The Ham History Project: Censuses
Censuses were our first port of call as a resource for research.
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Part of the first page of the 1841 census for Ham with its transcript below. |
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Year Ham Wiltshire
1801 188 185,107
1811 195 193,828
1821 171 222,157
1831 205 240,156
1841 215 258,733
1851 243 254,221
1861 249 249,311
1871 255 257,177
1881 199 258,965
1891 241 264,997
1901 217 271,394
1911 192 286,822
1921 160 292,208
1931 179 303,373
1951 175 386,692
1961 170 422,950
1971 149 486,747
1981 161 518,545
1991 175 564,471
2001 152 613,024
2011
© Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office |
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Checking out family names in the census records reveals all sorts of information about ancestors but it also uncovers lots of valuable social history as to what life was like in past times in a small Wiltshire village.
1841 CENSUS
For Ham it shows that the huge majority were all labourers working on Ham’s historic three farms: Dove’s Farm, East Court Farm and Manor Farm which embraced a copyhold farm, and then the emerging Ham Spray Estate.
In the second half of the 19th century Henry Deacon Woodman became the major landowner, welding the majority of these farms together. |
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1841 CENSUS NOTES
1. In this first proper census of 1841, adult ages were rounded up or down to the nearest 5 years. It is extraordinary today to think that children 5+ were deemed workers.
2. No addresses given except for 2 on page 8, the rest just marked ‘Village’.
3. Total population was 215:
108 males & 107 females.
48 households. 127 adults &
88 children under 16.
4. Summary of occupations:
Agricultural Labourer.
Labourer. Carpenter. Farmer. Balemaker. Blacksmith.
Publican. Tailor. Shoemaker.
Yeoman. Clergyman.
Female servant. Male servant. |