Census 1861 - UK Population Tables
POPULATION TABLES.
Another of those formidable masses of figures, in which the whole life of the nation is, as far as such a feat can be accomplished, analysed and tabulated, has been published by order of the House of Commons. It sets forth in columns upon columns – which have, at first sight, a forbiddingly dry appearance – the most interesting history that could be written; for it records nothing less than the civil condition, the occupation, the birthplaces, and the present ages of all the people in England and Wales. There is scarcely a man before whose eyes this weighty and voluminous fund of information may come who is not himself an atom in the vast aggregate; and there is certainly not one who, if he rendered a faithful account of himself and his household in the last census, may not claim to have assisted in the formation of the great book of reference just added to the library of national statistics. Merged in the vast totality, he is a drop in the tide of population which continues steadily to rise in all parts of these realms.
The official return now before us states, as we have said, all essential particulars in the civil condition of the people, including their ages and occupations; and it also sets forth the ages and occupations of the blind, of the deaf and dumb, and of the inmates of certain public institutions. The total number of males, according to the census of 1861, was 9.776.259, and females 10,289,965. In England the two sexes are stated as 18,954,444; while in Wales they are set down at 1,111,780. In England there were 50 males and 127 females of 100 years and upwards, and in Wales 5 males and 19 females of the like advanced age. Ladies enjoy the greatest longevity in Lancashire, where there are 18 of the sex over a hundred years old, and 6 men of the same mature age. In Cheshire there are 4 ladies who may congratulate themselves upon being centenarians, in Devon 5. Durham 6, Kent, 5, Middlesex 16, Norfolk 10, Somerset 5, Southampton 6, and the West Riding 5. In Gloucestershire there are 5 males 100 years old, which is the greatest number of one county. – In England and the Principality there were unmarried 5,987,861 males, and 6,044,296 females. There were of married persons, 3,428,443 husbands, and 3,488,952 wives*; and there were of widowed persons, 359,955 widowers, and 756,717 widows. It is rather surprising to find that some hundreds of young people had taken upon themselves the responsibilities of matrimony before they were 15 years of age, and also that a considerable number under that age were placed in the mournful category of widows and widowers. With regard to the occupations of the people, several new trades and branches of manufacture are stated, which show the progress being made as compared with other returns of comparatively recent period. This is particularly noticeable in the increase number of agricultural implement and machine makers, and agricultural professors and chemists. The profession of executioner is of a very select character, as there is only one entry. Only one gentleman has dared to rank himself with the great Samuel Johnson by giving his occupation as that of a lexicographer. There are Scripture-readers, missionaries, and itinerant preachers, 2034. The development of the telegraph service is proved by the fact that, at the time the census was taken, there were 2399 male and 213 female operatives. There were no less than 1165 persons who were in such desperate straits that they had to acknowledge themselves as “vagrants and beggars.” 111,000 are set down as having neither occupation nor “condition,” a description which makes it somewhat difficult to understand how they managed to exist as all. The following are the number and occupations of foreigners residents in England and Wales. Total foreigners, 73,434; males, 50,844; females, 22590. In England and Wales there are 19,352 persons afflicted with blindness, and 12,236 deaf and dumb. In London there were, officers of national Government, 16,700; officers of local Government, 8,778; officers of East India and Colonial Government, 435; army, 15,812; navy, 5,214; clergymen, ministers, and church officers, 4,877; lawyers, law court officers, and law stationers, 12,974; physicians, surgeons, and druggists, 8,766; authors and literary persons, 1,581; artists, 6.053; musicians, teachers of music, 5,367; actors, actresses, 1,510; teachers, 18,188; scientific persons, 1,583. – Daily Telegraph.
* So says our contemporary, but if the figures are correct, it is obvious that there are upwards of 20,000 polygamists somewhere.
Census Records 1851 vs. 1861
ENGLAND’S PROGRESS DURING TEN YEARS.
In 1851 the population of Great Britain was, in round numbers, 26,000,000; it is now 29,000,000. Up to the former period the ratio of crime increase beyond the ratio of population; it is now decreasing.
In 1850, in England and Wales, 20,423 persons were committed for trial, and 76,494 were summarily convicted, the population being then 15,911,725.
In 1859, only 16,904 were committed for trial, and 74,769 convicted summarily, the population being in round numbers 18,000,000.
The repeal of the newspapers stamps, and the increase facilities for the circulation of knowledge by decreasing the rate of postage, are one great cause of the decrease of crime.
Railways have been extended from above 6,000 to above 10,000 miles.
The Electric Telegraph has become universal, and is alike a speedy and useful means of promoting commerce, and arresting crime. The excise taxes on soap, glass, and paper, have been removed, and considerable increase of trade and social comfort thereby gained, no less than by the repeal of import duties, both in raw materials and manufactured articles.
In the preparation of colours for printing and dyeing, most important discoveries have been made by our chemists, to whose researches the manufacturing industry of the country is greatly indebted. The recently discovered and most beautiful and brilliant colours called the “Aniline” carries of every tint from mauve to green, are produced from coal and its products….
CENSUS REPORT - The Women of Great Britain
(1841 or 1851?)
There are 355,969 old maids (above 40 years of age) in Great Britain.
There are 1,407,225 spinsters between 20 and 40, and 1,413,912 bachelors of the same age.
In the list of the occupations of women,
There are 88 authoresses,
18 editors or public writers,
643 actresses,
135 danseuses,
16 equestrians.
Of the female domestics no less than 675,311 are entered under the denomination of “general servants.”
Of the higher class servants, the housemaids are more numerous than the cooks, and the former being 55,935 and the latter only 48,306, and there are above 50,000 “housekeepers,” and nearly 40,000 nurses.
The charwomen are no less then 55,423 in number.
*Likely to be from an early 19th century census e.g. 1851 or 1841 as by 1861 there were over six million unmarried women (excluding widows), see the Census Records 1861 (UK Population Tables) above?
Relevant link: - Occupations: census returns for 1851, 1861 and 1871.
Transcript from original newspaper article: -
THE POPULATION OF LONDON
(Mid to Late 19th Century)
– It has been ascertained that if we were to analyse the people of London, and compare the number of its individuals of each class, with an ordinary-sized town, say a town with a population of 10,000, we should find in the vast Metropolis as many persons as would fill about two towns with Jews, ten towns with persons who work on the Sabbath, fourteen towns with habitual gin-drinkers, more than ten towns with persons who are every year found intoxicated in the streets of London, two towns with fallen women, to say nothing of those who are partakers of their sins; one town with gamblers, one with children trained in crime, one with thieves and receivers of stolen goods, half a town with Italians, four towns with Germans, two towns with French, while there are as many Irish as would fill the city of Dublin, and more Roman Catholics than would fill the city of Rome. Nor is this all. There are as many publicans and beer and tobacco shops as would fill two towns of 10,000 each, open every Sunday; and if we allow only twenty-five customers to each place, as representing the amount of attendance for the day, we have 500,000 people – say half a million of men and women – thus occupied while 374,015 only are attending the house of God! In London, there are 20,000 public-houses and beet and tobacco shops open on the Sunday, and only 750 Protestant churches and chapels for divine worship. In Scotland, with the same population, there are no public-houses open on the Sunday, and 2,500 churches and chapels where the people attend on the means and ordinances of grace. In London, we have the concentrated essence of evil within a radius from the centre point of seven miles. In Scotland, the iniquity that even there abounds is spread over a surface of 1,500 square miles. –
Our Moral Wastes.
Some Statistics on the Population of London in the mid to late 19th Century
(Derived From the Above Article)
German Population in London = 40,000
French Population in London = 20,000
Jewish Population in London = 20,000
Italian Population in London = 5,000
People who work on Sundays = 100,000
Men & Women who go to pubs and shop in tobacconist on Sundays = 500,000
Men & Women who attend church on Sundays = 374,015
Pubs and Tobacconists open on Sundays in London = 20,000
Protestant churches and chapels in London - 750
Habitual gin-drinkers = 140,000
Drunkards in the streets of London every year = 100,000
Fallen women = 20,000
Gamblers = 10,000
Children trained in crime = 10,000
Thieves and receivers of stolen goods = 10,000
RELEVANT LINK
To put things into prospective. The above article, undated, would have been published sometime between the 1850s and 1900. According to the Census Records of 1851, 1861 & 1871 the population growth in London was as follows: -
1851 2,362,236
1861 2,803,989
1871 3,254,266
Therefore, at the time of publication, the population of London would have been either approaching or over three million people.