It was not until 1801 that the first official census of England and Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man was taken. It revealed that the total population of England and Wales was just under 9 million. Thereafter a census has been taken every 10 years to the present day, except for 1941 during the height of the Second World War.
Until 1841 the census records are of little use to family historians as the returns, which had been made by the parish elders, were purely statistical. Although the 1841 census is not as informative as subsequent ones it is still of great value to the local historian with street names and house numbers, names of members of each household, approximate ages and occupations.
From 1851 onwards the information has included:
- name of street, or road with name or number of house
- name and surname of members of each household
- relation to the head of the household, including servants and lodgers
- actual age at the time of the census
- whether married, single, widow or widower
- profession or occupation
- place of birth.
The original returns for the whole of England and Wales are held at The National Archives, but you can visit West Sussex Record Office to view them on the Ancestry and Find My Past websites, available free of charge on our public access computers.
Please note: access to Find My Past at the Record Office and branch libraries is limited to 10 users at a time. At busy times you may need to wait for an online 'seat' to become available (even when using your own device and account via the Wi-Fi network).
West Sussex Census Records
For 10 West Sussex parishes, original returns for 1811, 1821 and 1831 giving the names of householders and usually the number in each family have survived. For seven other West Sussex parishes, unofficial censuses exist. These were mostly compiled by clergymen in the course of their pastoral duties and give the details of all the inhabitants of the parish.
The table below shows parish returns on censuses and the year:
| Parish | Return | Years |
|---|---|---|
| North Ambersham | Unofficial | 1815 |
| Upper Beeding | Unofficial | 1878 |
| Broadwater | Original return | 1821 |
| Cowfold | Original return | 1831 |
| Fernhurst | Unofficial | 1815 |
| Graffham | Unofficial | 1837-1844 |
| Greatham | Original return | 1821 |
| Grinstead, East | Original return | 1811 |
| Grinstead, East | Original return | 1821 |
| Grinstead, East | Original return | 1831 |
| Hurstpierpoint | Original return | 1811 |
| Hurstpierpoint | Original return | 1821 |
| Kirdford | Original return | 1811 |
| Rusper | Original return | 1811 |
| Rusper | Unofficial | 1822 |
| Singleton | Unofficial | 1852-1858 |
| Tangmere | Copy return | 1821 |
| Woolavington | Unofficial | 1837-1844 |
In addition, the Record Office holds microfiche copies of the enumerators' schedules for West Sussex 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881 and for West and East Sussex for 1891 and 1901.