Census

The gathering of census materials has a long history: the Bible contains reference to such activity and the Domesday Book can be thought of as a type of census.

At the end of the 18th century, the British Government decided that to conduct a regular assessment of the population would be desirable; since then, starting in 1801 and at ten-year intervals, with one or two exceptions, there has been a census. Early census records are of limited value to our project because information was gathered 'by street', rather than recording individual dwellings.

By 1841 the census had evolved but still did not link residents to their properties; by 1851 the census finally began to identify families with unique addresses; since that time the census has been held every ten years, excluding 1941.

The most recent census was taken on Sunday 27 March 2011 and there is speculation as to whether this census will be the last, as it's argued that much the same information is already available in modern computer records.

The data gathered during a census enables government and local authorities to target resources to schools, libraries, hospitals and other services.

For more information on 2011 census for England and Wales see: http://2011.census.gov.uk/en/homepage.php

There are various online entries about the development and history of the UK census. We particularly like Wikipedia's Census in the United Kingdom and the University of Portsmouth's Guide to Census Reports.
 

Page from 1911 census

Page from 1861 census