1901 census analysis
The census was taken on 31 March 1901. There were 318 residents in Preston - 141 males and 179
females. They included 51couples and 20 widows or widowers.
They occupied 62 cottages, an average of 4.4 inhabitants in each home. There were seven
farmhouses and two additional properties: ‘The Laburnums’ (now ‘Pryor House’) and ‘The Cottage’
(‘The Dower House’). Two houses were unoccupied.
The ‘core’ families of Preston in 1901 were:
The following were the most popular Christian names in the village:
Ages of Preston’s inhabitants:
One hundred and thirty-seven of the villagers (43%) were aged under 21 years. The youngest was
three-month-old George Jeeves from Castle Farm Lodge and the oldest was the widow, Mary
Bushell, 80
Mobility
Occupations
That Preston was a desirable place to live in 1901 is shown by the occupation at ‘The Cottage’ of
Henry Anstruther, Lord of the Treasury.
Communication with the outside world was improved by the appointment of a telegraph clerk and a
postal messenger.
They comprised 27% of the village’s population.
Of the 286 surviving villagers from 1891, 155 (54%) were still living in Preston ten years ten years
later. Forty-four moved within a five-mile radius of the village. Another 17 remained in Hertfordshire
and 22 left the county. Seven relocated in Hitchin and six moved to London.
The mobility of Preston villagers 1891 - 1901
1
Link to 1901 census: 1901C
