The 1841 Census films for Metropolitan London were photographs from the
original pencilled census. They are filmed page by page on to 35mm films, often
without logical sequence. There are over 120 films.
The Enumerator had taken his pencil and paper and knocked on householder's doors
on one side of the street then perhaps along a side street and onto the next.
These areas were classified as Enumeration Districts. On the films, each
Enumeration District starts a small section of perhaps 10 pages with a details
description of the boundary of the area covered. It names many of the Street,
but not all, in the Enumeration District.
Most Enumeration Districts have a number clearly marked vertically on the film -
following the file number. All films have a British Public Record Office number
(eg. HO/107/1046/4). The changing last digit notes the Enumeration District
number. This number is the key after locating the Street on the Street Index to
then locate the film or films to view the Census Films.
The 1841 Street Index contains the Streets in alphabetical order followed by the
film number and Enumerations District number. Please note that this is an Index
of Street Names - no personal names are recorded.
As Civil Registration started in England in 1837 those who had ancestor's birth,
death or marriage certificates, usually had an address. It was decided by the
Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies to help simplify the process of
finding a specific street on the films. Some streets can be on as many as six
different films. With the changing Enumeration District number the search is
narrowed for a particular street to a restricted number of filmed pages of the
original census.
'The 1841 Street Index for Metropolitan London (Middlesex) and Metropolitan
London (Surrey)' was originally published by the Australian Institute of
Genealogical Studies on microfiche, but has now been converted to CD to be more
accessible to all users these days.
Suitable for all computers and is viewed using the browser already installed on
your computer. It does require installation, and instructions are given to do
so.
