Census Blog

Not until the Census Act of 1920 was a permanent Census Office created.  Ever since the Census Act of 1840 it had operated on a temporary footing, being re-established in the lead up to each decennial enumeration. 

The first name-based census had taken place in 1841, just four years into Queen Victoria's long reign. With her death on 22 January 1901, the 1891 account proved to be the last of the  transformative Victorian era (Incidentally, the monarch missed being enumerated as she was on the French Riviera).It was taken on the night of Sunday 5 April 1891, with enumerators collecting returns over the following day. On 7 April The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser reported: 'Yesterday the enumerators found their heaviest duties. They had not merely to collect the papers, but in many instances had to fill them up. It is remarkable how difficult many people   found it to be to correctly fill up the forms, plain and unmistakable as they were, and more overfurnished with examples. Early yesterday morning, even in the pouring rain, collectors were seen filling up papers in doorways, the tenants dictating the entries.'The article ended with a choice snippet from the capital: 'At Camberwell Workhouse, London, yesterday Polly Thompson was returned at 104 years of age. In the same institution several of the inmates were stated to be 99, 98, 97, and 95 years of age.' (Polly, or more formally Mary, appears to have been telling the truth, as her death was recorded in 1893, aged 107.)

In 1880 Major George Graham, second Registrar General of the GRO, retired. Under Graham's steady and long stewardship - 38 years all told - the decennial census had become firmly established. Hence on the cusp of the 1881 census he was succeeded by Sir Brydges Powell Henniker (1835-1906), who was to remain in post until 1900.As previously, schedules were delivered in the week preceding enumeration. The census was taken on the night of Sunday 3 April 1881 and enumerators collected returns on the Monday.A piece in the The Portsmouth Evening News (29 March 1881) pointed out that 'People who cannot write may have the forms filled up by another person, and it would be well for those who are thus situated, to apply if living in the country, to their clergyman, but if living in a town, to a shopkeeper with whom they are in the habit of dealing.' For 1881 the census headings for England and Wales were as follows:

The 1921 census is notable for a many reasons, the main (and sadly regrettable) one being that it is the last available census for England and Wales until that of 1951. The reason? The 1931 census (but not that of Scotland) was destroyed by fire and war put a stop to a 1941 census across all of the United Kingdom.

With the loss through fire of the 1931 England and Wales census and cancellation of the 1941 census, the wartime 1939 Register is the closest census-like substitute. Sometimes known as 'The Wartime Domesday Book', it helps bridge what is a yawning 30-year census gap for England and Wales, namely between 1921 and 1951 (Scotland's 1931 census did survive). The inevitability of a European war brought about the National Registration Act of 1939 (2 & 3 Geo. 6. c.91) which was passed on 5 September. This would create 'a register of all persons in the United Kingdom at the appointed time', a pre-requisite for the issuing of national identity cards (IDs). In December the previous year, with war clouds looming, the government had first proposed the need for IDs.Over eight years had passed since the last census and a nationwide emergency necessitated an up-to-date record of the populace. (It was not the first such survey. During the Great War of 1914-1918 the 1915 National Register had been created. Sadly, it has been lost to posterity.)On 18 September 1939 The Birmingham Post proclaimed 'Registration Day is to be  September 29, Michaelmas Day. On that night there will be no need of St. Michael's sword, let us hope, for the householders of Great Britain to show themselves all angels. Everybody who takes pains to furnish the required information fully and accurately is helping to cook the Nazi goose.' As a basis for the 1939 Register, the General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO) used the plans already in place for the abandoned 1941 census. Unlike the standard census it was arranged according to the boundaries of local government units and not by registration districts. These were county boroughs (CBs), municipal boroughs (MBs), urban districts (UDs) and rural districts (RDs). London was an exception, being made up of metropolitan boroughs and the Cities of London and Westminster. There were over 1,400 enumeration districts (EDs). Each was assigned an ED letter code, commencing with the City of London (area code AAA) and ending with the rural district of Rhayader in Radnorshire, Wales (area code ZZJ). As a general rule an enumeration district comprised of no more than 300 households.In England and Wales an army of 65,000 enumerators delivered forms to households and institutions. Friday 29 September 1939 marked 'National Registration Day', only 26 days after the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany. The registration form requested the following information:

For the first four national censuses (1801-1831) overseers of the poor or 'other substantial householders' collected information for their respective parish, township, tithing or quarter. Each completed a 'Form of Answers by the Overseers'. These answered a short series of questions which arrived at a series of raw statistics: the number of houses, families, individuals by sex and a limited range of occupational categories.     In Scotland, from 1801 until 1851, enumeration duties were principally carried out by the official schoolmaster in each parish - known as 'the Dominie'. Other recruits included doctors, clergymen, lawyers and merchants. The first two censuses, namely 1801 and 1811, did not include the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland. In 1821, an added - although discretionary - question asked for a breakdown of the population by sex and age group (under 5 years, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, then by decade, and finally if over 100). Some overseers decided to go above and beyond and compiled lists of names, of which nearly 800 survive for England.1841 marked a revolutionary change in how the census was compiled, processed and utilized.It was now nominal (name-based), rather than simply numeric. The administration of the 1841 census took place at the recently founded General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO), with the first Registrar General, Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842), serving as the first census commissioner.The census registration districts were based on those employed for the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths. District Registrars divided their sub-districts into yet smaller enumeration districts, with each administered by temporary local enumerators. In 1841 the 619 civil registration districts were divided into a total of 35,000 enumeration districts. In 1851 there were 30,441 enumerators in England and Wales (separately, custom house and coastguard officers enumerated merchant seaman and those on the waterways).In 1871 the number of enumeration districts rose to 33,000.

As the nineteenth century progressed there was a growing call to keep abreast of and address the health of the nation. The United Kingdom was an imperial power and industrial powerhouse and there were serious concerns with regard to maintaining a large and healthy workforce. There were real fears that Britain could lag behind the rising economies of Germany and the United States.With the 'first modern census' of 1841, census-taking in the UK came into its own. The decennial census enabled government, social administrators, doctors and statisticians to gather much-needed data. This impacted developments in town planning, public sanitation and housing. The combination of civil birth, marriage and death records records (plus schools and poor law boards) with census data proved influential in both government policy and social reform.Britain was the home of the Industrial Revolution and continual growth gave rise to unhealthy and often perilous living conditions in overpopulated urban areas. The bringing together of civil death records (available since 1837) and census data could determine the deaths per 1,000 population. Mortality and morbidity could now be traced over time and by area. For example, in 1841 it was reported that 'of 100,000 children born in Liverpool, only 44,797 live to the age of 20,...' Unhealthy areas and occupations were now revealed. Starting in 1848, a two-year cholera outbreak claimed over 53,000 lives. In the first year a Public Health Act was passed. The Act established a Central Board of Health. Its goals were to improve sewer drainage, remove refuse from houses, streets and roads, provide cleaner drinking water and make sure every town had a medical officer.

The 1841 census of England, Wales and Scotland marked a complete overhaul of census-taking in the United Kingdom. The first four censuses (1801-1831) had essentially been statistical headcounts. 1841 was nominal (name-based), rather than numeric, and consequently is the first genuinely useful UK census for family historians.Since the 1820s there had been increasing calls for a more ambitious, efficient and investigative census. Many suggestions propounded by the The London Statistical Society (LSS) were incorporated into the Population Act of 1840, which was based on a bill drafted by Thomas Henry Lister (1800-1842). Lister was the first Registrar General of the General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO), recently founded in 1836. As head, he was in charge of the census process and one of three commissioners responsible for organizing the count (the initiator and overseer of the four pre-Victorian censuses, John Rickman, had died in August 1840).The registration districts were based on those used for civil registration, which had been based on Poor Law Unions. These do not exactly match parish boundaries and as a result some cross county boundaries. For census purposes the 619 civil registration districts were divided into a total of 35,000 enumeration districts. A pilot enumeration in London had convinced the Registrar General of the unfeasibility of having enumerators gathering data door-to-door. As a result the use of household schedules (forms) was only authorised two months prior to the census. Whilst keen to be progressive, Lister wanted to produce as simple a schedule as possible; he believed most of the populace were too illiterateEach local enumerator was issued with the required number of household schedules, a census enumerator's book and memorandum book. A schedule and accompanying instructions were handed to the householder in the week leading up to the census.The household schedule headings were as follows:PLACEHOUSES [with Uninhabited or Building and Inhabited columns below]NAMES of each person who abode therein the preceding NightAGE and SEX [with Male and Female columns below]PROFESSION, TRADE, EMPLOYMENT, or of INDEPENDANT MEANSWhere born [with Whether Born in same County and Whether Born in Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts columns below]The duty lay with the head of the household when it came to their completion, unless they were illiterate in which case the enumerator assisted upon collection. Thus it was the first occasion that primary responsibility for form-filling lay with the head; the numeric censuses of 1801-1831 having been completed by the overseers of the poor or 'other substantial householders'.    The census took place on the night of Sunday 6 June 1841. The timing, just prior to the working week, made it more likely that individuals would be at their usual residence. Whilst enumeration on a single night was the best way to avoid counting anyone twice. An army of 35,000 enumerators collected the completed schedules the following morning. They then faced the not inconsiderable task of transcribing the details into their pre-printed census enumerator book. Inevitably some names were badly transcribed and researchers can also fall victim to atrocious handwriting.They were instructed to enter an individuals first name and surname, so it is uncommon to encounter middle names.  If a child had not yet been given a Christian name, n.k. (not known) was recorded. Forenames were often abbreviated as there wasn't much space; amongst the most common are:Chas. - Charles         Eliz. or Elizth. - ElizabethGeo. - GeorgeJno. - JohnJas. - JamesRbt. or Robt. - RobertThos. - ThomasWm. - WilliamFor occupations, enumerators were permitted to use abbreviations. These were commonly employed in 1841; 'Ag. Lab.' (Agricultural Labourer) being amongst the most frequent. For a list, see Abbreviations to describe Occupations.A single diagonal penstroke '/' marked the end of a household, whereas a double penstroke '//' marked the end of a building. Particular to 1841, is that entries were made in pencil. Unfortunately, some pages have faded over time making interpretation difficult; pen and ink were utilized from 1851.Enumerators were also expected to record individuals in their district who slept 'in barges, boats, or other small vessels, remaining stationary on canals or other inland navigable waters; in mines or pits, barns, sheds, or the like, in tents or in the open air; and all not enumerated (although abiding within the district) as inmates of any dwelling-house from other causes'.Once complete, the books and schedules were dispatched - via the local Registrar and Superintendent Registrar for checking - to the Census Office in London. Having used them as reference, the forms were destroyed. This system ran from 1841 to 1901.  Special schedules were devised for institutions. These were issued to the 'Master or keeper of every Gaol, Prison, or House of Correction, Workhouse, Hospital, or Lunatic Asylum, and of every public or charitable Institution.' In these cases the master of keeper was designated as enumerator and was charged with sending them to the Superintendent Registrar.Also for the first time, military personnel in the country aboard their ships or in barracks were included.  Sadly, Thomas Lister did not live to sign off his first Census Report, dying on 5 June 1842.

In 1801 the first national census had taken a broad-brush approach at assessing the nature of employment across the nation. Three wide categories were covered by a simple question:'What number of person in your parish, township, or place are chiefly employed in agriculture; how many in trade, manufactures, or handicraft; and how many are not occupied in any of the preceding classes?'But starting from 6 June 1841 the General Register Office for England and Wales (GRO) wanted to know more.

When compared to the nominal (name-based) censuses that had gone before it, namely those of 1841-1901, the census of 2 April 1911 was marked by radical and revolutionary changes. Developments occurred in the questions posed, methodology and processing.   

The first six Scotland censuses (1801-1851) were administered from London. The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) was founded in 1855 and from 1861 they took over the running of the Scottish census. In 2011 the GROS merged with the National Archives of Scotland to form National Records of Scotland.Prior to 1861, enumeration duties were principally carried out by the official schoolmaster in each parish - officially known as 'the Dominie'. Other literate, educated and (hence deemed) trustworthy recruits included doctors, clergymen, lawyers and merchants. 

The suffragette census protests of 1911 were instigated by The Women’s Freedom League (WFL), a non-violent and democratic organisation founded in 1907. The then liberal government continued to frustrate calls for female suffrage, so a call went out to avoid the count. The boycott was supported by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and the Women's Tax Resistance League (WTRL), as well as many other organisations and individuals.Founded in 1903, the WSPU was a leading militant organisation formed by the political activist Emmeline Pankhurst, her husband and others. Dedicated to 'deeds, not words', their members pursued a strategy of ‘spectacle politics’ through civil disobedience and direct action. They carried out a range of headline-grabbing activities, which included mass window smashing and later a campaign of arson. It was in reference to the WSPU that the term suffragette was first coined by a derisive journalist in 1906.Pankhurst encouraged a passive protest on census night, either by avoiding the enumerators altogether or refusing to complete the schedule; refusal could potentially be met with a £5 fine or a month's imprisonment. (On a side note, Pankhurst had worked as a registrar of births and deaths from 1898 to 1907.)In the lead up to the appointed date, the paper Votes for Women (17 March 1911) reported:'Census resistance has been taken up with a heartiness and a vigour which has astonished the organisers. In every centre men and women are extensively organising their own plans for carrying out the boycott. Private houses are being thrown open, and dances, whist drives, and other festivities are being arranged with view to making the Census night of 1911 a memorable occasion to those engaged in this struggle for political freedom.'From mid-afternoon on 1 April, the day before the census, a mass meeting was held in Trafalgar Square. Police reports detail a crowd slowly gathering, with about 1,000 people in the square by midnight.Suffragettes evaded enumerators by staying in non-residential properties or out in the open air. A rich widow and friend of Pankhurst opened her Manchester home, Denison House, to protestors. The night was filled with debates, singing and dancing. A total of 155 women (and 52 men) sought refuge in a giant 'sleepover'. Their representative, Jessie Stephenson, scrawled across the schedule: 'No Vote No Census. My house is crowded with men & women but I decline to answer any questions'. The property became known as 'Census Lodge'.