Pre-1841 Census information – population numbers and trends

‘Pre-1841 census returns’ refer to the Great Britain censuses of 1801 and 1811, and the UK censuses of 1821 and 1831. The twin aims of pre-1841 censuses were to conduct a head count and trace population trends, hence the full title of the Act of Parliament which introduced the 1801 Census of Great Britain:

“An Act for taking an Account of the Population of Great Britain, and of the Increase or Diminution thereof’ 1800 Population Act

Surviving Documents

The collection of personal details was not a priority for pre-1841 censuses and few personal records survive. However, in his book ‘Pre-1841 censuses and Population Listings in the British Isles’, Colin R Chapman reveals that some enumerators did voluntarily record personal details such as names, families, dates of birth and even accompanying notes. Occasionally, therefore, a greater degree of personal information was captured than in the early ‘modern’ censuses of 1841 and 1851.

Any pre-1841 census information that included personal details was compiled unofficially and was not, therefore, sent to London. As a result, such pre-1841 census information can be difficult to track down. Please visit our Pre-1841 Census Records page for more information on hunting down surviving pre-1841 census records.

Populations enumerated

The first two censuses of 1801 and 1811 only covered the population of Great Britain. Each census of Great Britain was, in fact, two concurrent censuses; one for England and Wales, and another separate census for Scotland.

In 1821, Ireland conducted its first national census. Like Scotland this was conducted separately, but concurrently, with the Census for England and Wales. Also in 1821, the populations of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man were included in the Census of England and Wales.

Pre-1841 censuses were conducted with no ‘central authority’ and the procedure differed between England and Wales, Scotland and (from 1821) Ireland.

The 1801 Census of England and Wales

Pre-printed schedules were distributed via a hierarchy of officials. Responsibility for completion of these schedules was divided between Overseers of the Poor (or, where none, a ‘Substantial Householder’) and members of the Clergy in each ‘Parish, Township or Extra-Parochial Place’.

Overseers of the Poor – responsible for supplying a headcount.

Overseers of the Poor were required to supply the following numbers:

• Number of occupied houses. Number of families in the occupied houses. Number of unoccupied houses.
• Number of males and females (excluding members of the army or navy, seamen in registered ships and convicts on prison ships).
• Number of people employed in:
  • agriculture
  • Trade, manufacturing or handicraft
  • Other

Once recorded, the figures collected by the Overseers of the Poor passed through various officials; the Justices of the Peace, Chief Constable and Clerks of the Peace or Town Clerks. Finally, the figures landed on the desk of the Secretary of State for the Home Department. In December 1801, they were published in the ‘Enumeration Abstract’.

Members of the Clergy

The Clergy were responsible for supplying the data needed to establish population trends. They were asked the remaining two questions listed in the distributed schedules:

• Number of baptisms and burials (split between male and female) at ten year intervals between 1700 – 1780, and every year from 1780 to 1800.
• Number of marriages each year from 1754 onwards.

Once the Clergy had recorded this information, the answers were sent to the Privy Council via the Bishop and Archbishop. The figures were later published in the ‘Parish Register Abstract’.

The Clergy in England and Wales were particularly well qualified to provide answers to questions relating to baptisms, marriages and burials. This is down to two developments:

• 1538 – Injunction issued to the Church of England to keep parish registers. Long before a national census was even considered, Thomas Cromwell (Henry VIII’s right hand man) ordered the Clergy to maintain parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. However, this order only applied to England and Wales.
• 1753 – Marriage Act ‘for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage’. To counter the number of unrecorded marriages, this Act regulated Church of England, Quaker and Jewish marriages. Again, it only applied to England and Wales. This Act was instrumental in ensuring that most marriages in England and Wales were recorded in the parish registers.

As a result of these requirements, only the Clergy in England and Wales were involved in the national census – not the Clergy of Scotland or Ireland. The parish registers in England and Wales have been a valuable resource both for family historians and statisticians studying population trends.

1811 – 1831 Censuses of England and Wales

The procedure established for the first census of 1801 remained unchanged for the censuses of 1811, 1821 and 1831. However, there were some changes to the questions asked:

• Question relating to number of unoccupied houses. From the census of 1811 onwards, Overseers of the Poor were asked to provide a split in numbers between houses being built and houses unoccupied for other reasons. This was designed to establish the prosperity (or poverty) of an area.
• Question relating to occupations. From the census of 1811 onwards, the Overseers of the Poor were asked for the number of families (as opposed to number of individuals) in certain occupations. The census of 1831 introduced a number of extra questions relating to the occupation of men aged over 20 years.
• ‘Age’ question. The 1821 census asked Overseers of the Poor to record ages (to the nearest 5 years) if this was ‘not inconvenient to the parties’. This question was dropped from the census of 1831.

The censuses of 1811 – 1831 also asked the Clergy to supply annual numbers of baptisms, marriages and burials recorded in the parish registers in the preceeding decade. With very mixed results, the Clergy were also asked to estimate the average annual number of unrecorded baptisms, marriages and burials.

Scotland

Scotland conducted a separate census to that of England and Wales. However, it was carried out on the same date and collected the same information as the Census for England and Wales. However, there was one main difference in the collection of information; the Overseers of the Poor and the Clergy were not involved. Instead, the responsibility for answering all the questions listed on the distributed schedules fell on the ‘Schoolmaster’ or ‘other fit persons’ appointed by the Sheriff Deputes or Stewart Deputes.

Ireland

As discussed, a national census was not conducted in Ireland until 1821. Please visit our Ireland census page for more information on the census of Ireland.

1830s – foundations laid for a new chapter of UK census returns

By the 1830s , two pivotal Acts were passed:

• The Poor Law Act 1834. This created Poor Law Unions by grouping together parishes.
• The Registration Act 1836. This introduced the Civil Registration of Births and Deaths in England and Wales and adopted the Poor Law Unions as Registration Districts. This Act also put the newly appointed Registrar-General in charge of the Census of Great Britain.

These two acts laid the groundwork for a modernised national census of the UK, overseen by the Registrar General. The 1841 census was to bear very little resemblance to the national censuses that preceded it.