Modern Datasets and Statistics

Transcription

1 Modern Datasets and Statistics VCH histories are relatively unusual in that they require some information to be provided up to the date of publication. To this end it is important to make use of the most recently compiled statistics that are available through the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and other governmental agencies such as the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). Use of early census records is routine in VCH writing, but the modern census is far more complex and detailed For the purpose of this guide, these include the following: Census data from 200 and 20 Reports on schools

2 200 and 20 Cenus Data The data can be found here: and the front page is as shown below. 2

3 Finding Parish Data Once the area types have been expanded, select Parish and then Search Once the search has been performed you will have all manner of data to search through. The easiest option is to use the search box on the right hand side of the screen and to use this to search for population, etc. Obviously in the case of a town or larger community, searches may be carried out by ward or local authority. The following images are taken from: shes/parishes-and-communities.htm, accessed 28 Jan

4 The summary datasets are displayed under a variety of sub-headings (note that some datasets are displayed under multiple headings) with links to larger units of local government. The sub-headings that most concern us are: Indicators People and Society: Income and Lifestyles People and Society: Population and Migration Physical Environment 4

5 Using the Data The following guide is arranged by section, according to a standard VCH model. Introduction The datasets include an area map which records, in detail, the current parochial and ward boundaries as they exist at the time of the most recent census. These are an important check for modern, often quite minor amendments of civil parish boundaries. Population The census has long been used as the most accessible source for population data by the VCH and by many other historians. The datasets in recent censuses are particularly detailed and this detail can should be included, where possible, in the VCH account. The raw population number from the most recent census (at the time of writing, 20) Note, that where small townships have been incorporated into larger parishes and the precise population of the surviving community cannot be satisfactorily established then it is permissible to use the figure of the combined community to give an indication of relative population size. For example: The number of inhabitants declined across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, remaining at around 00 until 84, settling at around 75 in the late 9th century but falling to 56 in 93, the last census year for which separate statistics are available for the township. The number of families had dropped to 2 by 90. Between 200 and 20, the combined population of the civil parish of Blindbothel rose from 48 to 74, but none of this increase can be attributed to development in Mosser. 2 Census, Census, 200, 20. Social Character People and Households The 20 data contains a table headed Household Lifestage which provides details of the nature of community, broken down by age, the presence or absence of dependent children, and the average distance travelled to work (by those who worked) in km. Much of this detail need not be included, but the conclusions are valuable and should be summarised. The following Tables were used: Distance Travelled to Work - Workplace Population, 200 (UV80) Parish Profile - People, 200 In the early 2st century, Barton Bendish was a community dominated by the recently retired. In 200 only 57, about one third of the population, were in full-time employment and half of these worked from home. In 20, of 96 households, only 9 had dependent children and 40 consisted of one or more persons over the age of 65. Census 200, 20 5

6 Migration The 20 census, for the first time, recorded the year in which residents of wards and parishes arrived in the UK. These are reproduced in the table headed Year of Arrival in the UK, 20 which breaks this information down according to decade and triennially after 200. The table below records this data for Yeovil (West) ward in Yeovil parish, Somerset. External migration in this part of the south west of England has traditionally been low. The spike between 2004 and 2006 is largely explained by immigration from central Europe, particularly Poland. Tables from the dataset: Year of Arrival in the UK, 20 (QS80EW) In other areas of the same town, such external migration was either at a higher level as the table for Yeovil (Central) ward in Yeovil parish demonstrates. Office for National Statistics, 203 This might be approached in a VCH account as follows. Migration from beyond the British Isles was not common in Yeovil in the 20th century and the town s steady growth was largely fuelled by internal migration for work in industry. Only around 80 non-british migrants settled in Yeovil in each decade after 94. This changed in the first decade of the 2st century. Between 200 and 20, a total of 83 people, more than 0 per cent of the resident population, settled in the Central Ward of Yeovil parish, most originating in the countries of central Europe, particularly Poland. Census, 20; Local Inf. 6

7 Built Environment Datasets from the most recent censuses contain detailed information of the number of households in a community, the different types of housing stock and some of the uses to which buildings are put and recent housing construction or demolition. The relevant datasets are Accommodation Type households or household spaces which provide a detailed breakdown in tabular form. For example: In the first decade of the 2st century Chilthorne Domer gained only a small number of houses in the form of infill of a dozen dwellings, all but two semi-detached. In 200 there were 27 houses, in 20, 229. Census, 200, 20. Larger settlements might have experienced significant expansion through the construction of housing estates and this data provides a straightforward means of describing the overall effects with precision. The prosperity of Plymouth caused significant expansion of Saltash in the late 20th and early 2st century. In addition to housing development in the eighties and nineties, concentrated around Burraton on the western side of the town, between 200 and 20, the number of dwellings in the town increased from 6,295 to 7,02. Local inf. and census, 200, 20. 7

8 Economic History These two datasets include details of the industries in which the employed worked in 200 and 20 Industry of Employment - All People, 200 (KSA) Industry, 20 (QS605EW) Method of Travel to Work - Resident Population, 200 (UV39) Method of Travel to Work - Daytime Population, 200 (UV37) Education The Census records the number of families and children resident together with a breakdown by age. Comparison with the school rolls can provide useful confirmation of anecdotal accounts of trends in local schools. The most easily accessible and up to date information can regarding school rolls and details of how a particular school currently functions is published on the OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) website. Since reports are made relatively frequently it is possible to track the rise and fall of the school roll and relate these to changes in other areas of local life, some of which will be summarised in the report. These might include immigration into the area, perhaps caused by changes in economic development. Citation example using two reports on a (fictional) rural village school: the number in the URL is the school s unique reference: In 202 there were 5 children on the school roll, a significant drop from the 203 children in In 204 the school catered for children from the surrounding area and while the number of children in the village itself recorded in the censuses in 200 and 20 was similar, in neighbouring parishes, the number of families with children had decreased sharply over the same period. 2 (accessed 30 May 204). 2 Census, 200, 20; other inf. from Mrs F. Grundy. Religious Life Breakdown of religion and observance as given in the census. Evidence of one or two families should probably be ignored, but the suggestion of a community not otherwise recognised by a defined place of worship may be recorded and should be recognised in the text. In many places, for example, the large-scale immigration from central Europe in the first decade of the 2st century had an invigorating effect on attendance in Catholic churches but this is not reflected in census data. Local Government 8

9 Accurate mapping of the boundary of the civil parish and wards within it as recorded in the census, also useful in the introduction. 9