Woodhorn

Lesson 1 - Census

Census work

The Census is a count of all the people in the United Kingdom on one particular day and has been taken every ten years (except 1941) since 1801. It provides wonderful information including how many people live in each house, their names, ages and where they were born. As a result, Census information is brilliant for helping us to explore the past.

You are going to look at the lives of two children growing up in the Ashington area at the turn of the century (about 1900). That is just over 100 years ago. Think about how different their lives would have been in comparison to your own.

Answer these questions. Click on the images to make them larger.

Source 1 Ashington Census 1891

 RG 12/4259/folio 35/page 63

1. Look at the 1891 Census image to find entry 334 (first column)

• a. How many people are listed in this entry?
• b. Who is named as the head of the house?
• c. What job does he do?
• d. How many children are there?
• e. How old are the children (or child)?
• f. Where were the people born?

2. Look at the other entries on the page.

• a. What jobs do the people do?
• b. Which family lives at number 6?
• c. How many rooms does Alexander’s family occupy?
• d. How many children does he have?

Source 2 Ashington Census 1901

 RG13/4835/folio 69/page 17

1. Look at the 1901 Census image to find the entry for Henry Brewis.

• a. How old is he?
• b. What job did he do?

2. Find the family that appears on both the 1891 and the 1901 census.

• a. What is their surname?
• b. What is their address in 1901?
• c. What jobs does Mark do?
• d. How many children are there in the family in 1901?
• e. How old is the youngest child?
• f. How old are Stephen and Lizzie?

3. A major change has taken place within this family between 1891 and 1901.

• a. Can you spot what this change is?
• b. What is the most likely cause of this change?

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