1851 Census Records of England and Wales
The census was taken on the night of Sunday 30 March 1851; away from harvest time which had impacted the previous survey. A notable improvement compared to 1841 is the addition of birthplace. The reasoning behind this was to gauge the rate and intensity of migration from rural to urban areas.
The layout of the census forms changed little from 1851-1901. For the first time special enumeration books were completed for Institutions, such as workhouses and hospitals. Seamen and the Royal Navy in harbour were included, but many of their records have not survived.
In 1851, England and Wales were shown to have a combined population of 17,927,609.
How to Access
You can search and view digitised images of the 1841-1921 censuses (plus the 1939 Register) of England and Wales by subscribing to Findmypast, 'The home of British and Irish family history'. Until at least 2025, it will remain the only site where you can access and search the 1921 census online - available through their 'Premium' package (3 or 12 months) or via micropayments on other packages.
An address search option is available on Findmypast. You can search by street name and town. There is a spelling variant option available for street names.
If you don't specifically need to access the 1921 census of England and Wales, you could join Ancestry - they hold the 1841-1911 censuses and the 1939 Register.
1851 Census Headings (in bold)
No. of House-holder's Schedule
Name of Street, Place or Road, and Name or No. of House
Name and Surname of each Person who abode in the house, on the night of 30th March, 1851
Relation to Head of Family
As the 1841 census did not indicate relationships, this can be useful for identifying marital status and other connections for surviving members from ten years prior.
Condition
Age of [with Males and Females in columns below]
Rank, Profession, or Occupation
Ag. Lab. (Agricultural Labourer), Ap. (Apprentice), Cl. (Clerk), Rail Lab. (Railway Labourer).
Where Born
County and parish if born in England or Wales, otherwise country.
Whether Blind, or Deaf, or Dumb
Notes on the 1851 Census of England and Wales
- Enumerators noted the parish or township, ecclesiastical district, city or borough, town and/or village.
- England and Wales were divided into 635 registration districts and there were 30,441 enumerators.
- Uniquely for 1851 the demarcation of households and buildings changed. A line was ruled halfway across the page for a household within a building and across the full page at the end of building.
- A list of missing parishes and hamlets from 1851 can be found at Findmypast.
- Institutions of more than 200 'inmates' were to be returned in institutional books.
- The question regarding infirmities revealed that one British person in every 979 was blind.
- A British Army census was not undertaken, but they are covered by the 1851 Worldwide Army Index - this can also be found on Findmpast.
- From this date the enumerators completed the census returns in pen and ink, though in a hangover from 1841 some still used pencil.
- Street indexes were created for districts containing towns with a population of around 40,000 or more, from 1841 to 1901.
- The original enumeration district books are held by the The National Archives (TNA); Reference: Subseries within HO 107 (they were saved from destruction in 1891 by the then Registrar General, Sir Brydges Powell Henniker).
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