New Edition of the 1831 Census

The Victorian Census Project has now digitised the entire 1831 census for the whole of Great Britain and its offshore islands of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. A copy of the full census in machine-readable form will be available from the Data Archive, at the University of Essex, in early 2005. By clicking on the appropriate links below a new version of the 1831 census, reworked according to registration district in England and Wales, and hundred in Scotland, can be downloaded.

Background to the 1831 Census

The 1831 Census was the fourth national census to be undertaken in Great Britain. Like the three earlier ones it was undertaken by the overseers of the poor in England and Wales, and schoolmasters in Scotland. Although the amount of information collected in this census was far less than was to be collected in later ones, that of 1831 was the first in which detailed occupational statistics were collected on the employment of males aged 20 and over. The census was also the first in which detailed instructions were given to the enumerators on how they were to count the population.

The Table below shows the numbers of places in Great Britain and its offshore islands for which census returns were made. From this we see that no fewer than 16,749 places were enumerated, most of which were in England.

 

Country

Counties

Places Enumerated

England

43

14,397

Wales

12

1,212

Scotland+

32

1,092

Islands in the British Seas*

3

48

Total

90

16,749

 

+ Orkney and Shetland were counted as a single county.
* Guernsey (including Sark, Alderney and Jethou), Jersey and the Isle of Man.

 

 

The Creation of the 1831 Census Database

The information from the 1831 census was typed into a spreadsheet package. In typing in the data extreme care was taken to eliminate errors by ensuring that the population totals added up correctly. For all variables the population totals were compared for each hundred and each county. With so many cases enumerated in the pre-computer age, it was inevitable that errors would have crept into the census volumes. However, remarkably few such errors were found, and in most instances it was possible to correct them.

 

 

Presentation of the Census Statistics in the Database

The census data has been reworked according to registration district for several reasons. Firstly given the sheer number of places enumerated it was necessary to amalgamate them together in some way, in order to facilitate their analysis. Secondly, a detailed gazetteer exists with which to combine the enumerated places into registration districts. Thirdly, the registration district was the main unit used to compile census statistics in 1851, and the volumes relating to that census contain tables that allow us to look at how the registration districts grew and changed in the early nineteenth century. Finally, the Poor Law Commissioners used the 1831 census to help them determine the areas and boundaries of the Poor Law Unions, upon which the registration districts were based. Thus, it is likely that a systematic examination of the 1831 Census Abstracts will throw new light onto the factors that the Commissioners took into account in reaching their decisions.

The compulsory registration of births, marriages and deaths was not extended to Scotland until the late 1850s, and we have, therefore, reworked the census figures for Scotland according to hundred. Several small Scottish counties were not however subdivided, and in these instances we have included in the database statistics relating to the county as a whole.

Introduction to the 1831 Census

To accompany the 1831 census database we have produced an occasional paper: An Introduction to the 1831 Census. This looks at how the census was undertaken, the problems and pitfalls involved in using it, and an attempt is made to estimate its accuracy. A detailed discussion of the occupational schema used in the census is also included. We are selling the paper at cost for £4.50. To obtain a copy, please download an order form by clicking here. We regret that we are unable to accept invoices.

The Census Database

To obtain a copy of the database in EXCEL (version 2.1) or Tab Delimited Format, please click on the appropriate options below: -

 

 

1831 Census database in EXCEL (Version 2.1) format, please click

 

here

  

1831 Census database in Tab Delimited Format, please click

 

here

 

Counties with 100 trades and handicrafts in EXCEL (version 2.1) format, please click

 

here

 

Counties with 100 trades and handicrafts in Tab Delimited format, please click

 

here

 

Variable descriptions in EXCEL (Version 2.1) format, please click

 

here

 

Variable descriptions in Tab Delimited format, please click

 

here

 

Order a copy of An Introduction to the 1831 Census, please click

 

here

 

Instructions for Downloading the Census Files

To download the files, click on 'here' with the right mouse button and SAVE the files. The files will open in most spreadsheet packages such as EXCEL.

For other data sets, please click  here.

 

 

Contact: David Alan Gatley (Dr)

Faculty of Arts, Media and Design,
Victorian Census Project,
Staffordshire University,
College Road,
Stoke-on-Trent,
ST4 2DE.

Telephone: 01782-294780

Email: D.A.Gatley@staffs.ac.uk