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The 1911 census for England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday the 2nd April 1911. The total population was declared to be about 35,000,000. The 1911 census includes all individual households as well as prisons, workhouses, naval and merchant vessels. It also provides an approximate count of the homeless.

The 1911 census includes extra information that hasn't been seen in previous censuses. You'll see details of which industry or service they are working in as well as details about your ancestor's marriage. You'll see how long they have been married and how many children they have had within that marriage. This includes the number of children still living and the number that died.

Winston Churchill can be found in the 1911 census. His occupation is listed as 'One of His Majesty's
Principal Secretaries Of State'.

The 1901 census for England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday the 31st March. The total population was declared to be 32,527,843.

Typically you'll see the names of everyone in the house at the time of the census. You'll see their ages, occupation and where they were born.

In January 1901 the reign of Queen Victoria ended when she passed away in Osborne House, her home on the Isle of Wight. You can find the Queen Mother, who was just a baby, when the census was taken. Look for Elizabeth Bowes Lyon.

The 1891 census for England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday the 5th April. The total population was declared to be 28,999,725.

You'll see the names of everyone in the house at the time of the census. You'll see their ages, occupation and where they were born. Don't forget to look at their neighbours too. In the 19th century families often lived in the same area, if not the same street.

In the 1891 census you can see a young Charlie Chaplin living at home with his half-brother Sydney and his mother, Hannah, a 'Professional Singer of Music' in Walworth. Search for Charles Chaplin born in 1889.

The 1891 census for England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday the 3rd April. The total population was declared to be 25,974,000.

The census gives details of everyone in the house the night the census was taken by the Enumerator. This can include details of any visitors at the time, which offer clues for your research.

The Prime Minister in 1881 was William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898). He was Prime Minister a total of 4 times. He can be found in the 1881 census living at 10 Downing Street with his family and a very long list of servants!

The 1871 census for England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday the 2nd April 1871. The total population was declared to be 22,723,000.

In 1871 Parliament passed the Bank Holidays Act giving England, Wales and Ireland four Bank Holidays (five in Scotland). Also, Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll was published. Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym used by Charles Dodgson. In 1871 he is living at the University of Oxford and is the deacon of the Church of Christchurch.

The 1861 census for England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday the 7th April 1861. The total population was declared to be 20,066,000.

In London the first horse drawn trams began appearing on the streets. It is also the year the book Mrs Beeton's Household Management was published as a guide to running a Victorian household. It gave advice on childcare, managing servants and also contained over 900 recipes. You can see Isabella Beeton living with her husband Samuel, a publisher, in Hatch End in 1861.

The 1851 census for England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday the 30th March 1851. The total population was declared to be 17,922,768.

This is the first census to include detailed information about each person. This includes their age, year of birth, marital status, occupation and where they were born.

In 1851 Lord Palmerston is sacked from his post as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for sending a congratulatory telegram to Napoleon for his coup d'etat. Lord Palmerston went on to be the Prime Minister twice from 1855 to 1858 and then 1859 to 1865. Search for Viscount Palmerston in the 1851 census and you'll see him living in Charing Cross, London with his wife.

There was a census taken every ten years between 1801 and 1831, although only a few parts of them remain. These were only a head count and no personal information was actually recorded. It was only in 1841 that personal information was included in the census. The 1841 census was taken on Sunday the 6th June 1841 and the total population was recorded as 15,914,000.