Documents In Depth - #5 - the 1881 Census

The 1841 Census (see FT April 2020) had demonstrated that a detailed census of the population of the UK could be successfully carried out and that people were (largely) willing to provide the required details. The authorities evidently felt that the information that they were able to gather was worth the extra effort involved and the decision was therefore taken to dramatically expand the range of questions asked.

The format settled upon for the 1851 Census proved so successful that, in essence, it remained unchanged for the next 50 years. Details of the place being enumerated (the name of the parish or township, the ecclesiastical district and the city, town or