Sources for Primary History

A general census has been conducted in this country every ten years since 1801. The first gathered only population figures for villages or towns. Since 1851, however, details of the members of each household have been collected and recorded in Enumerators' Schedules. The most recent available census is for 1911.

Although the information in individual records is not extensive, Victorian census materials have great potential as sources for investigation in the context of a Local History study or as part of the 'beyond 1066' area of study at Key Stage 2. The main problem with their use is the illegibility of the handwriting of the period, although this can be addressed by transcription of parts of the records. Census extracts could be used individually or records from different years could be compared to trace developments over time.

Census data provides an excellent opportunity for the use of ICT in history. Large amounts of census data can be entered into database program and searching, sorting and graphing tools used to reveal patterns and trends.

One of the most important implications is that, in investigating census materials, children will be finding out about real people and carrying out original research.

Some possible investigations/questions include:

• A survey of the information which census records contain - what questions about people in the past can be answered using the schedules?

  • What questions cannot be answered?

• Family size and homes - look for examples of large Victorian families.

  • How many people are in these families?

  • Which is the largest household?

  • Choose one of the large families and construct a family tree for them.

• Who, apart from family members, live in the houses?

  • Do some households have lodgers?

  • Do some have servants?

  • What does this tell you about the social standing of the households?

• Servants - consider the hierarchy of servants in middle-class houses.

  • How many different kinds of servants can you find?

  • Which, do you think, were the most or least important?

• Places of birth - look at the birthplace column.

  • Were most people on the schedule born in the local area?

  • How many appear to have moved into the area?

  • Do the jobs listed in the “Occupations” column give clues as to why people might have moved? Have people moved into the area for work?

  • Are there signs on later census records that the population was becoming more mobile?

• Occupations - consider the jobs people did then.

  • Make a list of all the jobs on the schedule.

  • How many did each job?

  • How many occupations on the census no longer exist or have changed considerably?

  • Which modern jobs did not exist then?

  • What are the main occupations on the schedule?

  • Does this give a clue about the main employer in the area?

• Scholars - How many children on the schedule are still at school?

  • At what age do children appear to have left school?

  • Is this age different for boys and girls?

  • In the late Victorian period, children would have started work at an earlier age than they do now. What sort of jobs did they do?

Trade directories

Trade directories date from the late eighteenth century and listed important residents and   tradesmen in towns. They were the equivalent of a modern telephone or, more specifically, Yellow Pages directory. Factual information about the town including a short history and details of transport were also given. There were some town directories for particular towns but most were county directories with coverage of the major towns. Directories  can  be  found  in local libraries or, for Chester, in Chester History & Heritage Centre.