On this day in 1801 the first census was taken. It was only a head count though. The total population of England and Wales was 8.87 million. Where were your ancestors living in 1801?
By modern standards, the whole census operation was completed in a remarkably short time. In England and Wales, census day was10 March 1801 and the first abstracts were printed and laid before Parliament on 31 December that same year – just a year to the day after the Bill received Royal Assent.
The first census of England and Wales revealed a total population for England and Wales of 8.87 million, which, together with a count of just under half a million military personal, seamen and convicts who were not included in figures for the census itself, gave an estimate of 9.4 million compared, confirming a population close to the previous year’s estimate of 9.2 million.
By modern standards, the whole census operation was completed in a remarkably short time. In England and Wales, census day was10 March 1801 and the first abstracts were printed and laid before Parliament on 31 December that same year – just a year to the day after the Bill received Royal Assent.
The first census of England and Wales revealed a total population for England and Wales of 8.87 million, which, together with a count of just under half a million military personal, seamen and convicts who were not included in figures for the census itself, gave an estimate of 9.4 million compared, confirming a population close to the previous year’s estimate of 9.2 million.