Census information
Since 1801 the Census in the United Kingdom has been taken every ten years, the only exception being during World War II. Only a few pre-1841 census returns have been found. Censuses in general prove very useful in tracing an individual’s life, though there are sometimes gaps and omissions and the information therein cannot always be relied upon; for example it might have been provided by a person other than the person concerned. The first census in 1841 contains less information than than subsequent censuses and the ages of adults in that census are generally rounded to the nearest five years. Where extracts are provided from the 1881 census the name of each member of the household is followed by their marital status, age, sex, place of birth and occupation. The most recent census available (online) to the public is that of 1911.
The Census was taken on the following dates:
1841 - 7 June
1851 - 30 March
1861 - 7 April
1871 - 2 April
1881 - 3 April
1891 - 5 April
1901 - 31 March
1911 - 2 April