CENSUS RECORDS
Research Guides Census records leaflet (PDF - new window)

Although censuses were taken every 10 years from 1801, names were not recorded until 1841. Some draft census compilations for individual parishes, usually naming only heads of households, survive and are listed under 'Census' in the Record Office's Subject Index.

The Record Office holds microfiche of census returns for the whole pre-1974 county for 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. Censuses are only made generally available after 100 years.  However, there are plans to release the 1911 census early - see the 1911 census website for details. 

The returns for 1841 are less informative: relationships between those living in each house are not stated, ages over 15 are rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5 (10 for ages over 70) and detailed birthplaces are not supplied. From 1851, relationships, ages and birthplaces are all supplied, and make the census returns key sources for family historians.

Surname indexes by parish to the 1851 returns exist for almost the whole historic county and can be consulted in the searchroom. There is a comprehensive index on fiche and on CD Rom to the 1881 returns, and a surname index to the 1891 returns exists for a large part of north-west Somerset. There are also surname indexes to the census returns for Bridgwater, 1841, and to Weston super Mare and area, 1841-1881 (DD/X/AUS 8). Street indexes to most urban areas throughout the old county have been compiled and are available.

The census can also be consulted via Ancestry.com, which is available free of charge at the Somerset Record Office and Somerset libraries. 

Census microfilms for particular areas of the county are also held at the following libraries:
Bath Reference Library: censuses for Bath City and adjacent areas, 1841-1901
Bristol Central Reference Library: censuses for about 80 parishes in the north of the old county of Somerset, 1841-1901
Chard Library: census for Chard, 1841, 1851 and 1891
North Somerset Studies Library, Weston super Mare: Weston and 5-mile radius, 1841-1901 Yeovil Library: Yeovil, Chard and Wincanton registration districts, 1841-1901

Census Indexes Available
  • 1780: Index for a census taken in Frome
  • 1841: Surname index for Bridgwater, parts of Bath, Clevedon and some parishes in the Weston super Mare area
  • 1851: Surname index by parish for the whole historic county
  • 1861: Surname index for Clevedon
  • 1871: Surname index for Taunton, Clevedon and some parishes in the Weston super Mare area
  • 1881: Complete index on fiche and on CD Rom (for Somerset and the UK)
  • 1891: Surname index for parts of North Somerset, centred on Axbridge. Also for Milborne Port, Wincanton, Evercreech, Nunney, Burton, Castle Cary, Exmoor, Minehead and Dulverton, Bedminster, Yatton, Long Ashton, Axbridge, Blagdon, Burnham, Weston super Mare, and Clutton.