It's not every day that a national Census is published. They come around once every 10 years or so - if we're lucky.
Last month saw the release of the 1921 Census - a full 100 years after the results were collected door-to-door around the country.
Taken on June 19 that year, the Census saw more than 38,000 enumerators sent to every corner of England of Wales to capture the details of more than 38 million people.
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Unfortunately, the publication of the 1921 documents will mark the last significant Census release for England and Wales in many people’s lifetime.
The 1931 Census was destroyed in a fire and the 1941 Census was never captured due to the small matter of World War II - so, because of the 100-year publication rule, the next Census will not be available until 2052.
Back in 1921, the Census not only asked individuals about their age, birth place, occupation and residence (including the names of other household members and the number of rooms), but also their place of work, employer details, and gave ‘divorced’ as an option for marital status.
Falling between the two world wars, the record paints a contrasting picture of England and Wales, from the Royal household to the average working-class citizen, still reeling from the impact of World War I, a major housing crisis, the Spanish flu pandemic, ravaged economy and industrial turmoil.
There were 38 million people living in eight million households, with the average household size being three, which perhaps comes as a surprise when we think of the typically large families many of our early 20th century ancestors came from.
And, in terms of the male/female demographic, 47.8% of the population were men, and 52.2% were women - the discrepancy stemming from the great number of men killed in the recent 1914-18 world war.
But, what about Census results taken here in our region 100 years ago?
Researchers at the online genealogy service findmypast.co.uk have pulled together some statistics for ChronicleLive which focus specifically on the world our Newcastle ancestors lived in a century ago.
There were 259,758 people recorded in the 1921 Census as living in the city, meaning it was comparable in population size to say Bradford (287,000) or Nottingham (264,000), but smaller than Liverpool (803,000), Manchester (734,000) and Birmingham (923,000).
Those 259,758 people living in Newcastle occupied 57,465 households, with an average of three persons living in each - and once again, there were more women recorded (51.4%) than men (48.6%).
Popular surnames, in no particular order, included Bell, Brown, Taylor, Wilson, Smith, Hall, Thompson, Scott, Robson and Armstrong (note two or three names of Border Reiver origin in that list).
The most common occupations for Newcastle men, in no particular order again, were general labourer, clerk, carpenter, coal miner, and cartman (a person who transports goods or people by horse and cart).
And for Newcastle women, the most common occupations were 'home duties', general domestic servant, 'at home', shop assistant and house keeper.
Meanwhile, it's somewhat sobering to think the results of the very latest Census, which we were all required to complete last year, will not be available to the public until at least 2121.
The 1921 Census is available online, only at findmypast.co.uk . It is also available to view in person at The National Archives in Kew, as well as the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, and the Manchester Central Library.
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