Renumbering of houses between 1901 census and 1911 census - how common?

[kob3203]

It puzzled me that many families seemed to move house but stay in the same street, until user siena pointed out a pattern - here's an example from Market St, Cahir, Co. Tipp:

Donnellys are at 21 in 1901, and at 9 in 1911.
Buckleys are at 25 in 1901 and at 7 in 1911.
Griffins are at 29 in 1901 and at 3 in 1911.
Purtell/Purtill at 31 in 1901 and at 1 in 1911.

I notice that 27 to 5 would fit this, but 23 seems to vanish.

So did the renumbering of houses in a street happen often? Under what circumstances?

TIA
Pete

[gaffy]

The numbers you've quoted are not street numbers, they are the enumerator's numbers.

So in 1901, the Donnelly's were in the 21st house enumerated.  In 1911, they were in the 9th house enumerated. The order of enumeration was at the discretion of the enumerator.

In the 1911 census, clicking on "additional pages" will sometimes reveal the actual street number, for the street you've mentioned, this isn't the case.

[kob3203]

The numbers you've quoted are not street numbers, they are the enumerator's numbers.

So in 1901, the Donnelly's were in the 21st house enumerated.  In 1911, they were in the 9th house enumerated. The order of enumeration was at the discretion of the enumerator.

In the 1911 census, clicking on "additional pages" will sometimes reveal the actual street number, for the street you've mentioned, this isn't the case.

Thank you, that's most enlightening !

I wonder how many other people have made the same incorrect assumption that I have ?

[gaffy]

I wonder how many other people have made the same incorrect assumption that I have ?

A great many and understandable.

Here's an example of what I mentioned previously about the 1911 census, it is the third house enumerated in Garston Street Belfast:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Dock_Ward__Belfast_Clifton_/Garston_Street/131686/

But clicking on the "Additional Pages" shows that is his actually no. 6 Garston Street:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001393978/

[Elwyn Soutter]

Thank you, that's most enlightening !

I wonder how many other people have made the same incorrect assumption that I have ?

I think it’s a pretty common mistake. In most of Ireland rural properties didn’t have house numbers at all. Indeed they still don’t in a lot of areas, especially in the Republic of Ireland. The townland alone was/is enough to identify you. So the census enumerators had to invent their own private numbering system to ensure every house was recorded.

In bigger towns there were street numbers by 1901, and in Belfast at any rate the enumerators numbering system does sometimes follow the postal address numbers, but often they don’t.

The enumerators were local police officers. It wasn’t very likely that the same officer who did the 1901 census would still be there 10 years later to do the 1911, so usually a different officer and a different numbering system.