Language Census 1891

The Language Census of 1891

Welsh was the common language of Wales up to about the turn of the eighteenth century, other than in limited areas such as south Pembrokeshire and Gower. Thereafter there was an increase in the use of English first along the border, then developing gradually until substantial parts of the border counties had turned more or less entirely to English by the nineteenth century.

Several informal surveys of the linguistic state of different parts of the country were undertaken in the nineteenth century (1,2,3), but no fully comprehensive survey was carried out until the 1891 census, when a question about which language or languages were spoken by people in Wales was included for the first time.

The purpose of this report is to use the information gathered in the 1891 census to attempt to provide an accurate picture of the linguistic situation in Wales as early as possible. In order to put some flesh on the bones of what was published in the census report the forms completed for each enumeration district in each parish were examined to ascertain what was said about the language used at the time of the census by those locally-born residents who were over the age of fifty.

E.G. Ravenstein, On the Celtic Languages in the British Isles: a statistical survey. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (1879)
A.J. Ellis, On the Delimitation of the Welsh and English Languages, Y Cymmrodor (1882)
J.E. Southall, Wales and her Language (1893)

Summary of Results

As shown on Map 1, over most of the country, Welsh was the main language, spoken by everyone or almost everyone. On the other hand in restricted areas on the border and in the ancient Englishries of south Pembrokeshire and Gower, it was spoken by no-one or hardly anyone. Between those areas of definite character, there was a narrow more mixed zone, where Welsh was spoken by somewhere between 5% and 95%. In broad terms, this mixed area included the western two-thirds of Monmouthshire, the eastern third of Breconshire and the western third of Radnorshire together with a narrow area between the thoroughly Welsh-speaking and thoroughly English-speaking parts of Flintshire, Denbighshire, Montgomeryshire and Pembrokeshire.

Map 2 shows how many spoke English in each area - everyone, almost everyone or at least a large majority in those areas where not everyone or almost everyone spoke Welsh. In most of those thoroughly Welsh-speaking areas fewer than half spoke English but, in some places including most of the larger towns, it was spoken by the majority.

Map 3 shows a summary of the linguistic situation in each area. With very few exceptions, a clear majority in each place spoke Welsh only, or English only, or spoke both languages.

Map 4 shows another summary, distinguishing between the areas where more spoke Welsh than English and those where more spoke English than Welsh. Welsh was ahead throughout Glamorgan (apart from Gower, part of Swansea, the Cardiff area and a few parishes on the coastal edge of the Vale of Glamorgan) and in west Monmouthshire.

Overall, this confirms most of the conclusions of less formal surveys conducted during the 19th century, but with fuller information.

Interpreting the Results

Local enumerators were engaged to go from house to house to ask who lived there. On obtaining answers to his questions, the enumerator would complete the details on a form with columns for the names of the inhabitants, their age, work, relationship to the head of the household and their places of birth, as well as the column for "Language Spoken ", with the instruction “If only English, write ‘English’; if only Welsh, write ‘Welsh’; if English and Welsh, write ‘Both’”.

What was recorded on the form therefore depended on how the question was asked by the enumerator, how the residents understood the question, how the enumerator understood the answer and how he set out that answer. It seems that some enumerators were more likely to record bilingual people than others. For example, in the Vale of Glamorgan, all 31 of the older locally-born residents of the parishes of Barry, Merthyr Dyfan, Highlight, Cadoxton and Sully were recorded as speaking both languages. In the nearby parish of Llanblethian, 3 out of the 33 were recorded as English only and 12 as Welsh only. Such variations do not detract from the clarity of the overall picture but are a warning that the results for small areas should not be over-interpreted.

It seems quite likely that many of the enumerators and the people they questioned interpreted the question to mean "What language do you speak?" rather than "What languages could you speak if you needed to?". Also, "What language do you speak?" can mean different things to different people, with some including the languages they use in each conversation they hold from time to time and others answering about the language they use most regularly, or which language they preferred to use.

That is made apparent by the number of times married couples were returned with the husband speaking one language and the wife speaking the other. In the parish of Amlwch, for example, only one native over 50 replied to say that English was his only language, namely a master mariner (ship’s captain) called William Roberts. Only Welsh was recorded for Jane his wife. Clearly, it was scarcely possible that neither could understand the language of the other. He may have stated that English was his language because it was the language he used most regularly in his work travelling from port to port.

There were several other parishes in the most strongly Welsh-speaking areas with one or two individuals for whom their language was recorded as being English only. Usually it seems that they were in some way living apart from the local community. In several places the sole non-Welsh speaker was the local squire. There were also individuals like a woman in Pwllheli who had returned there after many years of absence with a husband and children all born in Engand. In Beaumaris a lady was recorded who was not resident but who was visiting her father, described as a "Retired Collector of Customs". At other times it appears that an error on the return form accounted for unlikely returns such as a slate quarryman and his wife in Llanwnda for whom their language was indicated as English only by "ditto" marks following on from the family above them on the form, who had apparently just moved there from England.

In the most strongly Welsh-speaking districts it was normally the case that every individual spoke Welsh. The nature of the few exceptions make clear that there was little real difference between a parish where everyone was recorded as speaking Welsh and another with the odd exception.

For all that, however, the results show quite clearly the linguistic character of the different parts of Wales. There were very few areas where a majority were not counted as speaking Welsh only, or English only, or both languages.

The Results, County by County

Anglesey

Everyone spoke Welsh other than occasional individuals in three parishes only. In the town of Holyhead, nearly half spoke English as well as Welsh, and that was the case for a large majority in Beaumaris, where two spoke English only, 36 spoke Welsh only, and 116 spoke both languages. Everywhere else, English was only spoken by a minority.

Caernarfonshire

Here too, only a few individuals spoke English only, including two in Pwllheli , one in Llanystumdwy, two in Llanwnda and two in Llandudno. The only places where a majority spoke both languages were the towns of Bangor, Conwy and Llandudno.

Meirionnydd

Everyone spoke Welsh, and only Welsh was spoken by a majority in each parish.

Denbighshire

The west of the county was similar to Anglesey and Caernarfon, with more than half speaking both languages in the towns of Denbigh and Ruthin only.

In the east of the county, the picture was mixed, with everyone or almost everyone speaking Welsh in the parishes of the Ceiriog valley, Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant and Llansilin as well as Rhosllannerchrugog and Minera. Welsh was also spoken by a large majority in the areas of Cefn Mawr, Pen-y-cae, Coedpoeth, Brymbo and Broughton, together with a smaller majority in Ruabon. It was spoken by a large minority in Chirk, Rhostyllen and Gwersyllt. Very few spoke it in the town of Wrexham and the areas to the east of it. In the areas of Holt, Gresford, Llay and Erbistock, none of the older locally-born residents were recorded as speaking it. However, the difference between them and the Rossett area, almost on the border, should be noted, since five out of 82 of the older locally-born residents there were recorded as speaking Welsh. That suggests that the Welsh language had not disappeared as completely in the far east of the county as is suggested by the results in the other parishes.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the Welsh language was only stronger than English in the areas west of Wrexham. In places such as Chirk, Ruabon and Broughton and everywhere to their east, more spoke English than Welsh. In the areas near Wrexham where Welsh was spoken by a majority, most also spoke English. Only in Rhosllannerchrugog was English spoken by fewer than half. The majority in Welsh-speaking parishes such as Llangollen and Llansilin also spoke English as well as Welsh.

Flintshire

In most of Flintshire, Welsh was spoken by everyone or almost everyone, including places as far east as Bagillt, Rhosesmor, Mold, Treuddyn and Llanfynydd. It was also spoken by the great majority in Flint, Northop and Leeswood. It was only spoken by a minority in Connah's Quay, Northop Hall, Buckley and Hope, and by no-one in the English-speaking Hawarden and Maelor areas. Only in the areas where it was spoken by a fairly small minority did fewer speak Welsh than English, but more than half spoke both languages in a good part of the county, including Rhyl, St Asaph, Caerwys, Holywell, Flint and Mold.

Montgomeryshire

Montgomeryshire was divided between a Welsh-speaking west and north and an English-speaking east and south, with a very clear contrast between them. There was only a narrow band of parishes in which Welsh was not spoken by all or nearly all or by none or hardly any. In the Welsh-speaking parishes that were close to the English-speaking area a majority spoke both languages. Otherwise there was only a bilingual majority in the town of Machynlleth.

Radnorshire

Radnorshire was the most Anglicized county in Wales. Welsh was only spoken by a majority of the locally-born residents over 50 in the far west in the parishes of Saint Harmon and Cwmdeuddwr areas, with a significant minority in the town of Rhayader and small minorities in Nantmel and in some other parishes in the west of the county. However, there was reason to suppose that the language had only recently retreated from large parts of the county. The returns for all the county’s parishes other than those named were examined to ascertain the native parishes of any Welsh-speaking residents from Radnorshire and two or more were found from the following parishes (including a few under the age of 50):

Abbeycwmhir (5)
Diserth (4)
Glasbury (2)
Llanbadarn Fynydd (2)
Llanbadarn Fawr (2)
Llandrindod (2)

The distribution suggests that they were the remnants of a population that used to speak Welsh until relatively recently in the western half of the county.

Breconshire

English was the language of a small corner of Breconshire in the vicinity of Hay. With the exception of the towns of Crickhowell and Builth Wells, Welsh was spoken by most of the older locally-born residents everywhere else. In the greater part of the county, however, a majority spoke English as well. The largest bilingual area in Wales seems to have been in Breconshire. The situation could be summarised by saying that a majority on the southern and western edges of the county on the borders of Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire spoke Welsh only. The eastern edge of the county was bilingual with English ahead, with the rest of the county being bilingual with Welsh ahead.

Ceredigion

Ceredigion was a Welsh-speaking county, with all or nearly all speaking Welsh everywhere and a monoglot majority everywhere other than the towns of Aberystwyth and Cardigan.

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire was divided into two parts of a completely different linguistic character, with most of the north as Welsh as Ceredigion and most of the south as English as Radnorshire. The boundary between them was quite clear, with very few parishes where the majority of the locally-born residents over 50 did not speak either Welsh only or English only. Among the Welsh parishes, the only ones where not everyone or almost everyone spoke Welsh were Llanddewi Velfrey and district, Ambleston and the group of small parishes around Wolf’s Castle. In those parishes, three out of 44 spoke only English, with two out of 22 in Ambleston and two out of 39 in Llanddewi Velfrey.

On the other side of the language boundary, the only parishes with significant minorities of Welsh speakers were Spittal (8 out of 25), Wiston (10 out of 26), the western part of Llawhaden (11 out of 25) and Narberth North with Robeston Wathen (41 out of 117). There were a few locally-born Welsh-speaking individuals scattered throughout the south of the county, who were presumably members of families who had migrated there from the north of the county.

The only parishes with a majority speaking both languages were Clarbeston and Walton East together and Lampeter Velfrey on the linguistic border and also Fishguard in the north of the county.

Carmarthenshire

Apart from a small district adjoining the English-speaking part of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire was as Welsh as Ceredigion. In that district, the language of Marros and Pendine was English and that was also was also the only language spoken by a majority in the parishes of Laugharne Township, Llansadurnen and Llandawke (130 out of 180). There was a minority who spoke only English in the parishes of Eglwys Gymyn and Laugharne rural (11 out of 41) but Welsh was spoken by the majority, even in the enumeration district that reached the sea and separated Pendine from Laugharne Township. Welsh was spoken by everyone - and Welsh only by the majority - in the parishes of Cyffig and Llanddowror.

In the rest of the county all or almost all of the older locally-born residents spoke Welsh, and only in Carmarthen, Llangunnor and Llandovery were there majorities who also spoke English.

Glamorgan

The linguistic situation in Glamorgan was more complex than anywhere else in Wales, partly because of the impact of industrial growth and migration during the 19th century, and partly because of the presence of an ancient Englishry in part of Gower and the remains of another in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The only areas where more of the locally-born residents over 50 spoke English than Welsh were most of Gower, part of Swansea, the town of Cardiff and some of the parishes around it, the town of Cowbridge and a few parishes on the coastal edge of the Vale of Glamorgan. In most parts of the county, therefore, Welsh was the main language. However, in a good part of the area where the Welsh language was ahead of English, it appeared that change was afoot, with a majority also speaking English.

In Gower, English was the only language of all or nearly all in the western and southern parts of the peninsula. The only places there with a minority of any size speaking Welsh were Llanrhidian Lower (10 out of 47) and Bishopston (5 out of 28). The number speaking Welsh in Bishopston was accounted for by the fact that the parish extended up to the Killay area in the north. The majority of Welsh speakers were in that enumeration district, with the rest of the parish being as English as those on either side of it. The parish of Llanrhidian Higher was outside the old Englishry of Gower and therefore traditionally Welsh but the English language had gained a lead on Welsh in the part of the parish south of the River Morlais with 33 out of 56 there speaking English only. In the rest of the parish, including Penclawdd and district, only 11 out of 126 spoke English only. In the neighboring parish of Loughor, everyone spoke Welsh, with over half also speaking English.

In the area historically considered to belong to Swansea there were five parishes, two of which - the rural parishes of Swansea Higher and Swansea Lower- were outside the county borough. Almost everyone in Swansea Higher spoke Welsh as did 47 out of 64 in Swansea Lower. In the three urban parishes, the parish of the old borough (Swansea Town and Franchise), St John’s and St Thomas, as well as a small part of Swansea Higher lying within the county borough, a sample of 10% of the Swansea-born residents over 50 was counted, showing 101 speaking English only, 39 speaking Welsh only and 100 speaking both languages. English was therefore ahead in that part of the county borough. In the other part of the county borough, consisting of Morriston and Landore and belonging to the ancient parishes of Llangyfelach and Llansamlet, a sample of 25% was counted, showing everyone speaking Welsh and 86 out of 244 speaking both languages.

In the other parishes in the Swansea area, including the Swansea Valley, all or nearly all of the older locally-born residents spoke Welsh, and only a minority spoke English.

That was also the case in most parishes of the Neath and Afan areas, but there was more English spoken around the towns of Neath, Briton Ferry and Aberavon. In those towns, around one in ten of the older locally-born residents spoke English only, with a majority speaking both languages, as in some of the other parishes bordering on the town of Neath.

In the Bridgend area, all or nearly all spoke Welsh other than in the town itself, where 7 out of 116 spoke English only. The majority also spoke English as well as Welsh in the areas of Maesteg, Porthcawl, Laleston and Aberkenfig.

In the coalfield area of east Glamorgan, all or nearly all spoke Welsh everywhere. The highest proportion that did not speak Welsh was in Mountain Ash (2 out of 24) and Llantwit Fardre (3 out of 49). Welsh was the only language spoken by the majority in most of the area, but over half also spoke English in Merthyr and Pontypridd and in some of the most southerly parishes.

Welsh was also the main language in the Vale of Glamorgan, spoken by the great majority, but more than half also spoke English almost everywhere there. In the parishes of Barry, Highlight, Merthyr Dyfan, Cadoxton and Sully there were 32 natives over 50, all of whom spoke both languages. In the parish of Saint Andrews (Dinas Powys) all 22 spoke both languages except one who spoke Welsh only and another who spoke English only. In all other parts of the area, everyone or almost everyone spoke Welsh and many of them used it as their only language, with the following exceptions:

Cowbridge town (8 out of 35 spoke English only, none spoke Welsh only)
Llanblethian (3 out of 33 speaking English only, 12 speaking Welsh only)
Llantwit Major (25 out of 88 speaking English only. 7 speaking Welsh only)
St Athan and Gileston (8 out of 28 English only, 1 Welsh only)
the Rhoose area (5 out of 26 English only, none speaking Welsh only)
the Penarth area (7 out of 29 English only, none speaking Welsh only)

Migration did not account for the strength of the English language in Cowbridge or in the small row of parishes near the sea at the southern end of the Vale, as the great majority of residents there were born in Glamorgan at the time of the 1841 census. Rather this represented the remains of an ancient Englishry similar to those in south Pembrokeshire and Gower, with Welsh over time having gained ground at the expense of English, becoming the main language of most of the area, but with both languages still in regular use throughout the Vale.

In the town of Cardiff, which by 1891 included Roath and Canton, English was the only language of the majority. A sample of 10% of the locally born residents over-50 was counted, and only 21 out of 78 spoke Welsh, with 3 of them speaking Welsh only. Part of this may have been accounted for by the relative Englishness of the old pre-industrial town (as in Cowbridge), but the town had experienced significant immigration in the first half of the century. In the rural parishes around the town, the majority spoke Welsh. The most English of them was Whitchurch, with 19 out of 76 speaking English only, but in the parishes of Llanedeyrn, Llanishen and Lisvane, Welsh was the only language spoken by 25 out of 56.

Monmouthshire

With the exception of Radnorshire, Monmouthshire was the county where the Welsh language was at its weakest, but it was still the language of the majority in a large part of the county, including the most populous areas. Only in Rhymney was there a majority speaking Welsh only but there were many who did not speak English in several other areas, such as Bedwas (22 out of 51), Tredegar (32 out of 119), Blaenavon (9 out of 69), Ebbw Vale (18 out of 78) and Nantyglo and Blaina (17 out of 54). Even in Pontypool on the far eastern edge of the industrial area 3 out of 39 spoke only Welsh. In the rural areas, 10 out of 28 spoke only Welsh in Lampeter Wentloog and St Brides Wentloog, and 11 out of 53 in St Mellons and Rumney.

The areas where Welsh was spoken by a majority were the whole of the western valleys, the rural area between Newport and Cardiff, the Blaenavon area and a row of rural parishes to the east of the industrial area, including Llanwenarth and Llanfoist, Llanellen and Llanover, Goytre and Mamhilad, and Glascoed, Monkswood, Pontymoile and Llanbadoc. It was spoken by a large minority in the Abersychan, Pontypool and Cwmbran areas and also in the rural parishes of Llantilio Pertholey and Cwmyoy. Very few spoke Welsh in the town of Newport, amounting to 4 out of 79 in the 10% sample counted, although 6 out of 7 of the older locally-born residents in the rural part of St Woollos (Newport) parish spoke Welsh.

It was also spoken by small but not insignificant minorities in other rural areas such as the small parishes east of Abergavenny and reaching as far east as Raglan (2 out of 29 speaking Welsh). Very few spoke Welsh in the most easterly third of the county, but those few were enough to suggest that the Welsh language had retreated quite recently in much of the area. This is backed up by the fact that Welsh language services were still held in a few churches there in the mid-eighteenth century, while there was preaching in Welsh in the Independent chapel at Llanvaches in the first half of the 19th century. Sir Joseph Bradney, the county's historian, also testified from his own knowledge of the survival of Welsh speakers here and there in the east of the county up to his own time.

Social Change during the 19th Century

Wales was almost completely transformed during the century, mainly because the economy was transformed by the Industrial Revolution, which had begun on a small scale in the previous century. There was a huge increase in population in some parts of the country, and a decrease in others. That was due to migration between different areas of Wales, as well as migration into Wales, mainly from England.

Welsh society was also transformed, as the people turned to Nonconformity, with the chapels having become much stronger than the established church by the middle of the century, and that dominance being reinforced during its second half. The education system also developed during the second half of the century. The majority were illiterate in the middle of the century, with most women and close to half of men unable to sign the register when marrying. By the end of it, very few were unable to sign. The education was provided in English, and one of its main objectives was to ensure that the Welsh people were able to speak English.

The linguistic effect was that English became the common language in those Welsh-speaking areas which experienced any sizeable immigration from England and from the English-speaking areas of Wales. In due course, that led to the Welsh language giving way to English in most of the more populous parts of the country.

At the beginning of the century Merthyr Tydfil (including Dowlais) was the largest town in Wales with 7,000 inhabitants. Swansea was the second largest town. They were the only major industrial centres in the south, with Amlwch and Holywell most prominent in the north.

By the middle of the century, Merthyr was still ahead, with 35,000 inhabitants in 1841, while Swansea’s population had increased from 6,000 to 17,000. The other main ports in south Wales were Newport with 14,000 inhabitants and Cardiff with 10,000. Both had been very small towns at the beginning of the century. The other industrial towns at the heads of the valleys, such as Pontypool, Abersychan, Blaenavon, Brynmawr, Nantyglo, Tredegar, Aberdare and Hirwaun had also grown from virtually nothing at the beginning of the century . The population in the parishes containing these towns had increased from 10,000 in 1801 to 78,000 in 1841. It is clear that this increase in population was mostly the result of immigration. As Welsh was the language of the great majority of the locally-born residents over 50 in these towns – other than Pontypool and Abersychan - in 1891, the bulk of the migrants presumably came from the Welsh-speaking areas of the neighbouring counties. Other places in Glamorgan of some size by 1841 were Morriston, Neath, Cwmafan, Tai-bach and Maesteg.

In north Wales, by 1841, the slate and granite quarrying areas and their ports were rapidly developing in the counties of Caernarfon and Meirionnydd, as were the industrial areas of Denbighshire and Flintshire, with towns and villages such as Rhosllannerchrugog, Cefn Mawr, Brymbo, Buckley, Connah's Quay, Flint, Bagillt and Mostyn all having grown rapidly. As in south Wales, it is clear that the language of most of the people who came to these places was Welsh, with the exception of Buckley and Connah's Quay.

By 1891, the flow of immigration into the industrial areas had become a deluge. By then, Cardiff's population had grown from 10,000 to 129,000 and Aberdare from 6,000 to 41,000, and the parts of the coalfields that had not been developed in the first half of the century were rapidly filling up with incomers. The largest increase in population was in the old parish of Ystradyfodwg, accounting for the greater part of the Rhondda valleys. 730 people in 1841 had increased to 69,000 by 1891. Elsewhere, there had been large increases in population in coastal towns in both north and south, including Llandudno, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Penarth and Barry. Several of these were entirely new towns.

The origins of the migrants to the densely populated areas in the second half of the century were very varied, with large differences from place to place. The 1891 census showed the birthplaces of residents of the five largest places in Wales, with 86% born in Wales in Merthyr and Rhondda, 82% in Swansea, 67% in Newport, and only 60% in Cardiff. In general, it appears that migrants tended to go to the places closest to home, with more from west and mid Wales going to the south Wales coalfield, and more from the neighbouring regions of England going to the coastal towns. That would subsequently have a major impact on the social and linguistic character of the different areas.

It was not just the main industrial areas that experienced migration from England and elsewhere. As the young people from rural Wales flocked to the industrial areas, others came to replace them, many of them across the border. 16% of Radnorshire residents in 1891, and 11 % in Montgomeryshire had moved there from England. It is possible that that was even more the case in the rural areas of Glamorgan and Monmouth. In the words of Sir Joseph Bradney, the historian of Monmouthshire, discussing the east of the county in the 1890s "... during the last twenty years the population of all this country has changed to an extraordinary extent – immigrants have come from all parts and the natives have been migrating elsewhere." (1)

These sweeping population changes during the century meant that newcomers, or the children and grandchildren of newcomers, accounted for the bulk of the population in many places by 1891. This report deals with the language or languages spoken by the older locally-born residents in each area, in an attempt to show what the linguistic situation was in an earlier period. Therefore, in many places it does not reflect the situation by 1891. On the other hand, in areas that had Anglicized during the period, it is likely that some of the older locally-born people may have turned from the Welsh of their youth to the English of their new neighbours.

J.E. Southall, Wales and her Language (1892), page 346

The Conduct of the Census

The 1891 census followed the same procedure as the preceding censuses, although social change meant that that procedure was by then less suited to the circumstances of the period. Local officials were engaged to go from house to house in each enumeration district in order to ascertain who lived there.

Enumeration Areas

The census was organised on the basis of parishes, with each parish containing one or several enumeration districts. By 1891, the old order of parishes did not correspond as well as previously with the distribution of the population. Some of the ancient parishes were divided into smaller "civil parishes", and those were the "parishes" for the census. In addition, new "ecclesiastical parishes" had been established which were different again. Particularly in the south Wales coalfield, the boundaries of the parishes were liable to cut across the new towns that had come into being during the 19th century. The town of Pontypridd had been established where four different parishes met and was therefore divided between them. So too Ebbw Vale, with two of the four parishes in Breconshire and the other two in Monmouthshire. Partly because of that, "urban sanitary districts" had been established to replace the ancient parishes, but not for the purposes of the census. Shortly thereafter, the new "urban districts" completely replaced the old order.

For the purposes of this survey, it was not practical to follow the parochial order of the census as a whole. Small parishes had to be amalgamated in some places – parishes were generally combined with others when they had a population of 500 or less in 1841, in order to have a meaningful number of locally-born residents over the age of 50. In areas that had experienced immigration rather than emigration, or were particularly remote, some smaller parishes were left without being amlgamated with others

When an urban area consisted of parts of different parishes, attempts were made to count the whole town as one unit when there was a practical means of doing so. The boundaries of the municipal boroughs were therefore used for the following towns:

Pwllheli,
Ruthin
Brecon
Haverfordwest
Cardiff
Newport

That was also done for Swansea, but the area of the county borough was split into two for the reason that it included two main urban areas of different linguistic character that had coalesced, rather than growing from a single centre, namely Swansea itself on the one hand and Morriston and Landore on the other. A separate count was therefore made for those parts of the county borough belonging to the ancient parishes of Llangyfelach and Llansamlet.

In two other cases, Denbigh and Welshpool, this was not done for the reason that little of the urban area was outside the main parish, while the boundaries of the borough extended well beyond the urban area.

A separate count was made for other significant towns that were part of much larger parishes, namely:

Holyhead
Caernarfon
Bangor
Bethesda
Rhyl
Llanelli

The parishes of Newtown and Llanllwchaearn were combined as they effectively formed a single town.

The limits of the urban districts were used for the following towns extending over more than one parish, or part of a parish, namely:

Colwyn Bay
Buckley
Milford Haven
Bridgend
Rhondda (Ystradyfodwg)
Mountain Ash (Llanwynno)
Pontypridd
Rhymney
Tredegar
Ebbw Vale
Brynmawr
Nantyglo and Blaina (Aberystruth)
Abertillery
Blaenavon
Abersychan (Trevethin)
Pontypool
Abercarn
Risca

That was not done with Llandudno although the urban area extended into the parish of Eglwys-Rhos by 1891, for the reason that that was a very recent development, and that the residents of that part of the town were newcomers.

The inclusion of the civil parish of Eirias as part of the urban district of Colwyn Bay involved the transfer of part of Caernarfonshire to Denbighshire. So too with the towns on the old boundary between Breconshire and Monmouthshire, namely Rhymney, Tredegar and Ebbw Vale.

In Flintshire, large industrial parishes were divided between their different townships combining those to form meaningful units, as follows:

Holywell – Holywell, Greenfield, Bagillt, Brynford, Coleshill
Northop – Northop and Sychdyn, Rhosesmor, Connah's Quay, Northop Hall, Pentre Ffwrndan (with Flint)
Mold – Mold, Leeswood, Gwernymynydd, Gwernaffield and Rhyd-y-mwyn, Mynydd Isaf
Hope – Hope, Llanfynydd

This could not be done with the parish of Ruabon in Denbighshire, as the limits of the enumeration districts did not correspond with those of the townships. So the 1901 census was used, by which time the parish was divided into four, namely Ruabon, Rhosllannerchrugog, Pen-y-cae and Cefn, counting the locally-born residents who were by then over the age of 60.

The main reason for dividing these parishes in the north-east was that they contained areas of different linguistic character. For the same reason, the parish of Llanrhidian Higher was divided on the outskirts of Gower, as the Welsh language was considerably weaker in the part of the parish south of the River Morlais. That is also what led to the separation of some areas in the counties of Pembroke and Brecon although they were smaller than the size considered generally acceptable. The small parishes of Clarbeston and Walton East were not combined with larger neighbours for the reason that they were clearly of mixed character, with thoroughly Welsh and thoroughly English parishes on either side of them. The parish of Llawhaden was divided into two because the parts on either side of the Cleddau river were of a completely different linguistic character. There were only nine natives over the age of 50 on the eastern side, but six of them were monoglot Welsh. On the other side, the majority were monoglot English. Another small area kept separate was Capel-y-ffin in Breconshire, where there were only six natives over 50, four of whom spoke Welsh. It was not appropriate to combine it with other parishes in the same county that bordered on it as they were almost entirely English-speaking, and that would therefore create a misleading impression about both areas. In addition, there was no natural connection between them as Capel-y-ffin was isolated from the rest of the county by the Black Mountains.

Analyzing the Census Returns

In large parts of Wales, it was clear enough that Welsh was the language spoken by everyone, or almost everyone, with a minority speaking English. In other parts, the predominance of the English language was equally clear. In the rest of the country, there was less clarity.

Where it was clear that a majority of the total population in 1891 were recorded as Welsh speakers only, that was taken as sufficient evidence that that was also the case for locally-born residents over the age of 50. In those areas, a survey was undertaken of all the forms returned for the census to confirm that to be a fair conclusion and to identify any locally-born residents over 50 who did not speak Welsh. In the most populous parish which was obviously thoroughly Welsh-speaking , that of Ffestiniog, that was done with a sample of 25% of the forms for each enumeration district.

A similar procedure was followed for the areas where everyone or almost everyone spoke English only, with a view to identifying any locally-born residents over 50 who also spoke Welsh.

Everywhere else, a count was made of the locally-born residents over 50, indicating how many spoke either language, or both languages. In the most populous areas, this was done with a sample of the forms in each enumeration district. In the most populous parish of all in 1841, Merthyr Tydfil, a sample of 5% was counted, and 10% in the next largest towns of Swansea, Newport and Cardiff. A 25% sample was used in the following locations:

Holyhead
Caernarfon
Bangor
Wrexham
Newtown
Brecon
Aberystwyth
Carmarthen
Llandeilo Fawr
Llanelli
Morriston
Neath
Margam
Maesteg (Cwmdu)
Ogmore and Garw
Llantrisant
Rhondda
Pontypridd
Caerphilly (Eglwysilan)
Aberdare
Gelligaer
Rhymney
Tredegar
Ebbw Vale
Nantyglo and Blaina
Blaenavon
Abersychan
Pontypool
Pant-teg
Bedwellty
Mynyddislwyn
Abercarn
Risca

There were some border areas that were not included in the 1891 linguistic census because they belonged to registration districts in English counties. By the next census in 1901 that had been corrected, and the forms returned on that occasion were used for those areas, referring to the locally-born residents who were over 60 by then. The only areas that were not entirely English-speaking were five in the counties of Denbigh and Flint , namely Chirk, Buckley, Treuddyn, Hope and Llanfynydd. The 1901 Census was also used for the parishes to which the large parish of Ruabon was divided following the 1891 census.

The definition of locally-born depended on the area, including those born in any of the parishes included in an area where parishes were combined, anyone from a village or area lying on the parish boundary, and anyone who identified their place of birth as the name of the parish in a divided parish.

At times, the information on the forms was unclear, due to the standard of the copy, or the writing of the enumerator, or inconclusive or incomplete information. Individuals for whom it was not possible to be certain of their place of birth or age or which language or languages they spoke were not included, and no time was spent trying to interpret what was unclear.

The Data

Shown here, in county order, is the data used to draw up the maps. For information, the population of the parishes is given fifty years before the date of the census, at 1841. The population for 1891 is also shown in places where there was such a large increase over half a century that it is likely that the greater part of the population by then were immigrants or the descendants of immigrants.