England Census

Introduction
A census is a statistical count of the population of a country taken for the purpose of accurate government representation, tax collection and military purposes. The first complete census in England was conducted in 1086 under William the Conqueror who was the first Norman King of England. As the new king, he wanted an accounting of land owners who held lands belonging to the crown along with the number of owned livestock. A detailed history of this survey is available online from History Magazine which was published in October/November 2001.

In England, the government census have taken place every ten years since 1801, however, these earlier censuses were taken strictly for statistical purposes by the Overseers of the Poor and the clergy. The first census listing people by name was taken in 1841 with the census traditionally being taken every ten years since then except for 1941 (due to WW II) along with the fact that the 1931 census was destroyed during WW II. Census records are generally released 100 years after they are taken. Because of this situation with 1931 and 1941 census records there will be a thirty year gap. These records are one of the best ways to locate ancestors at a given place and time.

Although the 1841 census is of great value, it had some limitations. It was originally produced on blue paper and inscribed with pencil. Many of the original images on film were very poor but the digital quality has improved them. In the 1841 census, relationships were not given, the age of individuals older than 15 years was rounded down, and specific birthplaces were not provided. The 1851 census and subsequent censuses provide more detailed information, making it easier to find family members.

The percentages shown in the chart to the right are the percentage of increase in population since the previous census year.

Understanding the Census


At each census, a pre-printed form was used, and this was handed by the enumerators to heads of household. They were told to only record those actually at home on census night, therefore you will not find listed at home those at boarding schools or those working at night. These were collected soon afterwards. In 1841-1901 the enumerator copied the details given onto a master form which is what survives, but in 1911 the original forms were kept, with each household having its own form.

The dates of each census were as follows:

The following information can be found in the censuses:

Here is a list of obscure old English census occupations.

Pre-1841 Census
There are 791 surviving census listings for 1801-1831 created on the parish level. The few surviving pre-1841 censuses generally contain only names of the head-of-household. Consult an archive in your county to determine what may be available, or information on pre-1841 census records can be found in:


 * The University of Essex, Department of History published an easy to follow PDF file in 2004 entitled "Census Schedules and Listings, 1801-1831: An Introduction and Guide" by Richard Wall, Matthew Woollard and Beatrice Moring. This is now available at two websites: (1) The University of Essex, from which it can be readily downloaded; and (2) Academia, from which it can be downloaded by those who first sign up to enroll in Academia. The 151-page guide includes a county-by-county catalogue of the surviving name lists that have been found for the English censuses from 1801-1831, including all those listed in the following work by Chapman.
 * Chapman, Colin R., Pre-1841 Censuses and Population Listings in the British Isles. Dursley, Gloucestershire, England : Lochin Publishing, 1998 (5th ed). (Family History Library book )

The 1831 census was collated by the census office and the resulting Parish Register Abstracts form an important part of the published census material, because from it alone, the clergymen's manuscript returns have survived. The records are held at The National Archives of the UK under 'Clergymen's returns of 1831' (HO71/1-HO71/124.)

There is statistical data available for every parish in the pre-1841 censuses. Consult Online Historical Population Reports article for further details.

Census Headings
The links below show the form layouts and the headings giving the questions that were asked at each census, In PDF format. Also, Guy Etchells has assembled a collection of the official instructions given to enumerators for each census.
 * 1841 and 1851 Headings for the Census of England and Wales
 * 1861 and 1871 Headings for the Census of England and Wales.
 * 1881 and 1891 Headings for the Census of England and Wales
 * 1901 and 1911 Headings for the Census of England and Wales.

1841

 * Name of each member of the household
 * Sex/gender
 * Age (for adults 15 and up, the age was rounded down to the lower multiple of 5)
 * Address
 * Occupation
 * Whether or not the individual was born in the county in which they were living on June 6, 1841. (If it is ‘yes’, it is noted with “Y” and for ‘no’ it is noted with “N”.)
 * A column indicating if born out of the country, i.e. “S” for Scotland; “I” for Ireland
 * Year of Birth: Although the age was rounded down, the year of birth was inadvertantly rounded up. There will be a large discrepancy to be mindful of when looking for accurate dates. For example: Johnny is 39 but is rounded down to 35.  His year of birth is 1802. Rounding it down it should show as 1806; but because of the error it shows as 1811.

This census was conducted by the Registrar General and has the identifying marks of "HO" which stands for 'Home Office'. The returns were sorted and copied into enumerator's books in the format seen today in the digitized online records.

1851 to 1901

 * Name of each member of the household
 * Sex/gender
 * Age – hopefully exact
 * Relationship to the head of the household
 * Condition – marital status
 * Occupation
 * Parish and county of birth (except foreign births, which usually gave country only)
 * The 1851 and 1861 censuses list whether a person was "blind, deaf, or idiot."For Great Britain's shipping and an 1861 census index for those crews in that service are available at Ancestry.co.uk.
 * The 1871 and 1881 censuses list whether a person was considered an "imbecile, idiot, or lunatic."
 * The 1891 census added the number of rooms (if less than 5) that the family occupied. It also listed whether the person was an employer or an employee.


 * 1851: An additional census was taken of places of worship, this was a voluntary census and most places of Worship participated. This guide from The National Archives provides a better understand of the Ecclesiastical Census of 1851. Further information on this census is provided by F. Coakley



1911

 * Name of each member of the household
 * Relationship to the head of the household
 * Age at last birthday
 * Sex/gender
 * Particulars as to Marriage including:
 * Marital condition
 * Completed years the present marriage has lasted
 * Total (number of) children born alive
 * Children (number of) still living
 * Children (number of) who have died
 * Profession or Occupation
 * Industry or service of work
 * Whether an employer, worker, or working on own account
 * Whether working at home
 * Parish and county of birth of everyone in the household
 * Nationality of every person born in a foreign country
 * Lists whether a person was "totally deaf, deaf and dumb, totally blind, lunatic, imbecile, or feeble-mined"

1921
A census was held in 1921 which will be released to the public in 2022. Additional questions over the 1911 census include giving age in years and month, people born abroad giving a country and province, whether children were orphaned, whether previously divorced and the whether attending school.

1931
A census was held in 1931 which unfortunately was destroyed in 1942 due to a fire unrelated to the war. However records from Scotland have survived.

The 1939 Register
In 2015 findmypast released the 1939 register to the public. It was a registration of the population of England on September 29th, 1939, taken for administrative purposes due to the outbreak of World War II. This Register was to be a critical tool in coordinating the war effort at home. It would be used to issue identity cards, organise rationing and more.

The Register lists full Names, full dates of birth, occupations and address. The register was maintained in some form up to 1991 so changes of name upon marriage and subsequent deaths may also be noted.

The register is particularly significant due to it being 76 years old, less than the usual 100 year limit, and the fact that no census survives for 1931 and none was taken in 1941.


 * How-to Video for 1939 Register
 * Search Engine for 1939 Register, ($), index and images.

Accessing Census Records
Many repositories, including the Family History Library, hold a number of indexes to the census records. They may be:


 * Original Census records from 1841-1891
 * Surname Indexes
 * Street Indexes
 * Some remnants of 1801-1831 censuses that include names

Online
Several websites have now published online many of the census indexes and records from 1841-1911. Each site will have a different transcription, and potentially some records not found on other websites.

Smaller Local Indexes at the Family History Library
In addition to the nationwide census surname indexes, there are many smaller surname indexes, created by individuals and family history societies in England, that cover specific counties, districts or parishes. The following links will direct you to pages that show these smaller surname indexes for each county, and which are found in the Family History Library's collection.

Learn more effective search features in FamilySearch see Ten Powerful Search Features in the FamilySearch.org Search Engine

Online Tutorials

 * England Beginning Research Series Lesson 2: Understanding Census Records
 * England and Wales Census Records 1841-1911 Indexes

Important Searching Points
A number of items need to be considered while searching census records for family members:


 * 1) Names may be misspelled – both Christian and surnames could have variant spellings.
 * 2) Ages and birthplaces may not be accurate – consider who was reporting the information.
 * 3) Relationships may not be expressed in terms understood today – regionally “in law” and “step” are  terms that have different meanings.
 * 4) Jurisdictions changed – as population grew and shifted, jurisdictions changed.
 * 5) People may not be where they are expected – a disaster or plague may have forced a family to move.
 * 6) Pages may be unreadable – use “zoom” and other enhancements on digital copiers.

Census details changed little from year to year. See a detailed listing of the changes made to the census over the years starting in 1841. At the GENUKI website you will find an excellent explanation of the census records and availability. (Examples of Census - 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871) NOTE: Many of the websites have not yet updated their pages to include the 1911 census.

Worksheets
A generic [[Media:British_Census_Form.pdf|census worksheet]] can be used to record information found in all census records. Or, forms for specific census years are available at Ancestry.com:
 * 1841 Census Form (PDF)
 * 1851 Census Form (PDF)
 * 1861 Census Form (PDF)
 * 1871 Census Form (PDF)
 * 1881 Census Form (PDF)
 * 1891 Census Form (PDF)
 * 1901 Census Form (PDF)
 * 1911 Census Form (PDF)

Missing Records
Various parts of the England, Wales, and Scotland census returns from 1841 to 1911 are incomplete and have pieces missing. Find My Past has has identified the known gaps by census year, nation, county, and village or parish in Census for England, Wales and Scotland: missing pieces

Statistical Data Gathered from the Census
There is statistical data available for every census year from 1801 to 1931 on Histpop - the Online Historical Population Reports (OHPR) website. The statistical data records the number of houses, families, people, and other statistical data for every parish in England. It allows one to see the growth of parishes and regions from census year to census year.