England Census: What It Is and How It Was Gathered

A census is a survey of all people and households in the country. It was taken every 10 years, starting in 1801. The 1801-1831 censuses were statistical in purpose and few surviving records list people by name. The 1841 census was the first national census that contains information of value to family history because it, and successive censuses, list the names and details of everyone in a household.

The title of the man who collected details was called an enumerator. He was assigned to visit a specific area or number of streets with the purpose of leaving a form that was to be filled out on the night of the census. Information about everyone in the house on that night – family, relatives, boarders and visitors – were to be listed. The enumerator went back in the next few days and gathered the forms. An article written by Guy Etchells explains in detail the instructions given to enumerators.

Dates the Censuses Were Taken
Since one of the main goals was to avoid double counting people, the enumeration districts were small enough for the census taker to complete his work in one day. Censuses were taken on specific dates. The following list gives the dates for each of the available census years:

Learn more about English censuses by taking the FamilySearch online lesson about Census Records, and reading A copy of the Act for Taking an Account of the Population of Great Britain [w10 August 1840.