Coventry's population growth

Is there anywhere that gives the population growth of Coventry from about 1850 to late 20th century at regular intervals. I guess it could be gathered from census records but I don't know where it gives overall population.

That's a great question pixrobin, and I've been meaning for some time to gather the full range of statistics covering roughly a millennium of Coventry's existence. I did make a start by jotting down some notes a while ago though, and the figures I've compiled below are all from the 1912 Spennell's Directory except the last figure, which is from the 1914 Bennett's Business Directory, although I suspect that the identical figure is because it was based upon the 1911 census returns. Most of the large leaps in numbers will be, I think, due to the sudden boundary extensions, which you can find in more pictorial form elsewhere on my Historic Coventry site. 1811 17,923 1821 21,242 1831 27,670 1841 31,004 (41,387 including outer districts) 1851 36,812 1861 40,936 1871 36,680 1881 42,111 1891 52,724 1901 69,978 1911 106,349 I'm sure between us all we can improve on this list!

This is from Wikipedia Total Year Population 1801 21,853 1851 48,120 1901 88,107 1911 117,958 1921 144,197 1931 176,303 1941 214,380 1951 260,685 1961 296,016 1971 336,136 1981 310,223 1991 305,342 2001 300,844 2007 306,700 2009 309,800 2010 310,500

From an old book Year Population 1954 258,211

Thanks folks - that's brilliant. Now I can go on and try to explain the jumps.

Pixrobin, not sure if this jump helps. I was reading during WWI women were used for the munition factories here, the munition huts at Holbrooks were built to house them, these women were bought in from all over, it caused a shortage of housing in the city, hence the munition huts being built.

Thanks Morgana. I guess with the male volunteers of 1914 and conscription in 1916 took may of the men away to France and hence the need for female workers in the munitions factories.

You're welcome Pixrobin. Yes that was the reason men going to war so the women were brought in for the work. It seems by this link similar happens in WW2. My own dad and his family came from Wales earlier and they lived in Holbrooks munition huts. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/86/a2403686.shtml

Growth due to massive growth in industry and migration from the rest of the UK and later, the Commonwealth. Check out the book published by Cryfield Press. It has some detailed statistics for migration, I believe.

Isn't much of the growth explained by the expansion of the city boundary to encompass former nearby villages?

Yes Dutchman you just beat me to it! Some of the boundary extensions added little in terms of built up areas but certainly the inclusion of Foleshill in 1928 and 1931 would have added significantly to the population. The extensions to incorporate areas that we now know as Tile Hill, Canley, Bell Green, Willenhall etc merely facilitated the provision of housing to meet the increased workforce after the war.

But would the inclusion of Foleshill have added 32,000 to the grand total? Around the same period, there were more than a few Scots, Welsh and Irish coming to Coventry as the city was becoming something of a work magnet.

Tile Hill, Canley, Stoke, Holbrooks and Longford were added at the same time as Foleshill in 1928.

Pix, this website holds info on the inclusion of what were outlying districts around Coventry - The Coventry Society. See the section "Coventry Neighbourhoods".

They would account for some of the population figures but not all. Also note in the Allesley section, the making of the Holyhead Rd, so named because at the 'other' end was this odd place called Holyhead, and in-between, towns and villages in Shropshire, Cheshire etc. It was a stagecoach route for people from that area, and of course a route taken by Irish looking for work.

In British History Online it states that the reduction in population for Stoneleigh parish was just under 1,000 between 1921 and 1931 so this made only a minor contribution to Coventry's increase of 32,000.