The 1851 census was based on the Registration Districts, (the county of Lancashire had 26 Districts). Each of these Registration Districts were under the control of a Superintendent Registrar and were divided into Registration Sub-districts. 

For purposes of the census, each Sub-district was further sub-divided into Enumeration Districts which may contain from 50 to 250 households, usually a Township or village.

When completed by the Enumerators, the original census schedules were deposited in the Public Record Office and made up into books of numbered pages or 'folios'.

These were later microfilmed, and made available at Record Offices, Public Libraries and LDS centres.

The Census Transcript Volumes produced by the Society are Full Transcriptions of the entries on the film; that is, they show exactly what was written by the Enumerator, with no attempts made to correct spellings or other details. Proper transcription of a census requires considerable local knowledge of surnames ,placenames and dialect as well as handwriting, and a good transcript can often provide more accurate information than a cursory viewing of the original film.

The Map below shows the areas of North Lancashire covered by the LFHHS Full Transcript Volumes to date. This is an ongoing project and the coverage will increase over coming years.

Most of the Volumes listed cover a complete Sub-District, consisting of several parishes and townships, but it is difficult to generalise about this as some books may cover two Sub-Districts, and some only a small fraction (as in  Lancaster City). The main determinant is the number of actual entries (the total population) which is between 2000 and 4000 per volume.

For each Enumeration District, a transcript is given of the Enumerators Instructions detailing his area to be covered, a street index and the Enumerator's count of the population.

A detailed map of the area and a full Surname Index is also provided in each Volume.

Please click on a green area for more information