The spread of urbanization in England and Wales, 1851-1951

Each county in England and Wales has been classified as rural or urban for each of the decennial census years 1851-1951. One index has been used as the basis for these classifications, the percentage of adult males occupied in agriculture. Thus, for each census year a value, in term of this index, was fixed as the criterion to determine whether a county was rural or urban in that year. This criterion of classification varies, over time. This is to allow for the reduction in the percentage of adult males occupied in agriculture as a result of structural changes in the occupational distribution (associated with general modernization), rather than through a shift away from agriculture. The geographical patterns of urbanization in England and Wales during the period 1851-1951, and some associated social and economic changes, are discussed in the paper.