Census Guide for UK and Ireland

In the United Kingdom, a census of the population has been taken every 10 years since 1801, except for 1941 (although a population register was taken on 29 September 1939, shortly before the outbreak of war).
In Ireland, the census was taken along with the UK census until 1911. No census, was taken in Ireland in 1921 because of the Civil War. The first census taken by the Irish Government was in 1926.

Census records are released to the public a hundred years after they were taken, meaning the latest census we can view is 1921 (although the 1939 Register is also available for England and Wales). The next full UK census released will be the 1951 census, which is due to be published 2052. The next Irish census released will be in January 2027. 

It should be remembered that in earlier censuses, data was given verbally to an official. Regional accents sometimes lead to the data being inaccurate and, as many of the people will have been illiterate, they were unable to check what the official was writing down for their household. Finally, people have never liked sharing personal information with government officials and so may not always have been completely honest. 

England and Wales

Census dates 1801 to 1939 

• 1801 – Tuesday, 10th March
• 1811 – Monday, 27th May
• 1821 – Monday, 28th May
• 1831 – Monday, 30th May
• 1841 – Sunday, 6th June
• 1851 – Sunday, 30th March
• 1861 – Sunday, 7th April
• 1871 – Sunday, 2nd April
• 1881 – Sunday, 3rd April
• 1891 – Sunday, 5th April
• 1901 – Sunday, 31st March
• 1911 – Sunday, 2nd April
• 1921 – Sunday, 19th June (postponed from Sunday, 24th April)
• 1939 Register – Friday, 29th September

Information contained in each census

1801 to 1831

The central census contained only statistical information – no names, addresses, occupations – nothing of help in family research. However, some local officails did take more detailed records, some of which have survived, and so it is worth checking what may be available for the place your ancestors lived. For example, a transcript of the Amlwch census for 1801, containing addresses, details of the names of the heads of households, their occupation and how many others lived in the house is available to view online.

1841 onwards

The 1841 census holds less information than those that followed. It doesn’t tell you the relationships between occupants, the age is often rounded up or down to the nearest 5 years and the place of birth is limited to whether it’s the same county as the census town. 1851 and onwards added the relationship to the head of the household, place of birth and some disability information. The 1911 census was the first to have a separate form for each household.

• Address:
  1841 – sometimes only the town, or area of the town is used.
  1851 to 1901 – The street is generally included, though not always the house number.
  1911 & 1921 – Almost always includes the house number.
• Name:
  1841 onwards - includes the surname and at least one forename (although this could be a pet name rather than the given name), often with middle names or initials.
  Names, particularly surnames, were sometimes misread by the enumerator who copied the information from the form to the census book (and there is always the chance they were misspelled on the original form as well). They can also have been mis-transcribed by the person or computer digitising them now.
• Relationships:
  1841 – not included
  1851 onwards – How the individual is related to the head of the household.
• Ages:
  1841 - it's not unusual to find that the ages are incorrect, and often have been rounded up or down to the nearest 5 years. 
  1851 onwards – ages are generally more accurate, but of course they are only as accurate as the person giving the information was prepared to divulge (or knew). 
  1921 - gives the age in years and months.
  1939 Register - contains the date of birth.
• Marital status:
  1841 – not included
  1851 onwards – whether single, married or widowed.
  1911 – also includes the number of years married. 
  1921 - whether single, married or widowed but not how long married.
• Children:
  1911 - includes information on the number of children born to a couple, how many were born alive, how many are still alive and how many have died. 
• Occupaion:
  1841 onwards – the profession of each person is usually included, or whether children are at school.
  1911 – also includes information on the industry or service the employer is involved in and whether the person is an employer, worker or ‘own account’
  1921 - also includes information of the name and address of the employer
• Birthplace:
  1841 – only has a Y or N for either “Whether born in same county” and/or “Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or foreign parts”
  1851 onwards – changed to “Where born”, generally includes a town and county, though sometimes only a county is specified. Answers to this section frequently contains mistakes and can differ from census to census. 
• Persons Born in a Foreign Country:
  1911 – the nationality of those persons, and if naturalised British, the age that was granted. 
• Disabilities:
  1841 – not included
  1851 and 1861 – “Whether blind or deaf-and-dumb”
  1871 and 1881 – “Whether: 1. Deaf-and-dumb; 2. Blind; 3. Imbecile or idiot; 4. Lunatic”
  1891 – “Whether: 1. Deaf-and-dumb; 2. Blind; 3. Lunatic, imbecile or idiot”
  1901 – “If: 1. Deaf and dumb; 2. Blind; 3. Lunatic; 4. Imbecile, feeble-minded”
  1911 – “If any person included in this schedule is:- !. Totally deaf or deaf and dumb; 2. Blind; 3. Lunatic; 4. Imbecile or feeble-minded” On the 1911 census, instead of just a tick in a box, it was required that the “infirmity” was listed by their name and the age at which is started.
  1921 - Disabilities are not recorded.
• Welsh Census - Language:
  The Welsh census for 1891 onwards shows whether each person spoke English, Welsh, or both.

1931 Census

The 1931 census was destroyed in a fire in December 1942. Find out more about the 1931 census https://www.1911census.org.uk/1931 

1939 Register

Covers England and Wales and contains names, addresses, dates of birth, occupations and marital status. Useful to genealogists as the 1931 census was destroyed in a fire in December 1942, and there was no census taken in 1941 due to World War II.

I’ve written a separate entry exploring the 1939 Register in more detail.

Scotland

coming soon....

Ireland

Until independence, the census in Ireland was taken on the same dates as the UK census, with the last taken as part of the UK being the 1911 census. There was no census taken in Ireland in 1921 because of the Civil War. The first Irish census was taken on 18 April 1926, the National Archives Of Ireland state that this census is due for release to the public in January 2027 (though there is a possibility of early release).

Only the 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses are still fully intact and are searchable for free online at the National Archives website, along with fragments of the 1821 to 1851 censuses . The 1821 to 1851 censuses were mostly destroyed in a fire at the Public Records Office in Dublin at the start of the Civil War, some fragments remain and are searchable at the link above. The 1861 and 1871 Irish censuses were destroyed not long after they were taken. The  1881 and 1891 censuses for Ireland were pulped during World War I.

 Census Dates

• 1801 – Tuesday, 10th March
• 1811 – Monday, 27th May
• 1821 – Monday, 28th May
• 1831 – Monday, 30th May
• 1841 – Sunday, 6th June
• 1851 – Sunday, 30th March
• 1861 – Sunday, 7th April
• 1871 – Sunday, 2nd April
• 1881 – Sunday, 3rd April
• 1891 – Sunday, 5th April
• 1901 – Sunday, 31st March
• 1911 – Sunday, 2nd April
• 1921 – none taken because of the civil war
• 1926 – First full census taken by the Irish government

Details on the 1901 and 1911 Irish Census

• Name
• Relationship to head of household
• Religion
• Education (whether can read, write, read and write or none)
• Age
• Occupation
• Marital status (including length of marriage, number of children born, number of children still alive)
• Place of birth
• Whether the person speaks Irish, English or Irish & English
• Whether the person is “Deaf and dumb; dumb only; blind, imbecile or idiot or lunatic”