The 1881 Census for Orwell, Cambridgeshire. Reference: Ref. RG11/1656 (with acknowledgement to the Public Record Office). Date of Census: 3 April 1881. Population (1881 census): 802. (1871 Census: 801) (1891 Census: 689) There is a national Census every ten years when the year ends in a one. This page details the population of the Parish of Orwell on the night of 3 April 1881 (the list includes children and visitors from outside the parish in temporary residence within Orwell on the night of the census). My thanks and acknowledgements to the 'census team' who provided the documentation and who typed and checked the various page transcripts back in 2002/2003. Particular thanks to Mike Giddings, Susan Giddings, Alexandra Morton and John Parkins for all their help, assistance and encouragement. Any errors are probably mine. Columns (left to right):    1. Name.    2. Relation to Head of Household.    3. Married, Widow, Widowed or Unmarried (18 years and over).    4. Age.    5. Occupation.    6. Place of Birth. The house numbering sequence shown below was used/allocated in 1881 and therefore unlikely to relate directly to present day postal addresses. [Information, notes and comments additional to the 1881 Census are generally shown italicised within square brackets] I would be pleased to hear from you if you can offer any additional genealogical or family information relevant to this page, especially if you possess old photographs that could be added to this site for those who follow. Please use the site's Contact Page in the first instance.

Census Records (Parish of Orwell): Census 1881:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]  Part Three [1]  New Orwell [1][2] Census 1891:  Part One [1]  Part Two [1]  Part Three [3]  New Orwell [1][2] Census 1901:  Part One [3]  Part Two [3]  Part Three [1]  New Orwell [1][2] [1] Completed pages. [2] Following a parish boundary change in April 1999, much of the area of Orwell on the Cambridge Road, previously known as 'New Orwell', is now part of the modern-day Parish of Wimpole. [3] These pages are being rebuilt after their transfer to the new website. The basic listings remain available for reference during the rebuilding.

Coprolite Mining: In the 1881 Census, many individuals in Orwell are shown to be employed in the mining of coprolites (phosphatic nodules) to be processed as agricultural fertilisers. The following table shows the rapid rise (and subsequent fall) in local parish populations due to the temporary influx of coprolite 'diggers' and their families between 1861 and 1891: Census Year: 1861 1871 1881 1891 Barrington: 0 155 120 4 Haslingfield: 6 105 49 17 Meldreth: 0 39 11 0 Orwell: 0 1 58 6 Whadden 0 73 17 8 Wimpole: 0 3 7 0 For further information on the local mining of Coprolites refer to: (a) Wimpole Coprolites - a report by the Cambridge Archaeology Field Group describing coprolite mining and the related social consequences in the Orwell/Wimpole area. (b) Coprolite Mining in Orwell - on the 'Orwell Past and Present' website.