The cenuses for which the Enumerator's Returns are open to the public were held on 7^th June 1841, 30^th March 1851, 8 April 1861, 2^nd April 1871, 3^rd April 1881 and April 1891. The original returns were made in large books by the enumerator himself. His job was to visit each house within his area ( the enumeration district) and write down the names of all staying in the house on census night. These books are now in the Public Record office, but microfilm copies are available in many libraries.

The returns were remarkably accurate, but there were errors. Some occurred because the householder didn't know, for example, where they were born or lied about their occupation. In early years more wealthy families deliberately went abroad to avoid being counted (some thought it was to help collect more taxes!). Generally however they are believed to be very accurate.

Different censuses recorded different things. As the years went by more and more was required by the Government from their statisticians.

This is the most basic of the surviving records. For each house the name of each person, starting with the Head of the household was recorded. Each other person followed, wife then children in order of age and finally servants and lodgers.

For each person, there was their

 name

 age to the nearest five years

 occupation

 Yes or No to indicate whether they were born within that county.

Other useful aspects were lines to indicate how many families were living within the same house.

In addition these census returns showed the exact

 address.

 age.

 birthplace and County

 relationship of each person to the Head of the Household.

In the past census returns were mainly used by people researching their family history, but they have now been used by historical demographers who use them to discover about many aspects of Victorian life.