List of towns and cities in England by historical population

This is a list of the largest cities and towns of England ordered by population at various points during history. Until the first modern census was conducted in 1801 there was no centrally-conducted method of determining the populations of England's settlements at any one time, and so data has to be used from a number of other historical surveys. The lists below are derived from the best available data and the ordering is in many cases only approximate.

Era

The first settlements that can genuinely be considered urban appear in the 1st century BC, and are known to archaeologists as oppida. Generally these oppida became the main urban centres of the various tribal divisions used under the Romans. Certain examples include Colchester, St Albans, Silchester, Winchester, and Canterbury, however there may have been many others, such as Dorchester. Their distribution is limited to the south of the country. Estimating the populations of these oppida is fraught with difficulty by the nature of the evidence, and as such no precise hierarchy has yet been established; however it is generally agreed that by the time of the Roman conquest Colchester was probably the largest, perhaps followed by Silchester.[1][2]

Roman era

When the Romans invaded in AD 43, their key strategic target was the oppidum at Colchester, the capital of the powerful Catuvellauni. Many of the oppida in the south were simply converted over time into Roman towns. However, the Romans were the first to establish urban settlements outside the southeast. How deliberate this process was is open to debate: many towns grew up of their own accord around major army forts, such as at Caerleon or Exeter; these were known as vici. London is something of an exception; it seems to have developed out of a trading colony, and eventually came to eclipse even Colchester in terms of population and importance thanks to its command of the Thames commercial axis. There was no significant Iron Age oppidum in this area. It is again difficult to establish a hierarchy, as direct population records are lacking for this period. The largest city however at least by the second century was London, perhaps followed by Winchester and York.[3]

Anglo-Saxon England

Urban sites were on the decline from the late Roman period and remained of very minor importance until around the 9th century. The largest cities in later Anglo-Saxon England however were Winchester, London and York, in that order, although London had eclipsed Winchester by the 11th century. Details of population size are however lacking.[4]

Norman conquest

The Norman conquest of 1066 changed the demographics of England, with many settlements having been destroyed by the invading army.[5] In 1086, William the Conqueror ordered the creation of the Domesday Book, a systematic survey of the kingdom of England. Over 100 settlements were classified as "borough" status and the number of houses or burgesses were counted. Nonetheless, it is not possible to be sure of the exact population of any settlement and the table below is ordered by the recorded number of houses. London was comfortably the largest borough in England and has remained so ever since, though was not included in the Domesday survey, nor were Winchester, Bristol or Tamworth and so their exact size must be estimated.[6][7]

Rank Town Population
1London10,000
2Winchester6,000
3York5,000
4Norwich5,000
5Lincoln5,000
6Thetford4,000
7Oxford3,000
8Ipswich3,000
9?Bristol

Medieval England

By the start of the 14th century the structure of most English towns had changed considerably since the Norman conquest. A number of towns were granted market status and had grown around local trades.[8] Also notable is the reduction in importance of Winchester, the Anglo-Saxon capital city of Wessex.

Although not a direct measure of population, the lay subsidy rolls of 1334 can be used as a measure of both a settlement's size and stature and the table gives the 30 largest towns and cities in England according to that report.[9] The lay subsidy, an early form of poll tax, however, omitted a sizeable proportion of the population.

In 1377 the first true poll tax was levied in which everyone over the age of 14 who was not exempt was required to pay a groat to the Crown. The records taken listed the name and location of everyone who paid the tax and so give an excellent measure of the population at the time, although assumptions need to be made about the proportion of the population who were under 14, generally taken to be around a third.[9][10]

No strong information for population exists for the 15th century, with most modern estimates relying on analyses of baptism records. For the 16th century, the lay subsidy returns of 1523-1527 once again provide an excellent measure of households and adult population from which the overall populations can be estimated.[9] The table shows the prosperity of East Anglia, principally due to the wool trade, accounting for eleven of the top thirty (whereas only one, Norwich, makes the top thirty largest towns and cities today).

All population values given in each of the tables below must therefore be taken as an estimate.

Rankings by year

17th/18th century

The 17th and 18th centuries proved a low point for Britain's demography with no major structured survey of the nation's populations. The best estimate from this period is obtained from the hearth tax of 1662, which formed a survey of the number of hearths in each home. As with the Domesday survey, this did not form a direct measure of population but can be extrapolated to provide an estimate of the population of a town. The 1662 table gives the approximate order of the towns of the time from the survey. Most notable from a modern viewpoint is the fact that Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield do not make the top thirty, whereas within around 100 years they would become England's largest provincial cities. The 1750 table is again formed from estimates.

Rankings by year

19th century

The Census Act 1800 resulted in Great Britain's first modern Census a year later, and other than 1941 a census has been taken every ten years since.[12] The resulting populations of England's towns and cities clearly shows the effect of the Industrial Revolution on the urban population, particularly in the growth of the cities of the north and north-west. The data in the tables are taken from the censuses.

Rankings by year

1801

Rank Town Pop'n
1London959,000
2Manchester90,000
3Liverpool80,000
4Birmingham74,000
5Bristol64,000
6Leeds53,000
7Plymouth
8Norwich
9Bath
10Portsmouth
11Sheffield31,000
12Hull
13Nottingham
14Newcastle
15Exeter
16Leicester
17Stoke-upon-Trent
18York
19Coventry
20Ashton-under-Lyne
21Chester
22Dover
23Great Yarmouth
24Stockport
25Shrewsbury
26Wolverhampton
27Bolton
28Sunderland
29Oldham
30Blackburn

1861

Rank Town Pop'n
1London2,804,000
2Liverpool443,900
3Manchester338,300
4Birmingham296,000
5Leeds207,200
6Sheffield185,200
7Bristol154,100
8Plymouth[13]113,300
9Newcastle109,300
10Bradford106,200
11Stoke-upon-Trent101,200
12Hull99,000
13Portsmouth94,500
14Preston83,000
15Sunderland80,300
16Brighton77,700
17Norwich74,500
18Nottingham74,500
19Oldham72,300
20Bolton70,400
21Leicester68,100
22Blackburn63,100
23Wolverhampton60,900
24Stockport54,700
25Bath52,500
26Birkenhead51,600
27Southampton47,000
28Derby43,100
29Coventry40,900
30York40,400

1881

Rank Town Pop'n
1London3,814,600
2Liverpool552,400
3Birmingham400,800
4Manchester341,500
5Leeds309,100
6Sheffield284,400
7Bristol206,500
8Bradford183,000
9Hull154,300
10Stoke-upon-Trent152,500
11Newcastle145,200
12Plymouth[13]139,000
13Portsmouth128,000
14Leicester122,400
15Sunderland116,300
16Nottingham111,600
17Oldham111,300
18Brighton107,500
19Bolton105,400
20Blackburn104,000
21Preston96,500
22Norwich87,800
23Birkenhead83,300
24Huddersfield81,800
25Derby77,600
26Wolverhampton75,700
27Halifax73,600
28Rochdale68,900
29Gateshead65,900
30Southampton60,200

20th century

Measurement of the population of England's towns and cities during the 20th century is complicated by determining what forms a separate "town" and where its exact boundaries lie, with boundaries often being moved. The lists are those of the constituent towns and cities, as opposed to those of the district or conurbation. For example, Salford is measured separately to Manchester, and Gateshead to Newcastle. The only exception to this is London for which the measure is that of Greater London. See English cities by population for further discussion.

Rankings by year

1901

Rank Town Pop'n
1London6,339,500
2Liverpool702,200
3Manchester543,900
4Birmingham522,200
5Leeds429,000
6Sheffield409,100
7Bristol329,400
8Bradford279,800
9Plymouth[13]263,600
10Hull240,300
11Nottingham239,700
12Salford221,000
13Newcastle215,300
14Stoke-on-Trent214,700
15Leicester211,600
16Portsmouth188,100
17Bolton168,200
18Sunderland146,100
19Oldham137,200
20Blackburn129,200
21Brighton123,500
22Derby114,800
23Preston113,000
24Norwich111,700
25Birkenhead110,900
26Gateshead109,900
27Plymouth107,600
28Halifax104,900
29Southampton104,800
30South Shields100,900
31Burnley97,000
32Huddersfield95,000
33Wolverhampton94,200
34Stockport92,800
35Middlesbrough91,300
36Northampton87,000
37Walsall86,400
38Hartlepool85,400
39St Helens84,400
40Rochdale83,100

1921

Rank Town Pop'n
1London7,480,200
2Birmingham922,200
3Liverpool802,900
4Manchester730,000
5Sheffield490,600
6Leeds458,200
7Bristol377,000
8Bradford291,000
9Hull287,200
10Newcastle275,000
11Nottingham262,600
12Portsmouth247,300
13Stoke-on-Trent240,400
14Leicester234,100
15Salford234,000
16Plymouth210,000
17Bolton178,700
18Southampton161,000
19Sunderland159,100
20Birkenhead145,600
21Oldham145,000
22Brighton142,400
23Middlesbrough131,100
24Derby129,800
25Coventry128,200
26Blackburn126,600
27Gateshead125,100
28Stockport123,300
29Wolverhampton121,300
30Norwich120,700
31South Shields118,600
32Preston117,400
33Huddersfield110,100
34Southend-on-Sea106,000
35Burnley103,200
36St Helens102,600
37Blackpool99,600
38Halifax99,100
39Walsall96,900
40Reading92,300

1951

Rank Town Pop'n
1London8,348,000
2Birmingham1,112,700
3Liverpool788,700
4Manchester703,100
5Sheffield512,900
6Leeds505,200
7Bristol442,300
8Nottingham306,100
9Hull299,100
10Bradford292,400
11Newcastle291,700
12Leicester285,200
13Stoke-on-Trent275,100
14Coventry258,200
15Portsmouth233,500
16Plymouth209,000
17Sunderland181,500
18Southampton178,300
19Salford178,200
20Bolton167,200
21Wolverhampton162,700
22Brighton156,500
23Southend-on-Sea151,800
24Middlesbrough147,300
25Blackpool147,200
26Bournemouth144,700
27Birkenhead142,500
28Stockport141,700
29Derby141,300
30Huddersfield129,000
31Oldham121,300
32Norwich121,200
33Preston119,300
34Gateshead115,000
35Walsall114,500
36Reading114,200
37Blackburn111,200
38St Helens110,300
39Luton109,200
40York105,400

1971

Rank Town Pop'n
1London7,452,300
2Birmingham1,013,400
3Liverpool603,200
4Manchester543,800
5Sheffield516,000
6Leeds501,100
7Bristol426,200
8Middlesbrough395,500
9Coventry333,000
10Nottingham296,800
11Bradford294,500
12Hull284,700
13Leicester282,000
14Wolverhampton268,400
15Stoke-on-Trent263,600
16Plymouth246,900
17Newcastle221,400
18Derby219,300
19Sunderland215,700
20Southampton213,600
21Portsmouth204,300
22Dudley185,400
23Walsall184,400
24West Bromwich166,600
25Brighton163,900
26Southend-on-Sea162,400
27Luton160,700
28Bolton154,400
29Blackpool149,800
30Bournemouth149,000
31Stockport139,500
32Birkenhead138,100
33Reading133,400
34Salford131,300
35Huddersfield130,600
36Northampton126,300
37Ipswich122,700
38Norwich120,700
39Oxford110,600
40Poole106,600

1981

Rank Town Pop'n
1London7,566,600
2Birmingham1,014,000
3Liverpool538,800
4Sheffield470,700
5Leeds445,200
6Manchester437,600
7Bristol413,900
8Leicester324,400
9Hull322,100
10Coventry318,700
11Bradford293,300
12Nottingham273,300
13Stoke-on-Trent272,400
14Wolverhampton263,500
15Plymouth238,600
16Derby218,000
17Southampton211,300
18Newcastle199,100
19Sunderland195,100
20Reading194,700
21Dudley186,500
22Walsall177,900
23Portsmouth174,200
24Norwich169,800
25Preston166,700
26Luton163,200
27Middlesbrough158,200
28Southend-on-Sea155,700
29Northampton154,200
30West Bromwich153,700
31Huddersfield147,800
32Blackpool146,300
33Bolton144,000
34Bournemouth142,800
35Stockport135,500
36Brighton134,600
37Ipswich129,700
38Swindon127,300
39York123,100
40Poole122,800

1991

Rank Town Pop'n
1London6,679,700
2Birmingham1,040,000
3Liverpool452,500
4Sheffield445,000
5Leeds432,000
6Manchester404,900
7Bristol367,000
8Coventry292,500
9Leicester280,000
10Bradford274,000
11Nottingham262,000
12Newcastle259,500
13Stoke-on-Trent245,000
14Hull242,000
15Wolverhampton237,000
16Plymouth236,000
17Derby214,000
18Southampton192,000
19Sunderland192,000
20Dudley186,000
21Portsmouth173,000
22Walsall171,000
23Norwich170,000
24Northampton166,000
25Luton165,000
26Southend-on-Sea154,000
27Milton Keynes148,000
28Blackpool145,000
29Reading142,900
30Bolton142,000
31Middlesbrough140,000
32West Bromwich140,000
33Preston140,000
34Brighton132,000
35Stockport130,000
36Poole130,000
37Peterborough129,000
38Huddersfield122,000
39Ipswich116,000
40Telford115,000

References

  1. Cunliffe B. Wessex to AD 1000 1997
  2. Pryor F. Britain BC 2003
  3. De la Bedoyere G. Roman Britain: A New History 2006
  4. Hingley G. A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons 2006
  5. "Life in the 11th century". The Domesday Book Online.
  6. "Great Domesday - Areas Covered". The National Archives.
  7. "Domesday Book - Life in towns and villages". The National Archives.
  8. "Gazetteer of markets and fairs in England and Wales". Institute of Historical Research.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 W. G. Hoskins (1984). Local History in England. Longman, London & New York.
  10. J. C. Russell, British Medieval Population
  11. B. R. Mitchell. International historical statistics. Palgrave Macmillan.
  12. "The Census, 1801-1901: Statistical Reports". The National Archives.
  13. 1 2 3 Includes Devonport

See also

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