The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

conducted in the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England and Wales,National Statistics Online
Retrieved 9 November 2017. 4,761,000 in Scotland, and 4,390,000 in Ireland.Census of Ireland 1901/1911 and Census fragments and substitutes, 1821-51.
The National Archives of Ireland. Retrieved 6 July 2017.

Geographical scope

The census covered England, Wales,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, and ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

at sea and in ports abroad.General Register Office: 1911 Census Schedules.
''The National Archives''. Retrieved 6 July 2017. The

Census of Ireland, 1911 The 1911 Census of Ireland was the last census that covered the whole island of Ireland. Censuses were taken at ten-year intervals from 1821 onwards, but the 1921 census was cancelled due to the Irish War of Independence. The original records ...

was carried out on the same day but the records are held separately by the

National Archives of Ireland The National Archives of Ireland ( ga, Cartlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the official repository for the state records of Ireland. Established by the National Archives Act 1986, taking over the functions of the State Paper Office (founded 17 ...

Questions

The 1911 census was the first to ask about nationality, the duration of current marriage, number of children born within that marriage, number of living children and the number of any children who had died. It was the first to record full details of

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

personnel stationed overseas instead of requiring just a simple headcount. This

was subject to protests by women seeking the right to vote in the UK, with some

suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to member ...

like Joan Cather refusing to fill in the forms, which were returned with sloganned stickers. Her husband supported her position as he annotated the Census form that he had 'conscientious scruples' as head of household to note any 'female occupants' to avoid the census statistics being used by legislators for 'further vexatious legislation' against women 'in which they have no voice'. He went on to say he would provide the information if the Conciliation Committee Bill passed into law. The Registrar did however note two females as 'the probable number'.

Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant figh ...

hid herself in a cupboard at the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...

, becoming, when found, listed on the form as an occupant of the building. It was also the first census where the forms were completed by the respondents and retained rather than being copied into the enumeration books. The census forms (schedules) contained an address and schedule number and were divided into sixteen columns: * Name and Surname. * Relationship to Head of Family. * Age (Males). * Age (Females). * Marital condition. * Number of years married (present marriage) - Married women only. * Children born to present marriage. * Children still living. * Children who have died. * Occupation. * Industry or service with which worker is connected. * Employment status. * Whether working at home. * Birthplace. * Nationality - if born in a Foreign Country. * Infirmity. Schedules were also prepared for: *Institutions (workhouses, hospitals, hotels, schools, etc.). *Shipping (merchant vessels). *Military establishments (barracks, training schools, British Army overseas, etc.). * Royal Naval vessels (in home ports).

Online access

The census data was published online on a subscription basis in 2009.

References

{{Census in the United Kingdom

1911 A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * ...

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Geographical scope

Questions

Online access

See also

References