1871 Census

The 1871 Census

The 1871 Census was taken on the night of April 2nd and recorded all persons present within a particular household that night.

By this time the village had taken on the shape that we have today with the exception of the area between the railway line and an imaginary line that ran east and west from about half way up St Mary's Road (which was still called Ball's Road at this time) and extended from Oatlands Chase to Queens Road.

This area was known as America and this name is usually attributed to a remark by the actress and author Fanny Kemble but it seems likely that her usage of it was in relation to the original meaning of the word as 'new world' or 'recently discovered' - as of course Oatlands was when the estate ceased to be the enclosed area it had always been.

Oatlands had now got its church – and had become a parish in 1869 - and this was one of the few buildings within the area of America. The fact that there was now a 'Parish of St Mary Oatlands' meant that, for the first time. the village appears in the census as a distinct area which makes life considerably easier when looking at the information.

1871 Census - Transcribed Schedules - Not Yet Available