"This man knocked on our door last night and asked Dad lots of questions about how many of us kids there were and how old we were and whether or not we were working.

When he'd gone Dad said to Mam that he hoped Ivy down the road had got wind of it as she's had a lot of lodgers she's not supposed to have."

 Is There Anybody In?

The Census can give us lots of different information about the way people lived in the Victorian era.

The amount of information is different depending on which year you are looking at. For example in 1851 you are told:-

- The names of people living in the house

- Their ages

- Whether or not they were married

- Their job or rank (if they were in the army)

- Where they were born

- Whether they had a disability (if they were blind, deaf or 'dumb' - unable to communicate.

Information from the Census can help up to investigate jobs, diseases and standards of housing. Historians have often made connections between diseases like cholera and badly constructed and overcrowded houses with a lack of clean water.

Glossary

Census - An official count or survey of a population taken every 10 years.