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Census of 1861: England and Wales

Higgs & Schürer (2013)

The censuses taken on 7/8 April 1861 mark a turning point in the history of census-taking in Great Britain. All the decennial enumeration until that date, whether undertaken by John Rickman (1801-1831) or by the London General Register Office (GRO) in 1841 and 1851, had been censuses of the whole of Great Britain. This had meant that similar questions were asked in England, Wales and Scotland, although the administrative arrangements in the Northern Kingdom were somewhat different to the rest of Great Britain. In 1855, however, a separate GRO Scotland had been set up in Edinburgh under the 1854 Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act (17 & 18 Vict. c.80). From then on the London GRO only undertook the enumeration of England and Wales, as well as that of the Islands in the British Seas. The Scottish censuses continued to ask questions similar to those asked south of the border, although aspects such as the definitions of entities such as the 'house', and the classification of occupations in the published Reports might vary. The Scottish occupational classifications always contained some distinct occupations, such as 'crofter'. This meant that there were two Census Acts passed in 1860, one for England and Wales and one for Scotland (23&24 Vict., cc. 61, 98).

The 1861 census was a turning point in another sense, in that it marked a consolidation, if not a retreat, of the census-taking project. Every census from 1821 onwards had seen some expansion of the enumeration process: the introduction of extra questions on age in 1821; on occupations in 1831; new questions and household schedules in 1841; and still more questions, and separate religious and educational censuses, in 1851.[1] But in 1861 additional questions were not asked, and the religious and educational censuses were not repeated. The questions asked about individuals were similar to those of 1851, comprising: name, relationship to head of family, marital status, age, sex, occupation, birthplace, and medical disabilities. As in 1851, institutions and ships arriving in British ports within a set period were given their own schedules. As in 1851, household schedules in Welsh were produced but the enumerators' books were always in English. (see documents below). No completely new enquiry was to be introduced into the census of England and Wales until that of 1891. Indeed, the London GRO in the late nineteenth century fought vigorously to prevent any expansion of the census, arguing that it wished to concentrate on improving the quality of the data it already collected.[2] As already noted, the general retrenchment in 1861 may well have reflected the realization within the London GRO that the enlarged 1851 census had overtaxed its clerical resources.

The published output of the census in England and Wales for 1861 (see references below) can be divided into three sections. First, there were preliminary publications in 1861 and 1862 giving the raw numbers of people and houses enumerated, and an index to place names. These were followed by the General Report in 1863, a broad discussion of the results with general tables, which was divided into 12 parts:

1. Figures for population, houses and families;
2. Territorial distribution and subdivisions;
3. Ages of the population;
4. Conjugal condition of the people;
5. Increase of the population since 1651;
6. Laws regulating the growth of nations;
7. Occupations of the people - with an exposition of the classification used;
8. Migration (birthplaces);
9. The blind, and deaf a dumb;
10. Public institutions;
11. Island in the British Seas;
12. Area and population of the British Empire.

A copy of the 1861 householder's schedule was then appended. The largest part of the Report, nearly a third, related to medical disabilities and contained a description of a follow-up survey on the subject, the only one undertaken in the history of the Victorian GRO. This shows the importance of the medical uses of the census at this date.[3] Lastly, there were two volumes containing more detailed tables relating to ages, civil conditions, occupations and birthplaces, broken down by the various registration divisions of the country.

Census of 1861: Scotland

As already noted, in Scotland the 1861 census was the first census that was administered separately from that of the rest of Great Britain. The foundation of the General Register Office for Scotland under the leadership of William Pitt Dundas provided much of the administrative infrastructure for taking a 'separate' census, including the formation of registration districts. The 1860 Census (Scotland) Act was almost identically worded to its English equivalent, the main exceptions relating to the Scottish administration. However, two differences from the census in England and Wales should be noted (see documents below). The first explicitly allowed the Scottish census to include a question relating to school attendance: 'How many, of such persons, being of the age of from five to fifteen years, attended school during the week preceding'. The second related to the collection of information on 'the number of rooms having a window or windows in each dwelling house'. According to the Census Act, collecting this information was to be the responsibility of the enumerator, who was to add this information to his enumerators' book.

The motivation for collecting information on school attendance was probably to ascertain the numbers of children who were receiving education, but for a number of reasons this information was problematic. The Preliminary Report notes that the 'Scholar' column did, 'not perfectly fulfill the object for which the information was sought'. First, the question was answered too literally, and children who were sick and absent from school were not recorded. Secondly, a number of schools traditionally closed in April to allow children to carry out farm work.[4] The collection and tabulation of information regarding the number of rooms with windows was primarily for 'sanitary' reasons. It showed that 'town' accommodation was little worse in terms of persons per room(s) with windows than 'rural' housing.[5]

As already noted, the census in Scotland developed a different definition of the 'Dwelling House' to that found in England and Wales. In the Scottish Census Act this was defined as 'all Buildings and Tenements of which the Whole or any Part shall be used for the Purpose of Human Habitation'. However, the English census authorities defined a house as "a distinct building separated from others by party walls". But in Scotland 'party walls' - a term which was not defined- might bisect blocks of houses and even dwellings. The Scottish tradition of building tenement blocks in urban areas made up of flats (also known as tenements) led to further confusion. The main consequence of these definitional ambiguities was that in many cases complete tenement buildings were enumerated as single houses, and that there was a lack of uniformity in the enumeration. For practical purposes the Scottish census authorities seem to have corrected the errors introduced by the enumerators for most of these tables. However, the published tables relating to the number of rooms with windows had to be refined in a different way to take account of a Scottish definition of 'house' which referred to the number of rooms occupied by a single family (which included lodgers if they lived in the same rooms).[6] But similar problems may well have occurred in the 'rookeries' of English cities such as London, so the situation in Scotland may not have been that unique. As ever with historical sources, census data needs to be used with an awareness of its ambiguities.

At this census for the first time, a separate Report was issued for Scotland (see references below). It comprised two volumes. The first reported on the population and housing of the various different administrative units, while the second focused on ages, marital status, occupations and birthplaces. This volume contains discussions relating to the marriage laws of Scotland and their erroneous understanding by the English census commissioners, as well as the English occupational classification scheme. A comparison of the Scottish and English occupational classifications schemes shows some differences, although the overall structure is very similar.

1861 Census Publications: England and Wales; Islands in the British Seas

Census of England and Wales, 1861, Tables of the population and houses enumerated in England and Wales, and in the Islands in the British Seas on 8th April 1861 BPP 1861 L (2846)

Census of England and Wales, 1861, Population tables. Numbers and distribution of people of [and index to names of places in] England and Wales. Volume 1 BPP 1862 L (3056)

Census of England and Wales, 1861, General report [Vol. III.] BPP 1863 LIII (3221)

Census of England and Wales, 1861, Population tables. Ages, civil condition, occupations, and birth-places of people: with the ages and occupations of the blind, of the deaf-and-dumb, and of the inmates of certain public institutions. BPP 1863 LIII (3221) 261

Return of expense for census of England and Wales, 1861; Number of persons enumerated BPP 1863 XXIX(544)

1861 Census Publications: Scotland

Census of Scotland, 1861, Tables of the number of the population, of the families, and children at school, of the houses, and rooms with windows, in Scotland and its islands, on 8th April 1861 BPP 1861 L (2870)

Census of Scotland, 1861, Population tables and report. Number of inhabitants, families, children at school, houses, and rooms with windows, in the civil counties and parishes, registration counties and districts, burghs, towns, villages, and islands of Scotland: also a classification of families according to their sizes ... BPP 1862 L (3013)

Census of Scotland, 1861, Population tables and report. Ages, civil or conjugal condition, occupations, and birth places of the people in Scotland: with the number and ages of the blind, the deaf-dumb. and the inmates of poorhouses, prisons, lunatic asylums, and hospitals. Vol. II BPP 1864 LI (3275)

1861 Census Publications: Islands in the British Seas

Census of England and Wales, 1861, Tables of the population and houses enumerated in England and Wales, and in the Islands in the British Seas on 8th April 1861 BPP 1861 L (2846)