London Census

Census Records
For online access to the 1841 to 1911 London censuses, see the England Census article.

Earlier censuses, dated 1801 to 1831, survive for several London parishes. Most are kept at the Guildhall Library. findmypast has digitised 'London, Westminster Marylebone Census 1821 & 1831.' Record survival is identified on individual London parish pages.

London Records at the Family History Library describes London census holdings, parish-by-parish, available at that facility. Click here to see a list of the census surname indexes for local places and parishes in this county.

Local Census Indexes
The London Census Surname Index page describes local census indexes in the Family History Library collection.

Census Substitutes
A variety of lists of historic residents of London have been preserved. Most list adult taxable males. A few identify family units. The Domesday Book (1086) does not include the City of London.


 * 1292, 1319 - Two Early London Subsidy Rolls (1292, 1319) at British History Online
 * 1332 - Finance and trade under Edward III - The London lay subsidy of 1332at British History Online (Local historical study, rather than a transcript of names.)
 * 1541, 1582 - Two Tudor subsidy rolls for the city of London - 1541 and 1582 at British History Online
 * 1576 - London Subsidy Returns for 1576 at Alan H. Nelson website
 * 1582 - London Lay Subsidy Returns for 1582 at Alan H. Nelson website
 * 1589 - FamilySearch Digital Library London Subsidy Roll, c.1589at Family History Archives (see pages 148-164)
 * 1593-1600 - Lay Subsidy Returns for London, Middlesex, Surrey (north) 1593-1600 at Alan H. Nelson website
 * 1640 - List of the Principal Inhabitants of London 2:35-37, 51-53, 68-72, 85-88
 * 1642 - City of London War Loans 1642 at British History Online
 * 1651 - London Citizens in 1651, transcript of Harleian MS. 4778 at Internet Archive
 * 1662 - London Hearth Tax: City of London, 1662 at British History Online
 * 1664 - London Hearth Tax: Westminster 1664 at British History Online
 * 1666 - London Hearth Tax: City of London and Middlesex, 1666 at British History Online
 * 1666 - London and Middlesex Hearth Tax, 2 vols. (2014).
 * 1666 - Cheape Ward 1666, names of persons whose houses were destroyed by the fire of London 1666 at School of Advanced Study, University of London - free. (Filename Destroyed_Houses_Cheap_And_Cordwainer_1666.xls)
 * 1693/1694 - Four Shillings In The Pound Aid 1693/4 - The City of London, the City of Westminster, and Metropolitan Middlesex at British History Online
 * 1695 - London Inhabitants Within the Walls 1695 at British History Online
 * 1695 - London Inhabitants Outside the Walls 1695 at British History Online
 * 1695 - London Marriage Duty Assessment 1695 at British History Online
 * 1696 - Association Oath Rolls for City of London Livery Companies, 1696, courtesy: British Origins (£); also available in book form:.

The 1709 London Census of Palatines was published by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Most of these Germans stayed a few years in London and then emigrated to the Colony of New York. This serialized article is available online:


 * 1709 - 'List of Germans from the Palatinate Who Came to England in 1709,' The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan. 1909):49-54; Vol. 40, No. 2 (Apr. 1909):93-100; Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul. 1909):160-167; Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct. 1909):241-248; Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan. 1910):10-19. Digital version at New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (£); . Internet Archive has digitized Vol. 40 and Vol. 41 - free.

Gibson identifies additional London census substitutes:


 * Gibson, J.S.W. and Heather Creaton. Lists of Londoners. Bury, UK: Federation of Family History Societies in Association with the Centre for Metropolitan History, c1999..