1901 Census Records of England and Wales
The census was taken on the night of Sunday 31 March 1901.
In 1901, England and Wales were shown to have a combined total population of 32,527,843.
How to Access
You can search the 1901 census and view digitised images of the 1841-1921 censuses (plus the 1939 Register) of England and Wales through a subscription to Ancestry or Findmypast. Compare their rates below:
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1901 Census Headings (in bold)
No. of Schedule
ROAD, STREET, and No. or NAME OF HOUSE
HOUSES [with four columns below: Firstly Inhabited, then two columns headed Uninhabited with In occupation and Not in occupation below, and finally Building]
Number of Rooms occupied if less than five
In an improvement on the 1891 census, occupied rooms were qualified as including a kitchen, but excluding a scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathroom, warehouse, office or shop.
Name and Surname of each Person
Initials or first letters of other Christian names were to be inserted.
RELATION to Head of Family
daur. (daughter), F-in-law (father-in-law), M-in-law (mother-in-law), serv. (servant).
Condition as to Marriage
M. (married), S. (unmarried), Wid. (widow), Widr. (widower).
Age last Birthday of [with Males and Females in columns below]
mo. (months) if aged under one.
PROFESSION or OCCUPATION
Employer, Worker, or Own account
If Working at Home
WHERE BORN
If
(1) Deaf and Dumb
(2) Blind
(3) Lunatic
(4) Imbecile, Feeble-minded
Where it applied, householders were often reluctant to complete this section.
Notes on the 1901 Census of England and Wales
- Enumerators' books were organized by administrative county, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish, county borough/municipal borough/urban district, ward of municipal borough or of urban district, rural district, parliamentary borough or division, and town or village or hamlet.
- A single diagonal penstroke / marked the end of a household, whereas a double penstroke // marked the end of a building. This applied to the censuses from 1841 to 1901, save 1851.
- The category 'Idiot', which had been listed since 1871, was replaced by the less derogatory 'Feeble-minded'. As a consequence the numbers recorded rose markedly, perhaps reflecting the inclusion of occupants with senile dementia.
- In Wales, the language question (English, Welsh or both) applied to those aged three and above. An age stipulation had not been applied in the 1891 census.
- As in 1891, specially translated schedules were printed in Yiddish and German for Jewish residents of London's East End. This aided speakers in the correct completion of the English version.
- The village of Deal in Kent is missing in its entirety from 1901.
- Shipping schedules are usually at the end of the household returns for the nearest census night port/place or schedule delivery point.
- The original enumeration district books are held by The National Archives (TNA); Reference RG 13.
- The records were released online on 2 January 2002.
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