The Census of 1921

6th January 2022 was an important day for family history researchers because the 1921 Census of England & Wales went online and became accessible for the first time, having been closed for 100 years under the 1920 Census Act.

The Census was taken on 19th June 1921 after a two month delay due to industrial unrest. The 1931 Census was destroyed in a fire and the 1941 Census was never taken due to WW2 so the next census will not be available to view until 2052.

The Census offered more detail than any previous census, including place of work and employer details.

This Blog has already included a number of posts featuring great grandfather Samuel Hiley (1853-1939). His place of residence and occupation have been traced through previous censuses, records of marriages (his own and those of his children), and other records and documents, but the 1921 Census entry provided new, previously unknown, information about him. 

The entry shows Samuel and his wife Elizabeth living at 479 Park Hill, Chapel House, Padiham Road, Burnley with Samuel working as the Caretaker at the Park Hill Wesleyan Chapel. Samuel had always been one of the leading members of the Wesleyan Chapel at Lanebottom in Walsden, serving the Chapel in various capacities. The Park Hill Chapel is shown in the photo below.

This image has been used with permission from Burnley Civic Trust's Image Archive, www.bcthic.org

Samuel lived in Walsden for nearly all his life but the 1911 Census shows him living in Littleborough and the 1921 Census now shows him living in Burnley, so we know he spent at least two spells away from Walsden.

Not far away from the Chapel lived Samuel's daughter Annie, her husband Herbert Jackson and children Willie (Willis) and Annie. Herbert was the Head Gardener at Ightenhill Park working for Burnley Corporation. The family lived at Ightenhill Park Lodge.

Elizabeth died in 1931 and Samuel then lived on his own at 3 Top o' th' Hill Road in Walsden. He died in 1939 while staying with Annie and Herbert in Burnley.