Before taking our narrative into the 19th century we must explain that much of our knowledge about the inhabitants of Jacobs Well during that time derives from the Census records.
The National census began in 1801 and took place every 10 years but from 1801 to 1831 it was only a simple head count. From 1841 personal information about individuals was recorded, although initially the ages of persons over 15 were rounded down to the nearest 5 years.
From 1851 "correct" ages were noted and other information included "Relation to Head of Family, Rank Profession or Occupation, Where Born & Whether Blind or Deaf and Dumb". These details are omitted from the following summaries.
Successive census Enumerators each chose their own route around the area, there were no street names and names were written down as the enumerator understood them. Only those actually present on the day of the Census were recorded.
The dates of taking each census, the Enumeration District and the Enumerator were:
The following tables attempt to match up the entries in successive censuses in order to reveal the development and movement of families, lodgers, servants, labourers, etc. The headings are those used by the census recorders for each separate "household" within multiple occupancies, with the numeric part of the heading revealing the sequence in which the enumerator moved round his Enumeration District.. Matching some of the entries, especially for 1841 where the headings were mostly non-specific, is very often, of course, guesswork although some confirmation is provided by the 1841 Tithe Apportionment.
At present these comparative tables concern 4 parts of the village, namely Hurst (farm), Jacobs Well (crossroads), Stringers Common - farms and Whitmoor Common.
We start with the two principal houses of the area historically known as Hurst.