Birth dates on. 1841 census

[annesthreads]

I know that the 1841 census only shows date of birth to the nearest 5 years, but does it go in a specific direction eg if someone is shown as born 1821, was he born 1816-1821, 1821- 1826, or could it be any date in those 10 years? I need to try to narrow it down to find someone with a common name on the1851 census.

[JenB]

For people aged over 15 the instructions were to round down the age to the nearest five years, the instructions given to the enumerator can be seen here http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~framland/census/1841directions.htm

[annesthreads]

Thank you  - that narrows it down a bit, anyway!