Old Age and Household Structure in Mid-Victorian England and Wales

This paper examines household compositions of older men and women in mid-Victorian England and Wales, using Integrated Census Microdata. First, in five counties between 1851 and 1911, the proportion living in nuclear households with offspring increased by 1911, while the share of those living in complex households declined. Second, a national sample for 1891 shows that complex household formation occurred in textile and mining regions, reasserting its regional importance. Conversely, older women in agricultural eastern and southern England (especially London), where specialized industry was lacking, were more likely to live without offspring or kin.