1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census

Information about 1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census

The 1841 census is the first modern UK census and the earliest census that has survived in its entirety. Only local fragments of the 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 censuses survived once the statistical information was collected.
 

There was a census taken every ten years between 1801 and 1831, although only a few parts of them remain. These were only a head count and no personal information was actually recorded. It was only in 1841 that personal information was included in the census. The 1841 census was taken on Sunday the 6th June 1841 and the total population was recorded as 15,914,000.
1841 was the first time that the head of each household was given a form to fill in on behalf of everyone in the dwelling on a set day. This system still forms the basis of the method used in Britain today.
The 1841 census was the first to record individuals’ details, although it contains less information than censuses that followed. In 1841, the enumerators rounded down a person’s age to the nearest five – so someone aged 29 would be listed as aged 25. Bear this in mind if your relative doesn’t appear in the census with the age you expected.