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Population growth

A Brief History of Badsey and Aldington (first edition) by R D H Seaman and T C Sparrow gives an interesting overview of population growth in the villages -

"Until the first official census in 1801, statements about population are largely guesswork, but statistics coming from the scrutiny of the records of baptisms and burials offer a rough indication of the rise and fall of population; here the figures are of Badsey and Aldington together.

Period

Baptisms

Burials

Burials per 100 Baptisms

1538-1619

706

432

61

1620-1701

662

506

76

1702-1748

791

575

72

The figures suggest that there may have been a slow rise in the population of the two villages during the Tudor period, with baptisms consistently well ahead of burials, but during the Stuart period the tendency was reversed and for 20 years in Charles II's reign burials actually exceeded baptisms and the population may have fallen. In the 18th century, and especially in the second half, a much increased rate of baptisms (and marriages) indicate a rise in births, but this was counterbalanced by some bad periods for mortality; during 1727-29, a time of national influenza epidemic, there were 87 burials, much the worst three-year period in Badsey's recorded history, although the 1770s and 80s were also a bad time, probably due to the prevalence of smallpox.

...The rapid development of the market gardening industry soon brought increased prosperity to the village. New people moved in and the dates recorded on many of the houses are an indication of the extensive building which occurred shortly before and after 1900. The population rose at a quite astonishing rate, as may be seen from the following figures for Badsey:

1871

487

1891

574

1911

1127

This was in marked contrast to other areas where there was no alternative to farming and many of the labourers either emigrated or left their villages to seek work in the large towns. If we look at a group of three parishes in another part of the county, the combined population of Upton Snodsbury, Grafton Flyford and Flyford Flavell fell from 792 in 1871 to 559 in 1911."

Here are population figures based on the censuses -

BADSEY
Year
Male
Female
Total
Increase
Acreage
Households
1801
145
139
284
-
1208
-
1811
126
136
262
-
1208
-
1821
157
177
334
18%
1208
-
1831
181
178
359
37%
1208
-
1841
211
184
395
18%
1208
99
1851
199
191
390
9%
1208
88
1861
202
203
405
3%
1208
-
1871
236
251
487
25%
1208
-
1881
223
220
443
9%
1208
-
1891
292
282
574
18%
1208
113
1901
398
377
775
75%
1208
170
1911
580
547
1127
96%
1208
245
1921
515
498
1013
31%
1208
254
1931
583
582
1165
3%
1220
302
1951
763
790
1553
33%
1425
458
1961
838
830
1668
23%
1425
542
1971
1010
1037
2047
32%
1425
705
1981
1137
1173
2310
38%
1425
822
1991
-
-
2556
25%
1425
967
2001
1288
1243
2531
10%
1425
-
ALDINGTON
Year
Male
Female
Total
Increase
Acreage
Households
1801
34
49
83
-
675
-
1811
39
41
80
-
675
-
1821
41
46
87
5%
675
-
1831
46
58
104
30%
675
-
1841
49
53
102
17%
675
23
1851
55
76
131
26%
675
26
1861
62
79
141
38%
675
-
1871
69
78
147
12%
675
-
1881
70
65
135
-4%
675
-
1891
91
82
173
18%
675
35
1901
70
86
156
16%
675
36
1911
73
76
149
-14%
675
36
1921
132
132
264
69%
675
59
1931
86
88
174
17%
663
50
1951
68
71
139
-20%
573
43
1961
85
82
167
7%
573
55
1971
113
113
226
63%
573
75
1981
126
118
244
46%
573
81
1991
-
-
281
24%
573
92
2001
105
127
232
-5%
573
-

Notes

  • Population increase is expressed as a percentage rise over the previous 20 years.
  • From 1971 onwards, acreage was reported in hectares. For Badsey 577 hectares = 1425 acres. For Aldington 232 hectares = 573 acres. 1 hectare = 2.471 acres.
  • Boundary changes. In 1921, 12 acres of land in Aldington was transferred to Badsey. In 1949, 205 acres was transferred to Badsey (90 from Aldington and 115 from Offenham).
  • The large increase in numbers for Aldington in 1921 is accounted for by the fact that Council Houses had been built on land which had not yet officially transferred to Badsey.
  • There was no census in 1941.
POPULATION  OF BADSEY, ALDINGTON & WICKHAMFORD BY AGE-RANGE, 1841-2001
BADSEY
Year
0-4
%
5-9
%
10-17
%
18-44
%
45-64
%
65-74
%
75+
%
Total
1841
55
14
53
13
72
18
134
34
62
16
10
3
9
2
395
1851
46
12
41
11
56
14
158
41
68
17
14
4
7
2
390
1861
59
15
57
14
69
17
130
32
60
15
20
5
10
2
405
1871
64
13
61
13
94
19
147
30
91
19
17
3
13
3
487
1881
54
12
59
13
86
19
136
31
80
18
18
4
10
2
443
1891
73
13
72
13
103
18
201
35
89
16
29
5
7
1
574
1901
113
15
105
14
119
15
292
38
111
14
18
2
17
2
775
2001
116
5
156
6
275
11
789
31
766
30
223
9
207
8
2532
ALDINGTON
Year
0-4
%
5-9
%
10-17
%
18-44
%
45-64
%
65-74
%
75+
%
Total
1841
17
17
13
13
10
10
49
48
10
10
2
2
1
1
102
1851
24
18
21
16
23
18
45
34
15
11
2
2
1
1
131
1861
20
14
17
12
24
17
48
34
29
21
3
2
0
0
141
1871
21
14
21
14
22
15
58
39
18
12
6
4
1
1
147
1881
20
15
15
11
24
18
50
37
18
13
5
4
3
2
135
1891
23
13
27
16
30
17
62
36
24
14
4
2
3
2
173
1901
18
12
15
10
26
17
62
40
23
15
10
6
2
1
156
2001 6
3
11
5
26
11
49
21
83
36
23
10
34
15
232
WICKHAMFORD
  0-4 % 5-9 % 10-17 % 18-44 % 45-64 % 65-74 % 75+ % Total
1841 17 14 12 10 28 23 43 35 14 11 6 5 3 2 123
1851 18 14 19 15 23 18 43 33 21 16 4 3 1 1 129
1861 17 14 10 8 22 18 49 40 18 15 5 4 3 2 124
1871 22 16 18 13 17 13 48 36 21 16 7 5 2 1 135
1881 14 11 14 11 30 24 38 31 17 14 5 4 5 4 123
1891 15 11 18 13 23 17 56 41 21 15 2 1 2 1 137
1901 18 11 20 12 31 18 66 39 34 20 2 1 0 0 171
1911 42 16 33 13 27 10 112 43 25 10 19 7 1 0 259

This information is taken from Census of England & Wales, County of Worcester for each relevant year, published first by HMSO and more recently by OPCS.