Histpop: Online Historical Population Reports

Drawing its information from the UK census, the Registrar General, legislation, essays and the National Archives, this online collection covers the births, deaths, marriages and other social habits of the British population from 1801 to 1937.

A search of the archive is a must for anyone studying, researching or teaching the history of the British Isles in the years between the turn of the 19th century and the outbreak of World War Two. The site’s content can be searched by keyword, document or content type, date and geography – thereby providing several quick routes into the deepest levels of the archive.

How can this collection be used in teaching, studying and research?

The collection provides direct access to statistics and further detail on how people lived during a period of massive social change – it is an invaluable source to those studying or working in the fields of history, statistics, sociology and politics, with scope for interest from those working in many more related subjects.

The archive also provides access to almost 200 specially created essays - written by the project’s director, Matthew Woollard, and historian Edward Higgs - providing contextual analysis of the archive’s materials and background information on how and who gathered census information during the period covered.