Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Great Britain Historical Database has been assembled as part of the ongoing Great Britain Historical GIS Project. The project aims to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain at sub-county scales. Further information about the project is available on A Vision of Britain webpages, where users can browse the database's documentation system online.

These data were originally collected by the Censuses of Population for England and Wales, and for Scotland. They were computerised by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and its collaborators. They form part of the Great Britain Historical Database, which contains a wide range of geographically-located statistics, selected to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain, generally at sub-county scales.

Up to 1931, the only information on housing conditions gathered by the census was on density (persons per room). In 1951 a new set of questions was added on amenities: for example, whether a household had access to a "WC" (toilet), and whether that access was shared. Successive censuses changed the list of amenities, as access to amenities such as running water became universal

This is a new edition. Data from the Census of Scotland have been added for 1951, 1961 and 1971. Wherever possible, ID numbers have been added for counties and districts which match those used in the digital boundary data created by the GBH GIS, greatly simplifying mapping.

Main Topics:

Private households' access to water supplies, cooking facilities, etc. in 1951, 1961 and 1971.

Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.