Shropshire Routes to Roots

2. The census (National data)

Using the Census to track changes over time

By comparing the Wrockwardine Wood census with those censuses before and after it is possible to see how the population has changed over a period of time. For example, the table below takes information from the censuses in Wrockwardine Wood from 1841 to 1871:

What do you notice about the average number of people per house? Interestingly, it has stayed more or less the same over the period. Although the population more than doubled in 30 years, enough new houses were being built to cope with the influx of workers, who were coming to work at the Lilleshall Company's New Yard, Priorslee Iron works and their deep coal mines.

Using the Census to get information about the national population changes

The previous page took data on specific families in Wrockwardine Wood. But the census is not only useful for getting a detailed picture of a specific local area. When the census information from different areas is collected together, it is possible to get an idea of what life was like on a national level.

For example, the 1851 census shows how the population of England increased dramatically compared to the previous century. In 1751, the population of England was around 7 million. By 1851, this figure had trebled to 21 million. In 2001, the population stood at 52.1 million.

You can use a table giving the population of England and Wales from 1700 to 2001 (Opens in a new window).

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