1803 Agricultural Census

Scares about the threat of an invasion of Great Britain and Ireland by Napoleonic France recurred periodically during the late 1790s and the early years of the nineteenth century. During a scare in 1803 about an invasion of Ireland, resulting from the planned but abortive insurrection of that year, returns were made of 'live' and 'dead' (i.e. crops) stock in the possession of farmers.

The 1803 Agricultural Census was created in response to a scare about an invasion of Ireland; the surviving returns relate to many parishes in County Down and the northern parishes of County Antrim.

This database includes almost 15,000 names and locations for individuals living in Co. Antrim and Co. Down at the time of the census. Approx. 7,170 entries relate to parishes in Co. Antrim, and over 7,700 entries relate to parishes in Co. Down.

The original returns are held in the Londonderry Papers in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).

• From: PRONI, D/654/A2; PRONI, D654/A/2/24, D654/A/2/36, D/654/A2/29], D/654/A2/29, D/654/A2/29; National Archives of Ireland, Official Papers
• Compiled by Dr Brian Trainor