Free Data Sets Introduction

One of the main aims of the Victorian Census Project is to make census and related materials more widely available to the academic community.

Four sub-sets of variables relating to the 1831 and 1861 censuses, and the Scottish Registrar General's Annual Report for 1861, can be downloaded from this web site. Each data set is in comma delimited format and should import into most spread-sheet packages.

Users should note that whilst the data sets will download from NETSCAPE, they may experience difficulties in downloading the data sets using other web browsers.

Please note that the data sets are (c) copyright, David Alan Gatley (1997). Researchers are free to use the data sub-sets as they so wish provided that they do not sell them, and due acknowledgement is given to David Alan Gatley in any publication making use of them.

Contents

1831 Census Database

1861 Census Database

Scottish Vital Registration Statistics

Additional Information and Data Sets

1861 Census

To obtain a sub-set of 14 variables from the 1861 census please click here 1861 Census.

The data relates to each of the 635 registration districts into which England and Wales were divided in 1861 along with the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

The file is best saved with the name CEN1861.WK1, because this will be read easily by most spreadsheet packages

The format of the data base is as follows:-

	Variable	Variable definition
1	RGNUM	Number of registration district
2	DIST	Name of registration district
3	AREAACRE	Area of registration district
4	INHAB61	Inhabited houses
5	POPN1861	Population
6	MALE1861	Number of males
7	FEME1861	Number of females
8	ADULT	Number of adults aged 20 and over
9	ENGLAND	Number born in England
10	WALES	Number born in Wales
11	SCOTLAND	Number born in Scotland
12	ISELANDS	Number born in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man
13	IRELAND	Number born in Ireland
14	OVERSEAS	Number born Overseas

Before use the width of the variable 'DIST' should be increased to 30 characters.

Sector of Employment 1861

To download details of the sectors of employment of males and females, aged 20 and over, in each registration district in 1861 please click here.

The file is best saved with the name 'OCC1861.WK1'. It will import into most spread-sheet packages, including EXCEL, LOTUS and MS WORKS. The 'width' of the variable DIST should be increased to 30 characters and REGCOUTY to 18 characters.

Occupations have been grouped using the occupational schema developed by Booth in the 1880s as described in W.A. Armstrong (1972) 'The Use of Information About Occupations', in E.A. Wrigley's Nineteenth-Century Society: Essays in the use of Quantitative Methods in the Study of Social Data. London: Cambridge University Press.

It should be noted that Booth in his original work classified farmer's wives, boot maker's wives and the wives of men in various other occupations as unoccupied. This position has been reversed by the present writer, farmer's wives, for example, having been classified as agricultural workers.

The Format of the Table is as Follows/&ldots;

 

Variable	Description of Variables
DISTNUM	Number of registration district
RGNUM	Registration district number
DIST	Name of registration district
REGCOUTY	Registration County
MAL20PL	Males aged 20 and over
FEM20PL	Females aged 20 and over
	Male Occupations
AGRICMEN	Men in agriculture and farming
MININMEN	Men in mining and bricks
BUILDMEN	Men in building
MANUFMAN	Men in manufacturing
TRANSMAN	Men in transport and storage
DEALGMEN	Men in dealing
COMSEMEN	Men in commercial service
LABORMEN	Men in general labour
PUBSEMEN	Men in public service
DOMSEMEN	Men in domestic service
PROPRMEN	Men property owning
UNWAGEME	Men unwaged and indefinite
	Female Occupations
AGRIWOM	Women agriculture and farming
MINEWOM	Women in mining and bricks
BUILDWOM	Women in building
MANUFWOM	Women in manufacturing
TRANSWOM	Women in transport and storage
DEALWOM	Women in dealing
GENLBWOM	Women in general labour
PUBSEWOM	Women in public service
DOMSEWOM	Women in domestic service
PROPRWOM	Women property owners
UNWAGWOM	Women unwaged and indefinite

(NB: No women were employed in commercial service.)

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Scottish Vital Statistics 1861

To obtain a sub-set of variables from the Scottish Registrar General's Annual Report for 1861 please click here: Scottish Vital Registration Statistics.

The data relates to each Registration County in Scotland in 1861.

The file is best saved with the name SBMD1861.WK1, because this will be read easily by most spreadsheet packages

Variable	Description of Variable
RGNUM	Number of Registration District/Scottish County
COUNTY	Number of Scottish County
RGNAME	Name of county
PP1851	Population in 1851
POP61	Population in 1861
MALBTH61	Male births (incl. illegitimate) 1861
FEMBIR61	Female births (incl. illegitimate) 1861
BIRTH61	Total number of all births (incl. illegitimate) 1861
ILLMAL61	Illegitimate male births 1861
ILLFEM61	Illegitimate female births 1861
ILLET61	Total number of illegitimate births 1861
MALDTH61	Males deaths 1861
FEMDTH61	Female deaths 1861
DEATH61	Total deaths in 1861
MARR61	Total marriages in 1861
EXCESS61	Excess of births over deaths
AR1861	Estimated area of Scottish County/Registration District

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Additional Information and Data Sets

For additional information, including details of a much larger sub-set of variables from the 1861 Census and the Register General's Annual Report, please contact David Alan Gatley, at the above address.

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Updated 20th November 2003
David Alan Gatley