2011 Census: Sunday 27 March 2011

Every ten years the Office for National Statistics (ONS) carries out a census to find out more about the people who live in England and Wales, and about the make-up of local neighbourhoods. The most recent census took place on 27 March 2011, ONS sent out questionnaires for around 25 million households to complete.

The census asked about work, health, national identity, citizenship, ethnic background, education, second homes, language, religion, marital status and so on. These statistics will be used to build a picture of today’s society.

Why should this matter?

Like all local authorities in England and Wales, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council relies on census population statistics to get the government funding we need for public services. How much we get is directly related to how many and what kind of people the census says live in our area. So even if the census were to end up just a few households short, it could make a very real difference to people's lives. The census needs to include everyone, everywhere – and that's why everyone has to take part.

Historic Census Information

Although censuses have been taken in England and Wales every ten years since 1801, in most cases it is only since 1841 that details about individual households have been recorded. This information is closed to researchers for 100 years; the 1901 census being the most recent that can be made available, on microfilm, and the 1911 being available via the Internet at sites such as Ancestry.com.

The pdf document below catalogues the Census Returns listing the place and ten year intervals starting from 1841 to 1901. These are available at the Local Studies Library.

The 1911 census can be accessed free of charge via Doncaster Library Service's subscription to www.ancestry.co.uk. This is accessed at Doncaster Local Studies Library and all libraries in the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough. For more information please contact the Local Studies Library staff by phone or email.