How have historians used the census to study nineteenth-century British history?

The census is an important source for the study of British society in a century of significant social and economic change.

• Occupational descriptions may provide clues to the social status of individuals and the structure of society, to development of the local and national economy, to the nature of work and employment, and to gendered notions of work.
• The grouping of individuals by household, and the inclusion of information about the relationship of each to the head of household, permit the study of family and household structure. The relationship to head, marital status, and age fields can also be used to isolate those at particular stages in the life cycle.
• As a demographic source, the census can be used to study population, age distribution, fertility, and the relationship of the latter to environment and work (although children who were born and died between censuses will never be recorded).
• Place of birth can be used to study migration, assimilation, and urbanisation. No details are given, unfortunately, of how long an individual has lived in the community, nor of whether they have gone away and returned since birth.
• Particular groups such as servants and lodgers can be studied and related to other information about individuals.
• Enumeration books can be used to study a particular local community, particularly when related to other sources.