Place search
The source of the address details on the 1911 census is the original form filled in by the householder, and several factors conspire to make finding an address (from the information provided in the historical document) difficult:- In 1911, the concept of a full postal address with a number and street was less evolved than it is today. Many people listed their address as a house name followed by a town (rather than a house number and street name) and this was the information that was transcribed.
- Only a small space was left on the original form for the address, and the householder would often further abbreviate the address to make it fit.
- Many householders also used abbreviations for phrases (as we do today), such as ‘Rd’ for ‘Road’.
- Place names and spellings may have changed over time. For example Pixham Lane in Dorking was also entered by householders as Pixholme in a number of instances.
If you don't find the desired address first time, you could try the following:
- Check old maps online and other sources to discover whether names have changed, or have more than one spelling.
- Search for common alternative spellings, such as ‘ham’ for ‘holme’ and vice versa; for example Pixham and Pixholme
- Search for ‘St’ as well as ‘Street’, ‘Road’ and ‘Rd’, ‘Avenue’ and ‘Ave’, and ‘Ln’ in addition to ‘Lane’, etc, or miss these Suffixes off entirely. For example, Wessenden instead of Wessenden Road.
