In the enumerators’ returns for the Census taken on 30th March 1851 there is a complete record of the people living in the Wood Street area on that night. These returns give the names, ages, occupations and places of birth of all the villagers—men, women and children—so they are of immense value to the local and family historian. The census returns are too lengthy to print in full, but we have listed the heads of households alphabetically in the table. Note the names of those still living in the area today; note also how many of the newcomers to the village come from counties other than Surrey. The enumerators did not always recognise place names; hence the unusual spellings of some of the places of birth.

The 1851 Census

Out of one hundred and nine heads of households there were eighty- four born in Surrey and twenty-five born outside the County. Almost half the Surrey total were actually born in the Parish of Worplesdon. The average age of the men was forty-five years. William was the most common name (23%), followed by James (14%) and John (12%). Three-quarters of the men were employed either as farmers or agricultural labourers, but it is not possible to tell from the Census how many men were tenant farmers and how many were direct employees.

1851 Census for Wood Street Showing different occupations