The census was held on Sunday the 7th April 1861. Film RG9/2276
The census was conducted in two parts:-
Part 1: Part of the Parish of Long Whatton which lies West of the Road leading from Hathern to Disewoth, including Riste Farm and Industry Row or at Turvey and all the houses on that side of the village
Part 2: The remaining part of the Parish of Long Whatton which lies to the East of the road leading from Hathern to Diseworth, comprising all the houses on that side of the village and including the Windmill Cottages, Whatton House Mansion and Lodges, Hall Farm, Field Farm, Water Corn Mill and the Parsonage House
Statistics/
Part 1: Totals, Inhabited Houses 112, Uninhabited Houses 8, Total 120
Males 223, Females 218, Total 441
Enumerator - Joseph Peat, District No 28
Part 2: Totals, Inhabited Houses 78, Uninhabited Houses 0, Total 78
Males 172, Females 166, Total 338
Enumerator - Charles Wilkins, District No 29
An Index has been provided for a quick check. Please note that the Enumerators numbers are duplicated as they refer to both Part 1 and Part 2.
Parts 1 and 2 give; The Enumerator's number for each household, street, the surname and other names, relation, condition as to marriage, ages, occupations, birthplaces and disability
The 1861 census revealed a fall in the population of the village over the ten year period from the previous census of 1851. Some 779 persons were recorded compared with 838, 10 years earlier and represents a fall of almost 8%. This reduction signalled the start of a downturn in the fortunes of the village which continued throughout the remainder of the 19th century. The majority of this reduction was in the female population, which fell from 426 to 384, while the male population was down from 412 to 395. However the number of households remained fairly constant at 190, against 191 in 1851. This fall in population does not appear to be the result of some virulent epidemic since the number of burials in the All Saints Churchyard during this period was remarkably consistent, at about 10-15 a year. In fact the total burials during the 10 year period 1851 to 1860 was 102 compared with 123 for the previous 10 years. The number of baptisms at All Saints was also down, 141 during 1851 to 1860 compared with 205 during 1841 to 1850.
The main population falls were in the age groups 0-5, down from 139 to 113, and 26-40, down from 170 to 143. This latter group would have been in the age range 16-30 in 1851 and represents the main child bearing group and probably most mobile. It appears that there was a steady drift away from the village probably because of better employment prospects elsewhere. The large fall in the female population may reflect badly on the quality of the available men in the village at this time - looking elsewhere for suitable partners. Or was it simply that with the improvements in transport that were occurring at this time the opportunities for meeting men from outside the village were that much greater.
The other end of the age range saw an increase in population. Those over 50 rose from 129 in 1851 to 149 in 1861. The oldest inhabitant was Thomas Plowright, who gave his age as 85. Thomas had been born in the village and married Faith George at All Saints in 1795. He died in March 1869, aged 93, and was buried in All Saints Churchyard, having outlived Faith by some 33 years. The oldest female was Mary Stretton, a widow, aged 84. She had been born in Coleorton and was a retired farmer. She had married William Stretton as Mary Storer in 1812 at All Saints. William was considerably older than her. He died in 1823 aged 63. She was living with her son Frederick Storer in 1851. This suggests she was a widow at the time of her marriage to William Stretton. She died in 1862. There were 4 others aged over 80 and in all 77 over 60 years old.
The main industry was hosiery. There were 269 people employed, just 10 fewer than in 1851. Most were recorded as framework knitters, about a quarter of whom being women. However seamers and seamstresses were exclusively female. There were actually more people employed in agriculture in 1861 compared with 10 years previous, 116 against 104, with 14 active farmers. There were also 46 servants of one form or another, though this was considerably lower than in 1851 when 61 were recorded. It is important to note, however, that enumerators were not so meticulous when recording occupations, especially those of females, at this time so care should be taken when interpreting this data.
As one would expect, several trades were also represented, including 4 wheelwrights, 3 blacksmiths, 2 joiners, 2 carpenters and 2 corn millers. There was also a bricklayer and a cordwainer, a high class boot and shoe maker, someone the local gentry would go to for their shoes and riding boots. Among the shopkeepers were 4 butchers, 4 grocers and 2 bakers. There were also 4 coal dealers. There were still 4 public houses, The Boot Inn, The Falcon, King William IV and The Royal Oak, though the latter was not actually named in the 1861 census.
Interestingly the village also boasted a Chelsea Pensioner at this time, one Charles Haile. He had been born in Arnold, Notts. and was married to a local woman who was probably Hannah Fewkes. They had married in 1832 at All Saints, Loughborough
The largest household was at Whatton House, occupied at this time by John Martin, the local JP. There were 17 persons recorded but of these only 7 were of the Martin family, himself, his wife, 2 sons and 3 daughters. The remainder were servants of one form or another. The household of Henry Cramp, a farmer, contained the most family members. As well as himself and his wife there were 5 sons and 3 daughters. There were also 3 servants. However, Samuel Clarson, a framework knitter, headed a household comprising himself, his wife, one son and 6 daughters. This was the largest household consisting solely of family members.
Most households were of between 2 and 5 people. There were 13 single occupancies, slightly more than 1851, of which 5 were widows, 2 widowers, 3 single women, 2 single men and one married man. This was Joseph Berrington, who had been born in Kegworth. Strangely he was living on what is now Main Street, near All Saints, while his wife and family were living at The Square. A total of 44 households contained more than 5 people. This was slightly less than 1851.
Most people were born in Long Whatton. Of the remainder most of these were born elsewhere in Leicestershire. The major contributor was Sheepshead (now Shepshed) from where 19 people had originated. A further 46 were from various parts of Nottinghamshire and 21 from Derbyshire. Only 26 were born outside these three counties, including one from Ireland, working as a dairymaid, and one from Cherbourg, France, employed by the local rector as a children’s maid.
Barker was still the most common surname but its occurrence was reduced from 52 in 1851 to 43. Other well represented surnames included Cartlidge/Cartridge, which appear to have a measure of interchangeability, Draper, Lester, Pepper, Peat, Groves, Wilkins and the inevitable Smith. A total of 142 different surnames were recorded. Of these 49 appeared only once, most being people from outside the village and either single or widowed.
As in 1851 William and Mary were the most popular first names. There were 68 Williams, over a sixth of the male population. John was close behind with 62, hence about a third of the male population were named either William or John. Thomas and George were also well represented, very much in line with 1851. There were 75 Marys, about a fifth of the female population, but this was well down on 1851 when almost a quarter of females were named Mary. There were 54 Ann or Annes such that again, these two names covered about a third of the female population The next most common names were Sarah and Elizabeth, again much in line with 1851. There was a similar pattern in the first names of children under 11, i.e. born after the 1851 census. William was still the most common boys name, followed by George, Thomas, John and Charles and Mary was still the most common girls name, followed by Sarah and Elizabeth.
Typically at this time there was a number of the less common Biblical names, such as Amos, Ephraim, Jabez to name a few. It was mainly boys who were encumbered with these names but there were also a couple of the less common girls names extracted from the Bible. There were 4 Zillahs, Zillah being the second wife of Lamech, a descendant of Cain, and one girl named Tamar. Tamar was married first to Er, then Onan, the eldest and second eldest sons of Judah. No children resulted from either marriage. However she eventually had twin boys, Perez and Zerah. They were fathered by Judah, her father-in-law, by means of deception. Another girl was given the name Mash, Mash being the son of Aram, son of Shem who himself was a son of Noah. Perhaps her father was expecting a son. Confusingly she had been recorded as a male in the 1851 census.
There was a small number of people who were still unmarried after the age of 30, 12 men and 15 women. There were also 27 widows and 28 widowers. The youngest widow, Mary Rogers, was aged only 29. The youngest widower, William Hutchinson, was even younger, at 28. It appears that he had no children from his marriage, unless they were being looked after elsewhere, whereas Mary Rogers had 4 young children to support. Mary had been born in Costock and, as Mary Pollard, had married Thomas Rogers in 1854. However he died in 1860. All 4 of their children were baptised on the same day several months after Thomas died. She later married a widower, George Draper, in 1868. Coincidentally William Hutchinson had married Hannah Wright on the same day as Mary Pollard and Thomas Rogers were married. Following the death of his first wife William married Ann Bowler in 1865. Of the widows most, 19 in total, were over 60, whereas 17 of the widowers were below 60. Of course at this time death in childbirth was an ever present danger which may account for the relatively younger age of the widowers.
There was plenty of evidence of the extended family with 52 family members other than wife, son or daughter. Grandchildren were most common with 9 grandsons and 7 granddaughters being recorded. More distant relatives included 3 nephews, 3 nieces and a cousin. Of the 5 mothers recorded only one was living with her married son. The other 4 were living with were either unmarried sons or sons who were widowers. There were also 4 mothers-in-law, all living with married daughters.