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- 1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census
Records in this collection
- Gibraltar Census 1871-1921
- Scotland, Return of Owners of Land 1873
- 1790 Corfe Castle & District Census
- 1801 Kent, Dartford census
- 1821 Kent, Dartford census
- 1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census
- 1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census
- 1861 England, Wales & Scotland Census
- 1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census
- 1881 England, Wales & Scotland Census
- 1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census
- 1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census
- 1911 England & Wales Census
- 1921 Census Of England & Wales Official Reports
- 1939 Register
- 1939 Register Original Forms
- Boyd's inhabitants of London & family units, 1200-1946
- Caribbean Association Oath Rolls, 1696
- Cheshire Electoral Registers
- Cheshire Land Tax Assessments 1786-1832
- City of York deeds registers 1718-1866
- Devon, Plymouth & West Devon Electoral Registers 1780-1973
- Devon, Plymouth & West Devon Land Tax and Valuation Records 1897-1949
- England & Wales, Return of Owners of Land 1873
- England, Pollbooks and Directories 1830-1837
- Jersey, 1788 St Lawrence Parish Inhabitants
- Kent, Bromley Absent Voters List 1918
- Known missing places from 1939 Register
- London, Lambeth Electoral Registers 1832-1886
- London, Westminster Marylebone Census 1821 & 1831
- Middlesex Protestation Returns 1641-42
- Norfolk Electoral Registers 1832-1915
- Northamptonshire Freeholders 1795-1797
- Northamptonshire Hearth Tax, 1674
- Rate Books
- Scotland, Berwickshire, Ladykirk Heads of Household 1811
- Scotland, Edinburgh St Cuthbert's Census 1790
- Scotland, Forfarshire (Angus), Dundee Poor Relief Assessments 1822-1839
- Scotland, Perthshire, Inhabitants of the Burgh of Perth 1766
- Scotland, Scottish Catholics and their Children 1701-1705
- Scotland, Shetland, Tingwall List of Inhabitants 1785
- Scotland, Wigtownshire & Minnigaff Parish Lists 1684
- UK Electoral Registers & Companies House Directors 2002-2020
- Wales, Monmouthshire Electoral Registers 1832-1889
- Wales, Monmouthshire Electoral Registers 1839-1889
- Westminster Roman Catholic Census 1893
- Wiltshire Tithe Award Register 1813-1882
Find your ancestors in 1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census
The amount of information listed varies, but the 1871 census records usually include the following information about your ancestor:
As well as searching for a person, you can also search the 1871 census by address - ideal for tracing your house history or exploring the local history of an area.
By noting how many households there were in a building, and whether the household included servants or boarders or visitors, you can gain insight into the social circumstances of the family.
Discover more about the 1871 UK census
When the 1871 census was taken on the night of 2 April 1871 the total population was recorded as 26,072,036.
As well as the information above, in 1871 the census may have recorded additional information about the property in which your relative was living.
As with all historical research, the golden rule of family history is to check the original record, or "primary source", wherever possible. We have provided clear images of the original census enumeration books for you to view once you've found the right family in the indexes.
When using census returns, once you have located your ancestor in the census, you should then view the original images to validate your findings. The image of the original document will also help you see the household in the context of surrounding households as all the information will be provided in one clear place, as it was originally written down.
The original documents would have been given to your ancestor several days before the March 30th date, and the head of household would have been asked to fill in the details for anyone who would have been residing at that address on the census date. Of course, illiteracy was high in 1851, and anyone unable to read or write would have made use of an enumerator - a literate person who would be collecting the census forms - to help fill in the details. Because of this, however, you may note mistakes that were made, such as name spellings. It should also be noted that many people were often economical with the truth when it came to their ages.
Note: the census includes details of people resident in docked vessels and institutions such as prisons, workhouses, hospitals, and barracks, as well as individual households.
A small number of permanent gaps exist in the 1871 census.
England
Piece | County | Parish |
---|---|---|
3278 | Leicestershire | St Margaret, Leicester |
4213 | Lancashire | Preston |
4729 | Yorkshire | astoft and Haldenby |
Wales
Piece | County | Parish |
---|---|---|
5444 | Glamorgan | Llangyfelach |
Penderry | ||
Llandilotalybont | ||
5463 | Glamorgan | Porteynon |
Penrice | ||
Oxwich | ||
Nicholaston | ||
Penmaen | ||
Reynoldston | ||
Llandewy | ||
Knelston | ||
5590 | Breconshire | Talgarth |
Grwyne-fawr | ||
Grwyne-fechan |