On the 21st March 2021 we must by law complete a household questionnaire or census, the results from which will be used to help plan services such as transport, education and healthcare.
A census of the population of Britain has been taken every ten years since 1801, except in 1941 because of the Second World War. Originally, the purpose of the census was to record population statistics, but from 1841 the census recorded, street by street, the name of every individual in each household, together with their age and occupation.
The 1851 census was the first census to ask questions similar to those that we are asked in this year’s census – name, relationship to the head of the household, marital status, age, occupation, and where born. Although this year we will also be asked what type of central heating we have, our national identity, ethnic group, religion, sexual orientation, qualifications, and how we travel to work.
The 1851 census provides us with a snapshot in time of Sherborne School and reveals that the School was then occupied by the Headmaster and his wife, two assistant masters, eight servants, and 43 boarders, 29 of whom were born in Wales!
Find out more about Sherborne School & the 1851 census
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Posted 21 March 2021 by Sherborne School Archives.