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2021 Census

by Yvonne Hellin-Hobbs | Events, Demography

2021 is the year that the latest British census will be completed. This article will explain just what the census is and it’s importance to the country, and encourage the younger generation to get involved and understand it.

It’s not just about you – it’s about all of us, Create your own census, If you want to learn more..., Be a census detective

Old postcard of Bishopsteignton

It’s not just about you – it’s about all of us.

Do you know what the Census is?

Some people know about the Census with regards to their ancestry and their family past. Fun though this is, the main purpose of the Census is about measuring the present so that we can plan the future for the Country as a whole.

If someone asked you how many people lived in Bishopsteignton, what age they were, their gender or type of ‘household’ or occupation you probably could only have a wild guess which wouldn’t be much use if you were trying to work out how many school places we would need in five years time or what the need for a young person’s work opportunities would be.

Imagine now trying to guess the population the United Kingdom (it’s about 6.65 million) and all its complexity. It would be an impossible task especially as people are constantly changing. For instance, they change jobs, move homes and make decisions like what sort of job they want or when or if to have children.

One way to know what’s going on is to hold a Census. This is a count of every person in the country and their defining characteristics. It is essentially a freeze frame of the population at a specific time (This year it’s the night of 21st March). Censuses are held every ten years (since 1801 in the UK) and this period gives us sufficient time to analyse the data and make policy decisions before the population has changed yet again to require the next census in ten years’ time.

The census always measures people’s core demographic profile (e.g. age, sex, marital status). It also asks extra questions about issues that are of interest to policy makers at the time. For example, in 2011 there was a question on volunteering while this year one of the questions is about armed services veterans.

Censuses are totally confidential and are an early example of data protection and this is why the records we see for family research are only released after a hundred years, when it is assumed nearly everyone mentioned on it would have died. However the collective data for local areas is available immediately from ONS (https://www.ons.gov.uk/) and so you can compare this year’s results with those of 2011 and before. What changes can you see have occurred in Bishopsteignton over the years?

Have you ever seen one of the very old census forms that we have on the website?

Take a look and see if there are any words you don’t understand.

These pages show census entries for members of the Coombe family in different years.

1901-Bishopsteignton-Census

1891-Bishopsteignton-Census

1881-Bishopsteignton-Census

1911-census-transcription

1939-census-transcription

Create your own census

Perhaps you would like to do your own mini census on your own family, for instance:

Who lives in your house?

What is your Grandma’s name? Or your Grandpa’s name?

How old is he/she?

What year was he/she born?

Where does he/she live?

Any other questions you can think of?

If you would like to learn more about the census, these links will take you to some very interesting films about it.

If you want to learn more…….

Researching census documents is a difficult but fascinating task.

Although historic census records have been digitalised as Excel spreadsheets, they do suffer from occasional transcription errors and offer little of the detail from the original census enumeration books including occupation.

Here is a transcription of an original page from the 1911 census looking at the area around the village shop and Smith Hill. You see it lists the Post Office, as the Supply Stores was then, as well as a shop.

Source year	Given names	Last name	Year of birth	Census order	Address	Marital status	Occupation	Gender
1911	James	Weston	1859	42	The Triangle, Fore Street	Married	Coachman (domestic)	Male
1911	Lucy	Weston	1874	42	The Triangle, Fore Street	Married	Dressmaker	Female
1911	Meta	Weston	1897	42	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single		Female
1911	Cecil	Weston	1898	42	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single	School	Male
1911	Lionel	Weston	1909	42	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single		Male
1911	Susan	Causley	1844	43	The Triangle, Fore Street	Widow	Private Means	Female
1911	Samuel John	Quantick	1871	44	3 West Street	Married	Driver – Omnibus	Male
1911	Florence E	Quantick	1873	44	3 West Street	Married		Female
1911	Wilfred John	Quantick	1903	44	3 West Street	Single	School	Male
1911	Frederick Thomas	Quantick	1904	44	3 West Street	Single	School	Male
1911	Reginald George	Quantick	1906	44	3 West Street	Single	School	Male
1911	Frances	Martin	1846	45	The Triangle, Fore Street	Widow	Widow – Painter’s	Female
1911	Harry	Martin	1879	45	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single	Gardener (domestic)	Male
1911	Jessie	Martin	1891	45	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single	Dressmaker	Female
1911	Rose	Gill	1873	46	The Triangle, Fore Street	Widow	Cook (domestic)	Female
1911	John	Gill	1897	46	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single	Conductor – Bus	Male
1911	George	Gill	1900	46	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single		Male
1911	Louisa	Gill	1901	46	The Triangle, Fore Street	Single		Female
1911	William George	Taylor	1855	47	Fulford Cottages	Widower	Driver – Traction Engine	Male
1911	Henry	Bailey	1880	48	3 Fulford Cottages	Married	Labourer – Farm	Male
1911	Alice	Bailey	1876	48	3 Fulford Cottages	Married		Female
1911	Arthur	Bailey	1900	48	3 Fulford Cottages	Single		Male
1911	Willie	Bailey	1901	48	3 Fulford Cottages	Single		Male
1911	Cecil	Bailey	1904	48	3 Fulford Cottages	Single		Male
1911	Pearl	Bailey	#VAL	48	3 Fulford Cottages	Single		Female
1911	William	Townsend	1841	49	Fulford Cottages, Clanage Street	Married	Gardener (domestic)	Male
1911	Elizabeth	Townsend	1837	49	Fulford Cottages, Clanage Street	Married		Female

These were hand written, working documents and prone to illegibility and corrections and the originals were sometimes hard to decipher.

Although matters improved with successive censuses some problems always arise that make it hard to deduce just what properties can be linked with particular people and trades.

Street names were often not recorded.
Street names changed: The best example being Fore Street which shifted location and name ( Post Office Street) over the decades.
House numbers are rarely recorded although larger house names were.
Houses were pulled down or infilled while new ones were built. For example the current 64 Fore Street, next to the Supply Stores, was two thatched cottages until around about 1910. Then it was known as York Cottage. It is worth remembering that the viilage we see today has constantly changed over the centuries.
Enumerators (the people who collected the information) did not seem to always have an obvious route when recording the census. Quite often they would do a few houses in a row and then jump to another part of the village.

Researchers at BH have spent some time doing detective work trying to get a more accurate picture. Here are some of their tactics in trying to triangulate the information.

Some occupations tie a person to a particular property. In an example from the 1841 census we can see that a Joseph Berry was a grocer in a property that could possibly be the site of the village shop. We immediately lose the trail but perhaps the enumerator then went up West Street as we soon find an Innkeeper, Thomas Mann, which would suggest this may be the Commercial Inn .

Sometimes a name can be linked to the same property by comparing censuses. This is unusual though because Bishopsteignton had a moving population, partly because few people owned their houses and would often move between rented accommodation. With owner occupier houses it would seem common that people were only there for a few years. There are very few examples of the same family occupying a house for more than one generation.

Occasionally a commercial property fixes the location if the person lived at or close to the premises. The blacksmiths, (forge) where the public toilets are now, is a good example, as are the pubs.

Sometimes local anecdotes and house names give us a clue. We know that Philip Coombe was born in Clanage Street, the family were bakers and the oven is still in the garden! Similarly Baker’s Cottage in Fore Street was a baker’s shop.

Be a census detective

1911-Bishopsteignton-Census

Source year	Given names	Last name	Year of birth	Census order	Address	Marital status	Occupation	Gender
1911	William	Boone	1843	50	Clanage Street	Married	Innkeeper	Male
1911	Martha	Boone	1861	50	Clanage Street	Married		Female
1911	William Henry	Boone	1892	50	Clanage Street	Single	Apprentice – Plumber’s	Male
1911	Sidney Joseph	Boone	1897	50	Clanage Street	Single	General servant (domestic)	Male
1911	Violet Mary	Boone	1902	50	Clanage Street	Single	School	Female
1911	Mary Ann	Strowbridge	1827	50	Clanage Street	Widow	Widow – Farm Labourer’s	Female
1911	Elizabeth	Hurley	1858	51	Clanage Street	Single	Dressmaker	Female
1911	Susanna	Hurley	1822	51	Clanage Street	Widow	Widow – Farm Labourer’s	Female
1911	William	Kidston	1875	52	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Single	Gardener (domestic)	Male
1911	Louisa	Kidston	1843	52	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Widow		Female
1911	Thomas	Kidston	1877	52	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Single	Ld Stoker, Royal Navy	Male
1911	Edward	Kidston	1882	52	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Single	Farm – Labourer	Male
1911	Daniel	Coombe	1855	53	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Married	Brickworks – Labourer	Male
1911	Mary	Coombe	1857	53	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Married	Grocery, own account	Female
1911	Philip	Coombe	1892	53	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Single	Apprentice – Plumber’s	Male
1911	Charity Agnes	Coombe	1900	53	The Triangle, Clanage Street	Single	School	Female
1911	George	Henley	1884	54	Clanage Street	Married	Carpenter	Male
1911	Mary	Henley	1883	54	Clanage Street	Married		Female
1911	Thomas	Henley	1906	54	Clanage Street	Single	School	Male
1911	de Brett Martha	Sandilande	1836	55	Clanage	Single	Private Means	Female
1911	George	Pinkham	1850	56	Clanage Street	Widower	Farm – Labourer	Male
1911	Florence	Pinkham	1879	56	Clanage Street	Single	General servant (domestic)	Female
1911	William	Pinkham	1881	56	Clanage Street	Single	Farm – Labourer	Male
1911	Alfred	Pinkham	1886	56	Clanage Street	Single	Farm – Labourer	Male
1911	Mary	Pinkham	1911	56	Clanage Street	Single		Female

1. Do you know what is meant by a household?

2. How many different professions are recorded?

3. What does a carpenter do?

4. What is meant by ‘private means’?

5. What did William Pinkham do?

6. And William Henry Boone?

7. How old was Philip Combe in 1911 and what did he do?

Source year	Given names	Last name	Date of birth	Year of birth	Census order	Address	Marital status	Occupation	Gender
1939	Ernest	May	26/11/1873	1873	301	“Little Hayes”	Married	Farmer (Retired)	Male
1939	Jessie	May	19/05/1867	1867	301	“Little Hayes”	Married	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	Philip	Coombe	25/09/1891	1891	302	“Locarno”	Married	Builder (Master)	Male
1939	Grace W	Coombe	14/04/1898	1898	302	“Locarno”	Married	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	Molly H	Coombe	18/10/1929	1929	302	“Locarno”	Single	At School	Female
1939	Albert	Howard	28/08/1876	1876	302	“Locarno”	Widow	Market Gardener Own Account	Male
1939	Grace G	Jervis	05/06/1881	1881	303	“Humara”	Widow	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	Dorothy G	Jervis	27/02/1906	1906	303	“Humara”	Single	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	Frederic L	Righton	27/04/1879	1879	304	1 River View.	Married	Works Foreman Gold Coast Govt Rlys Retired	Male
1939	Mary M	Righton	04/06/1893	1893	304	1 River View.	Married	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	This record is officially	closed.			304	1 River View.
1939	Richard B	Berry	21/06/1880	1880	305	2	Married	Undertaker & Carpenter (Own Account	Male
1939	Blanche M	Berry	13/12/1882	1882	305	2	Married	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	Jack	Hulland	17/12/1915	1915	306	2 Puner Cottage	Married	Bricklayer (Foreman)	Male
1939	Mary	Hulland	10/10/1910	1910	306	2 Puner Cottage	Married	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	This record is officially	closed.			306	2 Puner Cottage
1939	William H	Sharland	25/04/1889	1889	307	1	Married	Gardener	Male
1939	Rosa	Sharland	06/04/1892	1892	307	1	Married	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	John H	Sharland	12/09/1922	1922	307	1	Single	Gardener (Jobbing)	Male
1939	This record is officially	closed.			307	1
1939	This record is officially	closed.			307	1
1939	Phyllis M	Sharland	20/12/1913	1913	307	1	Single	Domestic Servant	Female
1939	Elizabeth A	Pook	07/01/1877	1877	308	Smith Hill House	Married	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female
1939	David J	Pook	13/06/1885	1885	308	Smith Hill House	Married	Post – Master	Male
1939	This record is officially	closed.			308	Smith Hill House
1939	This record is officially	closed.			308	Smith Hill House
1939	Caroline M L	Pook	30/12/1861	1861	309		Widow	Unpaid Domestic Duties	Female

9. What did Richard R. Berry do?

10. And his wife Blanche?

11. What is meant by unpaid domestic duties?

12. Who lived in ‘Locarno’?

13. What was the date of birth of Molly Combe?

14. Why was there a census in 1939 if they are normally every ten years, and the last one had been in 1931?

15. What were the main differences between the 1911 and 1939 census?

If you would like to learn more about investigating census material, follow this link

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/education/census-detective.pdf

If you know that one of your ancestors lived in the village, try putting their name into the Parish Census Tool here on the site, to discover more.

https://www.bishopsteigntonheritage.co.uk/research/census-search-tool/

References

The householder is a) the person who lives, or is present, at this address who: owns/rents (or jointly owns/rents) the accommodation; and/or is responsible (or jointly responsible) for paying the household bills and expenses A household is a) one person living alone; or b) a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room or dining area

Nationalities

English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, British, Other

Ethnic groups

A White English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British, Irish Gypsy or Irish Traveller Any other White background, B Mixed/multiple ethnic groups White and Black Caribbean, White and Black African, White and Asian Any other Mixed / multiple ethnic background C Asian/Asian British Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi Chinese Any other Asian background D Black/African/Caribbean/Black British African, Caribbean Any other Black/African/Caribbean background E Other ethnic group, Arab Any other ethnic group

Descended means you have come down, in other words, one of your anscestors, someone related to you from the past, may have lived in the village.

A Carpenter repairs or makes things out of wood. Private Means is when someone has their own money and does not need to work.

William Pinkham was a Farm labourer.

William Henry Boone was an apprentice plumber.

Phillip Coombe was 19 and was an apprentice plumber

1939 Census

Richard R. Berry was an undertaker and carpenter.

His wife Blanche did unpaid domestic duties.

Unpaid domestic duties means someone cleaning the house, washing the laundry, making meals etc, without beig paid

The Coombe family lived at ‘Locarno’

Molly Coombe was born on 18th October 1929

In 1939 the government were aware that Britain would soon be involved in World War 2 so there might be no chance to have a correct census in 1941. Also they knew they would need to issue identity cards in the event of war, so they needed to know the information in advance.