaxies.
  In this paper we present the data, namely spectra of the nucleus and of a
number of circum-nuclear regions. Comparisons reveal gradients in both the
reddening and the stellar population within the central regions of most
galaxies. Detailed stellar population synthesis is presented in a companion
paper.
