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Making Sense of the Census

It has been widely reported that the 2011 census, which took place on 27 March, may be the last of its kind. In England and Wales, a census has been taken every 10 years since 1801, with the exception of 1941, and the records from 1841 to 1911 are currently available to the public. Information taken from the census sheds light on individual families - their ages, occupations and relationships to each other – which is why it is so popular with family historians.

More subtly, census records also document social change, providing a snapshot of a given area, be it a street, town or village, at a particular moment in time. Records from the Victorian era, for example, illustrate the huge gap between rich and poor; wealthy households routinely employed live-in staff while poorer families were forced to send their children out to work from a relatively young age.

Similarly, as access to education widened towards the end of the 19th century, the census showed that the population was becoming more literate. On 5 April 1911, a report in the Argus stated that, according to one enumerator, ‘compared with 10 years ago…the papers bearing a cross instead of a signature were very few.’ In other words, many more working people had been taught to read and write, and could therefore sign their own names. For inferred information as much as for specific detail, the census remains a fascinating primary source.

It has, however, become a far more detailed affair in recent decades. Critics claim that the census is too costly, that it gathers data the Government doesn’t need and that, in any case, the information is often unreliable. While it seems that few people would object to a simple headcount, many are concerned by the intrusive nature of some of the questions, and the use that might be made of our answers to them.

The Office of National Statistics, on the other hand, argues that the census is a unique source of information that helps shape the development of policies affecting vital public services. Others in the demographic community believe that not only is census data useful, it is also secure, thanks to steps taken to provide anonymity and confidentiality. Perhaps a compromise could be found – a slimmed-down, cost-effective version that would preserve historic continuity without controversy? Genealogists of the future – watch this space!