Census before 1800

[andy321974]

Have there been any census records going back the late 18th century released on to the web? I've nailed down the names of my great-great-great grandparents, but seemed to have hit a brick wall.

[DSJ]

The first UK census was taken in 1801.

[cazzz1975]

and the very early census before 1841 were more like a head count, there was virtually no details, just a head of house and address

[DotH]

the 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 census returns were carried out by the ecclesiastical authoriries and only recorded the very basic details of people, and these were mainly just naming householders with numbers in each house, sometimes divided up into males and females and in 1821 into age groupings. some actually name all inhabitants and include extra details like relationships, occupations and ages. only in ireland in 1821 and 1831 were full details of all inhabitantas required .in the rest of britain, compilers, which were the overseers of the poor, teachers and clergy, were not instructed to give any names at all.
rough drafts of local returns were put into the local parish chest whilst the statistics only were sent to the census office.
earlier forms of taxation can be classed as census retuns in many respects, in 1694 a tax was introduced on births marriages burials bachelors over 25 and childless widiwers in england and wales, this was after the Mattiage Duties Act or mattiage tax.it was repealed in 1705/6
some of these early returns survive in full or in part, and depending on the county and diocese they can be looked at. what county are you researching in?
Don't forget the land Tax Assessments (1780 - 1825) are a very good way of locating the heads of house too. these should be in the CRO

[DotH]

Easter Books if they survive show church members over 12 in tudor times and over 16 later but again it is whether the diocese has sent them to the cro

[andy321974]

Cheers for the info folks. Points me in the right direction.

[Ice.Maiden]

I was told that parish records are of help if you want to go back to before the first census.

[dot.hawkes]

Parish registers recorded the baptisms, marriages and burials, the registers were kept in Churches and these would be sent to the Diocesan Office when they were illed, but in some small villages they could be kept at a church for over a century.
Whilst Henry V111 introduced the Registration system, it was Elizabthe 1 in 1598 who wanted to make it the best registration system in Europe, she orderd that Bishop's transcripts were made, these were copies of the entries made throughout the ecclesiastical calendar and sent to the Diocese, it is these BT's that have survived failry well intact, and these are the records that tend to be found in the County Record Offices. it is also these records that have been copied over the last 50 years by the LDS Church and included in the International genealogical Index.
Parish Registers vary in content and information, early entries contain very little, even the marriages give little away, it is important to know as much as possible about your ancestors before deciding which is the correct person to add to your tree, it is also important to look at the primary source if you have found an entry on the IGI.