A census has been taken in England and Wales every 10 years since 1801 (apart from 1941, which only covered small areas). Before 1841 the Government only wanted to know numbers of people in each area, so only statistical data was sent to central authorities. From 1841 more data were required and the names of individuals and personal information were recorded. All the information in the 1841 - 1911 censuses can be seen online.

Organisation of the census

The census is a list of people, arranged in household groups, by order of place. To find a person you need to know where they were living. Normally a parish is enough, but in larger towns it is useful to have a street address or area. On census night the enumerator distributed forms (or schedules) to every household for the head to complete, giving details of all persons in the home that night. The administrative area responsible for data collection was the civil registration district, so returns are listed by district, then by parish and then by enumeration districts. In larger parishes or urban locales, a number of enumeration districts will cover the area; in small rural parishes, one enumeration district may cover the whole parish.

At the beginning of each enumerator’s book is a description of the area covered. This can be useful if you are trying to find a particular property or street, which is not shown on modern maps. The top of each page lists the administrative areas of district, civil parish or township, city or municipal borough, town, village or hamlet.

What can I find out?

1841

Census night: 6 June.

Provides details of the address or location of the property, the names of the persons (although only one forename is recorded), ages (the age of those over 15 was often rounded down to the nearest 5, so someone who was 23 would be shown on the census as 20) and gender. Occupations, if any were also recorded. The final column states if they were born in the same county as they were living at the time of the census (Y = yes, N = no, NK = not known). No relationships between members of the household are noted, so it can be easy to confuse husbands and wives with brothers and sisters

1851-1881

Census nights: 30 March 1851, 7 April 1861, 2 April 1871 and 3 April 1881.

More information is included: the actual age and place of birth, each adult’s occupation and marital status, and relationships with the head of the household

1891-1901

Census nights: 5 April 1891 and 31 March 1901.

Along with the information provided in the earlier censuses, the 1891 and 1901 returns record the number of rooms occupied by the family and whether a working person was employer, employee or self-employed

1911

Census night: 2 April.

Along with information provided in the earlier censuses, the 1911 returns record the number of years a couple has been married, the number of children born to the couple, the number of children still living, and the number of infants deceased. This census also asks whether the respondents have any ‘infirmity’ and the age from which they were afflicted

1921

Census night: 19 June.

Along with information provided in the earlier censuses, the 1921 returns record a household member's place of work and employer details, and gives 'divorced' as an option for marital status.

Where can I find the census?

• Somerset Heritage Centre: The census is held for the whole county, 1841–1901 on microfiche (microfilm for 1881). The card index is organised by parish and provides an ‘MC’ number for each census year. The fiche are arranged by year and each fiche envelope is marked with its corresponding MC number. Various census indexes have been compiled by the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society and Weston super Mare Family History Society for 1841, 1851 and 1891. These are available in the searchroom at the Somerset Heritage Centre. The Bath and Avon Family History Society have also compiled a name index for 1851 for the parishes in and around Bath. Street indexes for 1841-1901 are available for major towns in Somerset (Bath, Bridgwater, Chard, Frome, Shepton Mallet, Taunton, Wells, Weston super Mare and Yeovil).

• Online: The 1841-1911 census returns are available on both Ancestry and Find My Past. The 1921 census is available on Find My Past. Both are pay-per-view websites but are available for free at the Somerset Heritage Centre. Somerset Libraries also provide free access to Ancestry.

Pre-1841 census returns

The census returns for 1801 - 1831 were not kept centrally, but some copies have survived in parish and private collections. The information provided varies from census to census and coverage is sporadic. There is a list of Somerset parishes with earlier census returns in Census Schedules and Listings, 1801-1831: an introduction and guide (ref. PAM 2774). Alternatively, please ask staff for details and the index.

The 1939 Register

In December 1938 it was announced in the House of Commons that in the event of war, a National Register would be taken that listed the personal details of every civilian in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to assist with coordinating the war effort at home; it would be used to issue identity cards, organise rationing and more.

Upon the declaration of war, National Registration Day was announced to be 29 September 1939. Forms were issued to over 41 million people and enumerators were charged with the task of visiting every household in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to collect the names, addresses, marital statuses and other key details of every civilian in the country, issuing identity cards on the spot. These identity cards remained and were a legal obligation right through to 1952.

The 1939 Register, then, represents one of the most important documents in 20th century Britain. The information it contains not only helped toward the war effort, it was also used in the founding of the NHS. In addition, the 1931 census was destroyed during an air raid on London and the 1941 census was never taken. The 1939 Register, released online by Find My Past in partnership with The National Archives, is therefore the only surviving overview of the civil population of England and Wales spanning the period 1921-1951. The 1939 Register is also available on Ancestry.

Some common abbreviations

// Follows the name of the last person in each building

/ Follows the name of the last person in each household within a building

M or Mar Married person

U/Un/Unm/S Unmarried or single person

W/Widr/Wid Widow

Ag.Lab Agricultural labourer

App Apprentice

Cl Clerk

Dom Domestic servant

FS Female servant

H.P. Member of armed forces on half pay

J Journeyman

M. Manufacturer

MS Male servant

P. Pensioners in armed forces

Rail.Lab. Railway Labourer

Sh. Shopman