I have been transcribing the 1841 census for Whittington for a little while now. I am hoping to show that the Whittington of 1841 was very different to the Whittington’s we now know. There were approximately 750 people in Whittington on the night of the census and the trades listed are mainly rural trades, with a few people involved in coal mining. I have added some notes for people not familiar with census reports. Hopefully some of the names listed will be familiar.
1841 Census (Explanatory notes)
The 1841 census was taken on the night of Sunday 6th June 1841 (an important date 103 years later!)
There were approx. 750 souls accounted for in Whittington on that night (although I think one couple appear to have been entered twice!). Whittington at this time was still a combination of what we now call Old, New and Whittington Moor.
The enumerators were people who were literate, but mistakes were made with spellings of names and ages.
The rules for the 1841 census for ages were that they should be rounded down! You may see that a family had two or three children aged 15, this could mean their ages were anywhere between 15-19. Ages 20-24 were rounded down to 20 and so on.
The number 1 in the left hand column indicates a new household, some houses had many different surnames living in the same house. There would appear to be at least one or two families living in some houses.
The 1841 census shows that Whittington was a fairly small rural community. The occupations vary from farmer, millwright, woodcutter, hoop maker, blacksmith to name but a few, with a small number of people involved in mining. This would change!
It is interesting to note that in 1841 there were only about 10% of the residents of Whittington who were born out of the county, this figure changed dramatically in later census when Sheepbridge Works , Wagon Works, the Blacking factory, other industry in the area and more intensive mining started. The number of people born outside of the county shot up as people saw new opportunities and came to take up the new jobs. By the 1881 census the population of the parish of Whittington had crept up to over 7000 people!
The census of 1841 only gives a few details, the headings on the census form were :
Place: Whittington
Houses: Inhabited or uninhabited (I have concentrated on inhabited houses and the number 1 indicates a new household).
Age and Sex: Self explanatory
Profession, Trade, Employment or of Independent means :
The abbreviations used:
MS MALE SERVANT
FS FEMALE SERVANT
IND INDEPENDENT MEANS
AG LAB AGRICULTURAL LABOURER
Where Born: Whether born in the county or not. It wasn’t until the census of 1851 that fuller details of the town and county of birth. Sadly, there are no street names mentioned either, just the enumerators notes below as to where he started his ‘walk’ . I have transcribed the relevant parts of the reports to make it easier to read.
This description is the first part of the Enumerators ‘walk’. (FOLIO 24)
County of Derby (Parliamentary Division) Northern
Hundred, Wapentake, Soke or Liberty of Scarsdale
Parish of Whittington (Part of)
Superintendent Registrar’s District Chesterfield
Registrar’s District Chesterfield No. of Enumeration District 24
Description of Ditto: All that part of the Parish of Whittington to the Westwards of Mr Maddocks house and bounded by the townships of Newbold and Unstone.
This district does not take in the houses South of the Tanyard nor the houses near the Windmill, nor Tupmans Meadow Bar nor Mr Gilletts on Whittington Moor, these go to the East district.
The second part of the Enumerators ‘walk’ (Folio 25)
County of Derby (Parliamentary Division) Northern
Hundred, Wapentake, Soke or Liberty of Scarsdale
Parish of Whittington (Part of)
Superintendent Registrar’s District Chesterfield
Registrar’s District Chesterfield No. of Enumeration District 25
Description of Ditto : All that part of the parish of Whittington Eastwards up and including Mr Maddocks house and bounded by the Townships of Brimington and Staveley.
This district includes the houses to the South of the Tanyard and the houses near the Windmill with Tupmans Meadow Bar and Mr Gilletts on Whittington Moor.
The transcript is in the order of the original census, not alphabetical unfortunately. As street names aren’t listed I have taken the Pigots Directories of 1829 and 1842 DIRECTORIES – Old Whittington One Place Study (oldwhittingtonops.com) as a rough guide to where some of the people were living at the time and I have highlighted them on the transcripts.
CUNDEY John – according to the Whittington Tithe Awards schedule was living at the bottom of Whittington Hill
BARGH Joshua – Sheepbridge Inn
LITTLEWOOD John – White Horse
MAY C H – Whittington Cottage (on High Street near the White Horse)
SORBY Elizabeth – Whittington Hall
Old Whittington One Place Study 