Developments From Previous Censuses
The 1851 census was the first to record the full details of birth location for individuals. Where 1841 had only recorded if an individual was born in county, the 1851 census states the county and parish or town of birth as well.
The 1851 census was the first to record each person's marital status and relationship to the head of the household, as well as details of disability being recorded — with a field for recording the information that an individual was "blind, deaf or imbecile". Each individual's exact age was also recorded (to the nearest year) rather than rounding adult ages down to the nearest five years.
In 1851, much greater detail was asked about people's occupations than in previous censuses. This enabled government analysis of occupations into "classes" and "sub-classes". Masters in trade and manufacture were asked to state the word "master" after the description of their occupation and to state the number of men employed on the day of the census.
Full documentation for the 1851 population census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the North Atlantic Population Project.
The Government also conducted a census of attendance at religious services on 30 March 1851, as part of the project.
Read more about this topic: United Kingdom Census 1851
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