HISTORY OF THE UK CENSUSES

Information was initially collected by the Overseers of the Poor, assisted by parish constables, tithingmen and other officers of the peace. In Scotland the responsibility was given to schoolmasters. In Ireland, the first census was not taken until 1821.

The 1801 census taken on 10 March 1801 provided information on the number of inhabited and uninhabited houses in the parish and how many families occupied them. Also included were the number of people in the parish, their employment and numbers of baptisms, burials and marriages in the previous 100 years.

A similar format was followed for the 1811 census taken on 27 May 1811;  the enumerators were asked to provide more information about the reasons houses were unoccupied so that the prosperity of the district could be more accurately gauged.

The 1821 census taken on 28 May 1821 was expanded to include an age band analysis. This was important because of the demand for accurate life tables from Friendly Societies who provided insurance and pensions to millions of people in the UK. The 1821 census was also the first where the names of the head of the household were frequently included. A question relating to age was asked in order to assess numbers of men able to bear arms.

The 1831 census taken on 30th May 1831 contained more detailed questions on occupations and began to provide the government with economic information supposedly to plan for the next ten years. Employment classifications such as agriculture, manufacturing, retail, handicrafts, merchants, bankers, miners, fishermen were included.

Many of the early returns for 1801-1831 do not survive with only statistical summaries being published. Where surviving returns do exist, they can be searched in county record offices.

Returns are known to exist for certain areas of the following counties so it is necessary to use the record office catalogues to find out the specific areas:

In the Victorian censuses information about every person was recorded and processed manually by clerks who annoyingly put a thick line through the age columns on the enumeration forms. Progressive technology made processing the census simpler and by 1911 mechanical extraction of data was introduced. Computers were used for the first time to process information in the 1961 census.

The 1841 census is widely regarded as the first useful census for family historians. The task of enumerating the population was now delegated to local registration officers, established after introduction of civil registration in 1837.

For the first time, the head of each household had to complete a form detailing everyone in their house on census night.

The basic principles of census enumeration have remained unchanged to the present day although the questions asked have differed. There has subsequently been a census taken every ten years except in 1941. This was during WWII.

The 1841 census enumerators administered the census. Around 35,000 males, pencils in hand, delivered a form to each household. People were required to complete the forms themselves; this was a real challenge as many people were illiterate, so when collecting the  forms, enumerators had to fill them out on the doorstep on behalf of the householder after verbally asking the questions. It was also the first census to translate questionnaires into the Welsh language. Most of the returns were in pencil so some are not easy to read in digital form, although it does depend upon which website is used to read the returns.

The 1851 census became of real value to family historians as it asked people their exact age, marital status, relationship to the head of household and birthplace. People were also asked to declare infirmities and any second occupation to help the government determine the influences of employment on health.

Between 1861 and 1901, there was little change in either the content of the census or the way in which it was executed.

Questions had already been asked in the 1851 and 1861 censuses about blind and deaf-and-dumb people, but in 1871 slightly controversial categories of lunatic and imbecile were added but they were removed after 1911. The 1871 census included a question concerning unemployment and the 1901 census asked for the number of people in certain industries who worked from home.

In 1891 there was a question about the number of habitable rooms in each household because of fears of overcrowding, particularly in the industrialised towns and cities. For the first time, female census enumerators were also employed.

Until 1911 a new Act of Parliament was required to enable each census to take place, but with the passing of the 1920 Census Act the Government was subsequently allowed to hold a census at any time, although 'secondary' legislation was needed for each detailing the specific content. The 1920 Act also stated that a census could not be taken within five years of the previous one.

From 1911 onwards, rapid social change, scientific breakthroughs and major world events had an impact on the structure of the population. In the twentieth century, a fire in 1942 destroyed the 1931 census and the declaration of war in 1939 meant the 1941 census was not taken bat all; this in turn will make the 1951 census hugely significant enabling the results of more than 20 years of change through the most turbulent period in British history to be recorded.

This gap was partly offset by the 1939 register. Although this cannot be deemed a census because it does not include the whole population, it was used initially for issuing civilian national identity cards, food and clothing rationing books; later in 1948, the details were used for administrative purposes in the establishment of the National Health Service. For family historians the register is a valuable interim research tool and goes towards a census substitute.

The processing of information from the 1911 census used punch-card technology to code and sort the data. It was also the first to have enumerators transcribe information from the household schedules into enumeration record books rather than the other way round as  had been done earlier. The householder’s schedule became the master entry and family historians could now see their ancestors' own returns in their own handwriting and showing their signatures.

As part of the 1911 census, an enquiry into marriage and fertility was included. The reason behind this was to try and ascertain why the country’s birth rate had been consistently falling since the 1870s; hence its nickname of the fertility census. The information should have been given against the wife’s name but it is often shown in against the head of household's name. It shows the length of time in the current marriage, number of children, those still living and those deceased. This census becomes useful in identifying any additional deceased children which may have been unknown until shown on the return.

The 1921 census should have been taken on 24 April but was delayed until June because of the national strike involving coal miners, railwaymen and transport workers. Many people were not enumerated where they resided because of holidays, seasonal work etc. This census was also the first to allow separate confidential returns by individuals if they wished to submit information privately. The enquiry into fertility was removed, but new questions were added about work places and employers, principally to measure commuter flow because of the growing trend for people to live in suburbia and regularly use public transport to travel to work.

A question was also asked relating to full or part-time education, following the development of secondary education facilities in the early twentieth century. Since 1921 all censuses have continued to enquire about different aspects of education.

The 1921 census remains significant as it will be the last census available for research for the next 30 years although limited population information exists in the 1939 register which will remain a valuable census substitute until then.