Info about the Census

Census of England and Wales There has been a census every ten years since 1801, excluding 1941. However, only those that date from 1841 are of real value to the family historian. The administration of the early census returns 1801-1831 was the responsibility of the Overseers of the Poor and the clergy. Most of these early returns were unfortunately destroyed, although in some isolated instances they have been preserved. The census returns for 1841 were the first to be kept and, as far as the general public is concerned, the information is released by the Public Record Office after a hundred years. For example, the public were given access to the 1891 census returns on 1 January 1992. The census was taken on the following dates: 10 Mar 1801 No longer exists, with a few exceptions 27 May 1811 No longer exists, with a few exceptions 28 May 1821 No longer exists, with a few exceptions 30 May 1831 No longer exists, with a few exceptions 7 June 1841 30 March 1851 7 April 1861 2 April 1871 3 April 1881 5 April 1891 31 March 1901 2 Apr 1911 100 year closure - available 1 Jan 2012 19 Jun 1921 100 year closure 26 Apr 1931 Destroyed by fire during WW2   1941 Not taken due to the war. The 1841 census was different from the previous censuses in two important respects. Firstly, the administration passed into the hands of the Registrar General and the Superintendant Registrars, who were responsible for the registration of births, marriages and deaths. Many recent reforms, including the 1836 General Registration Act, which had culminated in the introduction of civil registration had resulted in a new layer of central and local government. When the 1841 census was being prepared, it was seen as a logical step that it should also supervise the census. Consequently, civil registration and census taking became inter-related; any change in local boundaries or districts affected them both. Secondly, the emphasis changed from questions concerned with population size, and the numbers engaged in certain occupations and the condition of the housing stock, to a much more detailed analysis of individuals and families, and the communities in which they lived. Census returns are held at England and Wales "Family Records Centre" 1 Mydlleton Street Islington LONDON EC1R 1UW Scotland New Register House, Princes St, Edinburgh EH1 3YT District Libraries normally have copies of the returns for their own area LDS have copies of the census microfilms. These usually need to be ordered unless you are visiting a branch of the LDS in the same area as the returns in which you are interested. It is advisable before making a trip to a library or record office, to check the exact whereabouts of specific census returns in order to avoid a wasted visit. Also some libraries may have a limited number of viewers and a booking may be necessary. In 1851, in addition to the census of population a census was taken of places of worship. Although this was purely voluntary, most places of Worship made returns. Further Reading An introduction to the Census Returns of England & Wales, Sue Lumas, 1992, FFHS Marriage, Census and other indexes for Family Historians (4th ed 1992) J Gibson & E Hampson. Census Indexes in the Library of Society of Genealogists, J E Kenyon, Society of Genealogists Making Sense of the Census: The Manuscript Returns for England and Wales, 1801 - 1901, Edward Higgs, PRO Handbook No. 23 (HMSO, London, 1989)

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