1841 England, Scotland & Wales census

The amount of information listed varies, but the 1841 Census records usually include the following information:

• First name
• Middle name
• Last name
• Sex
• Birth place
• Age
• Place of residence
• County

You can also search the 1841 census by address, which is ideal for tracing the history of your house or exploring the local history of an area.

By noting how many households there were in a building and whether the household included servants or boarders or visitors, you can gain insight into the social circumstances of the family.


As well as the above details, census returns may also include information that not only helps us to determine who our ancestors were, but that also tell us:

• Where your ancestors were living
• Who they were living with
• What their occupations were
• If they had any servants
• Who their neighbours were
• If they had any brothers and sisters
• What their ages were at the time of the census

Discover more about the 1841 census

The 1841 census was the first modern census, when the first Registrar General of England and Wales was made responsible for organising the count.

The census was taken on the night of 6 June 1841 and gave the total population as 18,553,124.

The task of counting was passed to local officers of the newly created registration service. This is the earliest census that has survived in its entirety: few of the 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 censuses have survived the ravages of time.

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 today.

Of course, illiteracy was high in 1841, and anyone unable to read or write would have made use of an enumerator - a literate person who would be collecting the census forms - to help fill in the details. Because of this, however, you may note mistakes that were made, such as name spellings. It should also be noted that many people were often economical with the truth when it came to their ages.

Note: In the 1841 Census there was also a policy of rounding down ages was in place. As such, people aged:

• 15-19 were recorded as 15
• 20-24 were recorded as 20
• 25-29 were recorded as 25
• 30-34 were recorded as 30
• 35-39 were recorded as 35...and so on

As well as giving us the above information, the fact that census returns are taken every ten years also allows us to track the movements of our ancestors through time as they perhaps move house, get married, have children or even change occupations.