Home ownership, divorce and outdoor toilets: Census data shows how life changed in Britain over past 60 years

Indoor toilets now grace homes up and down the country, but it was a very different picture in 1961, when they were far more of a luxury.

This is one of several significant social and economic changes over the past 60 years to be highlighted by newly digitised census data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Monday.

Sixty years ago, nearly 7 per cent of homes in England and Wales did not have an inside or attached toilet. As a result, many residents had to use either outdoor facilities in their gardens or communal ones shared between neighbours.

This was particularly true of rural areas such as Mitford and Launditch in Norfolk, where 59 per cent of properties lacked toilets, the highest proportion of anywhere in either country.

Although the 1961 census made use of computers, its findings were stored in formats such as microfilm, making it impractical for research purposes.

But now scans of the 1961 Census Small Area Statistics have been transformed into digital tables, thanks to the help of 2,800 volunteers who waded through 5.5 million classifications.

“As well as providing a fascinating trip down memory lane and insights into our history, this new information shows just how useful census information was – and still is to this day,” said Pete Benton, census director of operations.

“The census informs where billions of pounds of public funding is spent on services; whether that’s the development of new towns like Milton Keynes and Northampton in the late 1960s or the demand for renewable energy in the future,” he added.

As well as toilets, the new census information sheds light on home ownership, household density and marriage.

While 68 per cent of over 16s were married in 1961, the proportion of those who tied the knot – through marriage or same-sex civil partnership – fell to 49 per cent by 2011. Meanwhile, divorce rose 10-fold over the same period.

The data also shows that home ownership has also undergone seismic change since 1961. Whereas just 42 per cent of households owned their own homes then, the figure jumped to 64 per cent by 2011.

The configuration of the rental market was also different in 1961, with 28 per cent of households let out privately and 24 per cent rented through a local authority or New Town corporation, built after World War II to provide the country with more housing.

After the “Right to Buy” scheme was introduced in 1980, home ownership became more widespread and the stock of council housing started to plummet, meaning that only 9 per cent of households were rented by local authorities in 2011.

The publication of the digitised 1961 data comes five months after the 2021 census was completed. The questionnaires which were collected earlier this year are currently being looked at by the ONS, with the results due to be published next year.