1815 Newbury Census
Phil Wood writes:
This census was taken in late May, early June 1815 by the then mayor of
Newbury Joseph Toomer. Why he should have taken the trouble is
unknown - but what an excellent job he did!
The nearest equivalent in terms of information is the 1841 returns -
everyone is named and ages (or assumed ages) given. Occupations
are also shown as, of course, are addresses.
But the real bonus are the notes that were added well into the 1870s -
often you will find the date of a person's death given, sometimes added
information like "wife's sister" or "husband away in the
army". There are even instances where the wife's maiden name is
given.
The book holding this cornucopia was held by the Toomer family until
2002 when the family archive was passed to the BRO for safekeeping.
Copies are available for consultation on fiche in the BRO and Newbury
Public Library.
The following news item was
copied by webmaster from the http://www.westberks.gov.uk/WestBerkshire/news.nsf site on 4th Jan 2004:
Staff at Berkshire Record
Office were
delighted to discover that the records of the Toomer family of Newbury
(Ironmongers in the town since the 17th century) include one quite
extraordinary item. A full-scale census of Newbury taken in 1815 by
Joseph Toomer (1760-1853) then mayor of Newbury is now available at the
Record Office for local residents and visitors to enjoy.
Lisa Spurrier, Archivist at
Berkshire
Record Office said, "It is rare to have a detailed return for a town as
large as Newbury at this date, so this document provides an extremely
useful source for historians of population as well as those interested
in local or family history. There is also a neatly drawn sketch map of
the town, showing the location of every yard and the locations of many
houses off the main streets."
Toomer personally visited every
address in
Newbury between 20 May and 9 June (a total of 1096 houses), and listed
the names and ages of the residents, and the occupations of the head of
household, servants and apprentices living in. Occasionally additional
material has been provided, such as date of birth, blindness or
deafness. There were 5309 persons recorded in all, 2466 of them under
21. In 1815 the town hosted a regiment of soldiers, billeted in twos
and threes in the 37 public houses of the town. This may be connected
to the war against Napoleon as the battle of Waterloo was fought in
June 1815. There were also five small private boarding schools where
around 50 children aged from 5 to 18 from outside the area (some from
as far afield as the West Indies) were educated, and some travelling
salesmen of various kinds, also lodging in local pubs, such as 6 figure
makers (all foreigners with German or Italian names, staying at the
Greyhound, Bartholomew St.
Only 6 Newbury residents were
aged 90 or
over in 1815. The oldest person in the town was Mary Kimber (95) a
resident of King John's Almshouses. Everyone over 90 was an almshouse
inmate, although Susanna Baker (90) still lived in Bartholomew Street
with her 86 year old husband John, a cooper and the oldest person still
working. The youngest person to be in work was a 10-year-old servant,
Lydia Miles, who worked at one of the boarding schools. About 4 per
cent of 13-20 year olds were apprentices, who like servants, lived with
employers.
The details of occupations give a
fascinating insight into industry and employment in Newbury at that
time. Women dominated those in service, with 130 of the 152 servants
named being female. A writer, William Sutton of Almshouse Yard, and two
female artists - a miniature painter, Mary Gregory (46), and a flower
painter, Elizabeth Nellis (21) who lived together, at Winchcomb Place,
Northbrook Street. There were 5 brewers. Many men worked on canal
barges and the town had 6 boat builders. There were 21 blacksmiths
including 1 woman, Phoebe Stillwell (68), and many skilled craftsmen, a
gravedigger, lamplighter, and scavenger!
Visit the Record Office by
appointment to
view a microfiche copy of the census. Berkshire Record Office is open
on Tuesday and Wednesday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
and Friday 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Telephone 0118 901 5132; email
arch@reading.org.uk ; or visit the
website at www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk
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