Records & Surveys | Eaton Village Heritage

Census Records

Arguably the first census in Britain was the Doomsday book in 1086, which sadly doesn't;t include Eaton.

The first official census including Eaton didn't take place until 1841, when the village had a population of 350. This is the first time the head of household was required on a particular day to record everyone present in the household; residents and visitors.

By the next census in 1851 the population had grown to 442 people and by 1861 it was at a similar level of 423.. By 1881 the population had declined to 351 but by 1901 was back up to 421. It's not yet clear why there was such a decline but the online records provide an opportunity to explore this in more detail in the future.

The last census available is from 1921 where the population has risen to 495 driven by the availability of work on the ironstone, however at the time of the census many ironstone miners were out of work due to the impact of the national coal strike and the knock on effect on the iron industry.

Since the 1921 census the 1939 register provides the only other record of who was resident in the village. Some records are redacted if the individual is still alive but it can provide a useful insight into the village population. It records birth date and occupation and in some cases gives more information on the actual house.

As part of this project we have a licence to FindMyPast which gives access to all of the census records and will be collating summaries as the project progresses. If you are interested in researching your house, your family or other aspects of Eaton life then please get in touch. Alternatively you can access census records through both FindMy Past and Ancestry available at Melton library

1841 Census

The 1841 census required all heads of household to record all those present in the household on one specific day. The quality of individual records across areas is dependent on the enumerator. In Eaton most houses are just recorded as 'Eaton' rather than a more detailed address.

Details recorded included name, age and sex (with age of adults rounded down to the nearest 5 years), professional and where born.

Date of census 6th June

1851 and 1861 Censuses

The 1851 census, and subsequently the 1861 census, contains some additional information which wasn't included in 1841 and, more helpfully, recorded the exact age rather than rounding. Additional information included more details on place of birth, presence of disability ( whether blind, death or dumb), marital status and relationship of household members to the head of household..

Helpfully there is more detail on the actual house/location within the village although sometimes this can be quite cryptic! Terms such of 'West End of Village' , 'Centre of Village' or 'Undrill' at least give some indication.

1871, 1881 and 1891 Censuses

These census were very similar to those for 1851 and 1861 with the exception of disability which is extended to blind, deaf, dumb, imbecile or idiot, lunatic.

The enumerator for Eaton in 1871 seems to have everything recorded as Stathern Road. It seems they used the address initially and then just used ditto throughout forgetting to update as they went along!

In 1891 extra details were included on employment; whether employer, employed or neither employer nor employed

The description of address is somewhat less helpful with many records just stating 'in village' although specific properties such as Eaton Lodge are identified

1901 and 1911 Census

In 1901, presumably based on feedback from the 1891 census, the employment details were changed to 'employer, worker or own account.'

For 1911 the changes were more significant including:

For married women the number of years for their present marriage, the number of children born from that marriage and the number still living.
As well as occupation, the industry in which they were employed, and if employed by a government or public body then the name of that body
Parish and county of birth

In 1911 the enumerators didn't transcribe all records into a separate book and instead created a summary book with the name of each head of household and the details of the building. This gives whether the property was a dwelling, a shop or a hotel and even covers unoccupied premises and churches. Unfortunately it makes it harder to identify the individual property for a household when searching online.

1921 Census

The 1921 census included more detail including the years and months of age, details of employer and location of work and also, for the first time whether someone was married, widowed or divorced.

1939 register

The 1931 census data was destroyed by fire during WW2 so the 1939 register is an invaluable additional information source. The register was taken on 29th September 1939 with the information used to issue ration books in January 1940. The information was also used to administer conscription and the direction of labour.

Eaton is included in a wider group with Eastwell and Goadby Marwood and is listed under Eastwell when searching online.

There also appears to have been some post editing of the records with women's surnames overwritten with their married name if they were married after the register date.. Online they are shown by the married name with their maiden name in brackets. People who are still alive have their records redacted