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Wiltshire - Census Records and Indexes

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“Unfortunately the census enumerator's notebooks for some of the villages around Chippenham and Devizes have not survived. We do have the statistical information from them, which was compiled at the time, but the personal details of all the residents have been destroyed”.

Wiltshire parishes, and tithings for which there are no enumerator's notebooks for 1841 are:

  • All Cannings
  • Allington (near Devizes)
  • Alton Barnes
  • Alton Priors
  • Castle Combe
  • Chirton
  • Conock
  • Downton - The Borough (Enumeration Districts 5 and 6)
  • Easterton
  • Etchilhampton
  • Grittleton
  • Hardenhuish
  • Kilmington (co. Somerset <1895)
  • Leigh Delamere
  • Littleton Drew
  • Marden
  • Market Lavington
  • Minety
  • Nettleton
  • North Wraxall
  • Patney
  • Stanton St Bernard
  • West Kington
  • Yatton Keynell

General, Copies, Fascimiles

  • Chart of online or CD indexes or facsimiles is provided by Daniel Morgan and is a very useful summary of much of the information below.
  • General information on census for England and Wales
  • Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office have holdings which include the early censuses listed below, microfilms or microfiche of census returns from 1841 to 1891, and some indexes including a complete surname index for 1851. They also have Protestation Returns, 1641 with list of men over 18; the Record Office has a surname index.
  • Census facsimiles on CDROM for 1851, 1861, 1871, and 1891, from S & N. See also entry in Indexes section below, for 1891.
  • Archive CD Books has published facsimile with place indexes of the 1871 census of Wiltshire on CDROM, also the 1841 census, also 1861 census for places in Wiltshire that are in the Gloucestershire registration county. See "Great Britain - census" in their catalogue. At July 2009, sales are from their Ireland site.
  • Stepping Stones facsimiles of the 1841 census are available on CDROM. Stepping Stones is now a trading name of S & N.
  • Information from Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office website about Missing 1841 Enumeration Books.

    Indexes

    • Wiltshire FHS index publications for sale include:

      Surviving North Wiltshire 1695-1705 Tax Censuses (Part I. Bincknoll, Clyffe Pypard, Hilmarton, Lydiard Tregoze, Lyneham, Tockenham, Wootton Bassett. Part II Chiseldon, Liddington, Swindon, Wanborough, Little Hinton, Wroughton & tithing.)

      Miscellaneous Censuses 1695-1887, (Part I Box, Corsham, Steeple Ashton , Trowbridge. Part II Brixton Deverill, Bromham, Bulkington, Chiseldon, Donhead, Foxley, Grittleton, Highworth, Horningsham, Little Cheverell, Manningford Abbots, Stanton St. Bernard, Stourton , Stratford/Castle, Sutton Veny, Woodborough, Woodford.)

    • Nimrod index to 1851 census for complete county, 250, 000 names, search fee, household transcripts provided.
    • Wiltshire Index Service 1851 census, transcript for whole county together with search engine available on CDROM.
    • Wiltshire Index Service 1871 census, surname index on web page for complete county, leads to microfiche transcript for sale, transcript also available on CD-ROM. In April 2006 this is being given by Pat Wilson to the Society of Genealogists.
    • 1891 Census index from Ancestry - complete for England and Wales - and 1901 and 1871 and 1851
    • 1841, 61, 71 and 91 census index from Tony Woodward, He has a full name index to the 1891 census for the whole of Wiltshire. He provides a free search service to provide information from the index, which includes full PRO references to the original census entries. He has a name index to the 1871 census for 99% of the county, a name index to the 1861 census for a small part of the county, and has in progress an index to the 1841 census, for the North of the county.
    • Wiltshire Name Index 1891 from S & N. This is based on the index prepared by Tony Woodward. This Acrobat document is fully searchable and is bookmarked to give quick access. The information gives Surnames, forenames, Age and place with Piece and folio reference. One document is in as enumerated order and the other by Surname, forename and age. Additional Street indexes cover Bradford on Avon, Calne, Chippenham (including Allington, Hardenhuish, Pewsham), Corsham (including Pickwick, Neston, Gastard etc.), Devizes (including Rowde), Malmesbury (including Westport St. Mary and Brokenborough), Marlborough (including Preshute), Melksham, Salisbury (including Fisherton Anger, Milford, Bemerton, East Harnham), Swindon including Old and New Swindon, Gorse Hill, Even Swindon), East and West Tisbury (with Wardour), Trowbridge (including Hilperton) Warminster and Westbury.

      The index is also searchable online, on a subscription basis - see The Genealogist - online data subscriptions.

    • 1881 U.K. census index online in FamilySearch From the home page choose "search", it is one of the databases available. It is also available on CDROM. From FamilySearch home page choose Order/Download products, search for "British Census" or "1881". The index is available in Family History Centres of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, from all their distribution centres, and in many other libraries.
    • 1891 Census Facsimile on CDROM from S & N (various years)

      The Wiltshire Name Index 1891 is based on the index prepared by Tony Woodward. This Acrobat document is fully searchable and is bookmarked to give quick access. The information gives Surnames, forenames, Age and place with Piece and folio reference. One document is in as enumerated order and the other by Surname, forename and age. Additional Street indexes cover Bradford on Avon, Calne, Chippenham (including Allington, Hardenhuish, Pewsham), Corsham (including Pickwick, Neston, Gastard etc.), Devizes (including Rowde), Malmesbury (including Westport St. Mary and Brokenborough), Marlborough (including Preshute), Melksham, Salisbury (including Fisherton Anger, Milford, Bemerton, East Harnham), Swindon including Old and New Swindon, Gorse Hill, Even Swindon), East and West Tisbury (with Wardour), Trowbridge (including Hilperton) Warminster and Westbury.

      The index is also searchable online, on a subscription basis - see The Genealogist - online data subscriptions.

    • 1891 census, another free index in progress.

      Some parts of the 1891 census have been transcribed and are included in the FreeCen search. The Free Census Project FreeCen which aims to provide a "free-to-view" online searchable database of the 19th century UK census returns. It is recruiting volunteers as transcribers, checkers and validators to transcribe the 1891 and 1871 returns for Wiltshire, (and later for the 1841, and 1861 census as well).

    • The National Archives describes where census information may be obtained.