ACTION HOMELESS - Aspire Magazine

History In The Making
2011 Census: A Snapshot Of Britain By Sarah Ross
10 ASPIRE
Tracking the changing lives of the British public, the census provides a unique, accurate
and comprehensive record of everyone in Britain. Created in 1801, this amazing
document has captured our lives for over 200 years and provides a gripping snapshot
of fascinating moments in our history. Completed once every ten years, the national
census will be completed for the 21st time on Sunday 27th March 2011.
The purple and white envelopes have already been
dropped through the letterbox and as we gear up to
document our lives in 2011, Aspire takes a look at the
origins of this important document and some of the
weird and wonderful facts it has unearthed throughout its
history...
The size of Britain’s population has always been of great
interest, particularly in the late 18th Century when Britain's
first professor of political economy, Thomas Malthus,
published an essay suggesting that our nation’s food supply
would not be sufficient for the growing population. A
statistician and government official by the name of John
Rickman publically opposed this view, but realised the need
for official statistics on whether the population was growing
or shrinking. As Europe and the United States were already
introducing measures to track population trends, Rickman
proposed a national census be conducted in Britain every
ten years and after drafting the Census Act in 1800, the first
groundbreaking survey was then taken on the 10th March
1801.
The original census featured just six questions and existed
mainly as a way of counting heads – 8.87million heads to
be precise – but also included questions on family size and
the sex of each family member. Deemed a success, the
process has been completed once every decade since, with
the exception of 1941, which coincided with World War II.
In the last 210 years the census has evolved to track many
different aspects of our lives and now includes questions
that reflect changes in society, including our households,
religious beliefs and language.
Each census is a truly unique document, but the 1911
Census, released in 2009, is a special one indeed. Prior to
1911, all original census returns, filled in by the head of the
house, were destroyed after the data had been compiled
by an enumerator. The 1911 Census was the very first to
be released with the original preserved records, meaning
genealogists have been able to see their own ancestor’s
handwritten returns for the first time. The census, which
documented the lives of 36million people on Sunday 2nd
April, also covers a whopping two kilometres of shelf space
at the National Archives, where it is stored in London.
Under the 1920 Census Act, the law states that census
returns cannot be released to the public for 100 years,
but the act doesn’t cover the 1911 Census, meaning the
Information Commissioner’s Office were able to allow earlier
access. However, only a partial release of basic data was
granted and any information which is personally sensitive
will not be released to the public until 3rd January 2012.
The census provides some fascinating and funny details
from the past. Shockingly, the last column of the 1911
document, along with all prior census returns, required
the head of the house to indicate all infirmities of family
or household members. In the non-PC times of Edwardian
England, these were categorised as deaf and dumb, blind,
imbecile or idiot, and lunatic. By 1921, this column had
been dropped and as our language continued to evolve,
it became apparent that these descriptions were not
appropriate.
In later censuses household amenities became of interest;
in 1951, the issue of whether households had an inside or
outside toilet became important and was recorded for 40
years until 1991, whilst the 1971 Census contained tickboxes
for families to record whether they possessed cookers
or kitchen sinks attached to a water supply.
The 2011 Census, which will be completed by an estimated
25million households, promises new firsts for the historic
document. Highlighting our global obsession for new
technology, this year is the first time the census can be
completed online and in order to accurate document the
relationship status of the population, the 2011 Census
will feature a new tick box for same-sex civil partnerships,
following the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
In modern Britain, the question of religion always causes
some debate, particularly where the census is concerned
and as this is not a compulsory part of the questionnaire,
it leaves the public to answer it as they choose. Following
an Internet campaign, thousands of people across the
country were encouraged to register their religion as ‘Jedi’
on the 2001 Census in tribute to the Star Wars faith. An
email, which circulated internationally, claimed that just
10,000 people in each country would need to give their
religion as ‘Jedi’ to allow it to be officially recognised as a
religion. Although it turned out to be a hoax, a whopping
390,000 individuals willingly pledged their support, forcing
enumerators to create a new code for the religion when
processing the census data and making it the fourth largest
religion in Britain.
A sign of the times, this year’s census has influenced the
launch of numerous Facebook campaigns, designed to
celebrate a wide number of interests and passions relating
largely to books and TV. So, whether you want to register
your religion as Time Lord in homage to Doctor Who,
Twilightism in relation to the vampire books or Tree Hugger
to make people more aware of the affects of climate
change, there’s a wealth of ideas and inspiration on the
social networking site.
Nowadays, census data is extremely useful in many areas
of our communities; it is often relied upon by councils
predicting the number of children who will attend school
in the future and supermarkets to plan how much food
to stock. The information generated by the census is also
proving to be a vital resource for professional historians
and budding genealogists. Thanks to the BBC’s ‘Who Do
You Think You Are?’ and websites such as Ancestry, which
includes details of census returns, tracing your family tree
has never been more popular or so fascinating.
The Census In Numbers:
10 5.6
size in 1801. each census.
The average household The time in years between
100
Personal data from the
census can only be released
to the public a century on
from its completion, so
the full details of the 2011
Census will not be available
until 2111.
35,000
The number of field staff
taken on to help carry out
the 2011 Census.
639
The number of individuals
with the first name
Christmas, as recorded on
the 1901 Census.
8.87million
The population of Britain at
the time of the first official
census, taken in 1801.
36
The most common age of
the population ten years
ago, according to statistics
from the 2001 Census.
1,000
The maximum amount in
pounds you can be fined
for not filling in the 2011
Census.
482million
The estimated cost of the
2011 Census.
Full details on completing the 2011 Census is available at www.census.gov.uk
43
The number of questions
relating to the individual,
including language, work
habits and health.
58,789,194
The population at the time
of the 2001 Census.
8,560
The number of individuals
who were 100-years-old or
over in 2001.
The Times They
Are A Changin’
A lot can change in a decade; from great
sporting achievements to tragic events, Aspire
takes a look at the major events that have
marked the last ten years...
2001
The biggest attack on
American soil, 9/11 left
almost 3,000 people from
more than 90 countries
dead, including 67 Brits.
2003
England narrowly beat
Australia in the 2003 Rugby
World Cup Final thanks
to Johnny Wilkinson’s last
minute drop kick goal.
2005
Four bombs were
simultaneously detonated
on London’s public
transport system on the 7th
July, killing 52 and injuring
nearly 800.
2007
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows, the
seventh and final book in
JK Rowling’s fantasy series,
became the UK’s fastest
selling book, with more
than one household in ten
buying their copy within
the first 24 hours.
2009
Britain’s Got Talent star and
YouTube sensation Susan
Boyle made chart history
when ‘I Dreamed A Dream’
became the fastest selling
debut album in the UK.
2002
In the year of her Golden
Jubilee, the Queen suffered
much sadness following the
deaths of Princess Margaret
and the Queen Mother.
2004
Passed on the 18th
November, the Civil
Partnership Act 2004
signalled a major win in the
fight for gay rights.
2006
The threat of bird flu caused
fear when a dead swan
found in Scotland tested
positive for the H5N1 strain
of the virus.
2008
As many of us are still
feeling the effects, we
hardly need reminding that
the UK’s worst financial
crisis for 20 years began
during 2008.
2010
Starting and ending with
extremes of the sub-zero
variety, 2010 started with
the longest cold snap for
30 years and ended much
the same.
ASPIRE 11