List of towns and cities in England by historical population

This is a list of the largest cities and towns of England ordered by population at various points during history. Until the first modern census was conducted in 1801 there was no centrally-conducted method of determining the populations of England's settlements at any one time, and so data has to be used from a number of other historical surveys. The lists below are derived from the best available data and the ordering is in many cases only approximate.

Era

The first settlements that can genuinely be considered urban appear in the 1st century BC, and are known to archaeologists as oppida. Generally these oppida became the main urban centres of the various tribal divisions used under the Romans. Certain examples include Colchester, St Albans, Silchester, Winchester, and Canterbury, however there may have been many others, such as Dorchester. Their distribution is limited to the south of the country. Estimating the populations of these oppida is fraught with difficulty by the nature of the evidence, and as such no precise hierarchy has yet been established; however it is generally agreed that by the time of the Roman conquest Colchester was probably the largest, perhaps followed by Silchester.^[1][2]

Roman era

When the Romans invaded in AD 43, their key strategic target was the oppidum at Colchester, the capital of the powerful Catuvellauni. Many of the oppida in the south were simply converted over time into Roman towns. However, the Romans were the first to establish urban settlements outside the southeast. How deliberate this process was is open to debate: many towns grew up of their own accord around major army forts, such as at Caerleon or Exeter; these were known as vici. London is something of an exception; it seems to have developed out of a trading colony, and eventually came to eclipse even Colchester in terms of population and importance thanks to its command of the Thames commercial axis. There was no significant Iron Age oppidum in this area. It is again difficult to establish a hierarchy, as direct population records are lacking for this period. The largest city however at least by the second century was London, perhaps followed by Winchester and York.^[3]

Anglo-Saxon England

Urban sites were on the decline from the late Roman period and remained of very minor importance until around the 9th century. The largest cities in later Anglo-Saxon England however were Winchester, London and York, in that order, although London had eclipsed Winchester by the 11th century. Details of population size are however lacking.^[4]

Norman conquest

The Norman conquest of 1066 changed the demographics of England, with many settlements having been destroyed by the invading army.^[5] In 1086, William the Conqueror ordered the creation of the Domesday Book, a systematic survey of the kingdom of England. Over 100 settlements were classified as "borough" status and the number of houses or burgesses were counted. Nonetheless, it is not possible to be sure of the exact population of any settlement and the table below is ordered by the recorded number of houses. London was comfortably the largest borough in England and has remained so ever since, though was not included in the Domesday survey, nor were Winchester, Bristol or Tamworth and so their exact size must be estimated.^[6][7]

Rank	Town	Population
1	London	10,000
2	Winchester	6,000
3	York	5,000
4	Norwich	5,000
5	Lincoln	5,000
6	Thetford	4,000
7	Oxford	3,000
8	Ipswich	3,000
9?	Bristol

Medieval England

By the start of the 14th century the structure of most English towns had changed considerably since the Norman conquest. A number of towns were granted market status and had grown around local trades.^[8] Also notable is the reduction in importance of Winchester, the Anglo-Saxon capital city of Wessex.

Although not a direct measure of population, the lay subsidy rolls of 1334 can be used as a measure of both a settlement's size and stature and the table gives the 30 largest towns and cities in England according to that report.^[9] The lay subsidy, an early form of poll tax, however, omitted a sizeable proportion of the population.

In 1377 the first true poll tax was levied in which everyone over the age of 14 who was not exempt was required to pay a groat to the Crown. The records taken listed the name and location of everyone who paid the tax and so give an excellent measure of the population at the time, although assumptions need to be made about the proportion of the population who were under 14, generally taken to be around a third.^[9][10]

No strong information for population exists for the 15th century, with most modern estimates relying on analyses of baptism records. For the 16th century, the lay subsidy returns of 1523-1527 once again provide an excellent measure of households and adult population from which the overall populations can be estimated.^[9] The table shows the prosperity of East Anglia, principally due to the wool trade, accounting for eleven of the top thirty (whereas only one, Norwich, makes the top thirty largest towns and cities today).

All population values given in each of the tables below must therefore be taken as an estimate.

Rankings by year

1334

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London
2	Bristol
3	York
4	Newcastle
5	Great Yarmouth
6	Lincoln
7	Norwich
8	Shrewsbury
9	Oxford
10	Salisbury
11	Boston
12	King's Lynn
13	Ipswich
14	Hereford
15	Canterbury
16	Beverley
17	Gloucester
18	Winchester
19	Southampton
20	Coventry
21	Cambridge
22	Stamford
23	Spalding
24	Exeter
25	Nottingham
26	Plymouth
27	Hull
28	Scarborough
29	Derby
30	Reading

1377^[9]

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	23,314
2	York	7,248
3	Bristol	6,345
4	Coventry	4,817
5	Norwich	3,952
6	Lincoln	3,569
7	Salisbury	3,226
8	King's Lynn	3,217
9	Colchester	2,955
10	Boston	2,871
11	Beverley	2,663
12	Newcastle	2,647
13	Canterbury	2,574
14	Bury St Edmunds	2,445
15	Oxford	2,357
16	Gloucester	2,239
17	Leicester	2,101
18	Shrewsbury	2,083
19	Great Yarmouth	1,941
20	Hereford	1,903
21	Cambridge	1,902
22	Ely	1,772
23	Plymouth	1,700
24	Exeter	1,560
25	Hull	1,557
26	Worcester	1,557
27	Ipswich	1,507
28	Northampton	1,477
29	Nottingham	1447
30	Winchester	1,440

1523

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London
2	Norwich
3	Bristol
4	Newcastle
5	Coventry
6	Exeter
7	Salisbury
8	Ipswich
9	King's Lynn
10	Canterbury
11	Reading
12	Colchester
13	Bury St Edmunds
14	Lavenham
15	York
16	Totnes
17	Worcester
18	Gloucester
19	Lincoln
20	Hereford
21	Great Yarmouth
22	Hull
23	Boston
24	Southampton
25	Hadleigh
26	Wisbech
27	Shrewsbury
28	Oxford
29	Leicester
30	Cambridge

17th/18th century

The 17th and 18th centuries proved a low point for Britain's demography with no major structured survey of the nation's populations. The best estimate from this period is obtained from the hearth tax of 1662, which formed a survey of the number of hearths in each home. As with the Domesday survey, this did not form a direct measure of population but can be extrapolated to provide an estimate of the population of a town. The 1662 table gives the approximate order of the towns of the time from the survey. Most notable from a modern viewpoint is the fact that Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield do not make the top thirty, whereas within around 100 years they would become England's largest provincial cities. The 1750 table is again formed from estimates.

Rankings by year

1662^[9]

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	350,000
2	Norwich
3	York
4	Bristol
5	Newcastle
6	Exeter
7	Ipswich
8	Great Yarmouth
9	Oxford
10	Cambridge
11	Canterbury
12	Worcester
13	Deptford
14	Shrewsbury
15	Salisbury
16	Colchester
17	East Greenwich
18	Hull
19	Coventry
20	Chester
21	Plymouth
22	Portsmouth
23	King's Lynn
24	Rochester
25	Lincoln
26	Dover
27	Nottingham
28	Gloucester
29	Bury St Edmunds
30	Winchester

1750^[11]

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	675,000
2	Bristol	45,000
3	Birmingham	24,000
4	Liverpool	22,000
5	Manchester	18,000
6	Leeds	16,000
7	Sheffield	12,000

19th century

The Census Act 1800 resulted in Great Britain's first modern Census a year later, and other than 1941 a census has been taken every ten years since.^[12] The resulting populations of England's towns and cities clearly shows the effect of the Industrial Revolution on the urban population, particularly in the growth of the cities of the north and north-west. The data in the tables are taken from the censuses.

Rankings by year

1801

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	959,000
2	Manchester	90,000
3	Liverpool	80,000
4	Birmingham	74,000
5	Bristol	64,000
6	Leeds	53,000
7	Plymouth
8	Norwich
9	Bath
10	Portsmouth
11	Sheffield	31,000
12	Hull
13	Nottingham
14	Newcastle
15	Exeter
16	Leicester
17	Stoke-upon-Trent
18	York
19	Coventry
20	Ashton-under-Lyne
21	Chester
22	Dover
23	Great Yarmouth
24	Stockport
25	Shrewsbury
26	Wolverhampton
27	Bolton
28	Sunderland
29	Oldham
30	Blackburn

1861

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	2,804,000
2	Liverpool	443,900
3	Manchester	338,300
4	Birmingham	296,000
5	Leeds	207,200
6	Sheffield	185,200
7	Bristol	154,100
8	Plymouth[13]	113,300
9	Newcastle	109,300
10	Bradford	106,200
11	Stoke-upon-Trent	101,200
12	Hull	99,000
13	Portsmouth	94,500
14	Preston	83,000
15	Sunderland	80,300
16	Brighton	77,700
17	Norwich	74,500
18	Nottingham	74,500
19	Oldham	72,300
20	Bolton	70,400
21	Leicester	68,100
22	Blackburn	63,100
23	Wolverhampton	60,900
24	Stockport	54,700
25	Bath	52,500
26	Birkenhead	51,600
27	Southampton	47,000
28	Derby	43,100
29	Coventry	40,900
30	York	40,400

1881

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	3,814,600
2	Liverpool	552,400
3	Birmingham	400,800
4	Manchester	341,500
5	Leeds	309,100
6	Sheffield	284,400
7	Bristol	206,500
8	Bradford	183,000
9	Hull	154,300
10	Stoke-upon-Trent	152,500
11	Newcastle	145,200
12	Plymouth[13]	139,000
13	Portsmouth	128,000
14	Leicester	122,400
15	Sunderland	116,300
16	Nottingham	111,600
17	Oldham	111,300
18	Brighton	107,500
19	Bolton	105,400
20	Blackburn	104,000
21	Preston	96,500
22	Norwich	87,800
23	Birkenhead	83,300
24	Huddersfield	81,800
25	Derby	77,600
26	Wolverhampton	75,700
27	Halifax	73,600
28	Rochdale	68,900
29	Gateshead	65,900
30	Southampton	60,200

20th century

Measurement of the population of England's towns and cities during the 20th century is complicated by determining what forms a separate "town" and where its exact boundaries lie, with boundaries often being moved. The lists are those of the constituent towns and cities, as opposed to those of the district or conurbation. For example, Salford is measured separately to Manchester, and Gateshead to Newcastle. The only exception to this is London for which the measure is that of Greater London. See English cities by population for further discussion.

Rankings by year

1901

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	6,339,500
2	Liverpool	702,200
3	Manchester	543,900
4	Birmingham	522,200
5	Leeds	429,000
6	Sheffield	409,100
7	Bristol	329,400
8	Bradford	279,800
9	Plymouth[13]	263,600
10	Hull	240,300
11	Nottingham	239,700
12	Salford	221,000
13	Newcastle	215,300
14	Stoke-on-Trent	214,700
15	Leicester	211,600
16	Portsmouth	188,100
17	Bolton	168,200
18	Sunderland	146,100
19	Oldham	137,200
20	Blackburn	129,200
21	Brighton	123,500
22	Derby	114,800
23	Preston	113,000
24	Norwich	111,700
25	Birkenhead	110,900
26	Gateshead	109,900
27	Plymouth	107,600
28	Halifax	104,900
29	Southampton	104,800
30	South Shields	100,900
31	Burnley	97,000
32	Huddersfield	95,000
33	Wolverhampton	94,200
34	Stockport	92,800
35	Middlesbrough	91,300
36	Northampton	87,000
37	Walsall	86,400
38	Hartlepool	85,400
39	St Helens	84,400
40	Rochdale	83,100

1921

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	7,480,200
2	Birmingham	922,200
3	Liverpool	802,900
4	Manchester	730,000
5	Sheffield	490,600
6	Leeds	458,200
7	Bristol	377,000
8	Bradford	291,000
9	Hull	287,200
10	Newcastle	275,000
11	Nottingham	262,600
12	Portsmouth	247,300
13	Stoke-on-Trent	240,400
14	Leicester	234,100
15	Salford	234,000
16	Plymouth	210,000
17	Bolton	178,700
18	Southampton	161,000
19	Sunderland	159,100
20	Birkenhead	145,600
21	Oldham	145,000
22	Brighton	142,400
23	Middlesbrough	131,100
24	Derby	129,800
25	Coventry	128,200
26	Blackburn	126,600
27	Gateshead	125,100
28	Stockport	123,300
29	Wolverhampton	121,300
30	Norwich	120,700
31	South Shields	118,600
32	Preston	117,400
33	Huddersfield	110,100
34	Southend-on-Sea	106,000
35	Burnley	103,200
36	St Helens	102,600
37	Blackpool	99,600
38	Halifax	99,100
39	Walsall	96,900
40	Reading	92,300

1951

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	8,348,000
2	Birmingham	1,112,700
3	Liverpool	788,700
4	Manchester	703,100
5	Sheffield	512,900
6	Leeds	505,200
7	Bristol	442,300
8	Nottingham	306,100
9	Hull	299,100
10	Bradford	292,400
11	Newcastle	291,700
12	Leicester	285,200
13	Stoke-on-Trent	275,100
14	Coventry	258,200
15	Portsmouth	233,500
16	Plymouth	209,000
17	Sunderland	181,500
18	Southampton	178,300
19	Salford	178,200
20	Bolton	167,200
21	Wolverhampton	162,700
22	Brighton	156,500
23	Southend-on-Sea	151,800
24	Middlesbrough	147,300
25	Blackpool	147,200
26	Bournemouth	144,700
27	Birkenhead	142,500
28	Stockport	141,700
29	Derby	141,300
30	Huddersfield	129,000
31	Oldham	121,300
32	Norwich	121,200
33	Preston	119,300
34	Gateshead	115,000
35	Walsall	114,500
36	Reading	114,200
37	Blackburn	111,200
38	St Helens	110,300
39	Luton	109,200
40	York	105,400

1971

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	7,452,300
2	Birmingham	1,013,400
3	Liverpool	603,200
4	Manchester	543,800
5	Sheffield	516,000
6	Leeds	501,100
7	Bristol	426,200
8	Middlesbrough	395,500
9	Coventry	333,000
10	Nottingham	296,800
11	Bradford	294,500
12	Hull	284,700
13	Leicester	282,000
14	Wolverhampton	268,400
15	Stoke-on-Trent	263,600
16	Plymouth	246,900
17	Newcastle	221,400
18	Derby	219,300
19	Sunderland	215,700
20	Southampton	213,600
21	Portsmouth	204,300
22	Dudley	185,400
23	Walsall	184,400
24	West Bromwich	166,600
25	Brighton	163,900
26	Southend-on-Sea	162,400
27	Luton	160,700
28	Bolton	154,400
29	Blackpool	149,800
30	Bournemouth	149,000
31	Stockport	139,500
32	Birkenhead	138,100
33	Reading	133,400
34	Salford	131,300
35	Huddersfield	130,600
36	Northampton	126,300
37	Ipswich	122,700
38	Norwich	120,700
39	Oxford	110,600
40	Poole	106,600

1981

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	7,566,600
2	Birmingham	1,014,000
3	Liverpool	538,800
4	Sheffield	470,700
5	Leeds	445,200
6	Manchester	437,600
7	Bristol	413,900
8	Leicester	324,400
9	Hull	322,100
10	Coventry	318,700
11	Bradford	293,300
12	Nottingham	273,300
13	Stoke-on-Trent	272,400
14	Wolverhampton	263,500
15	Plymouth	238,600
16	Derby	218,000
17	Southampton	211,300
18	Newcastle	199,100
19	Sunderland	195,100
20	Reading	194,700
21	Dudley	186,500
22	Walsall	177,900
23	Portsmouth	174,200
24	Norwich	169,800
25	Preston	166,700
26	Luton	163,200
27	Middlesbrough	158,200
28	Southend-on-Sea	155,700
29	Northampton	154,200
30	West Bromwich	153,700
31	Huddersfield	147,800
32	Blackpool	146,300
33	Bolton	144,000
34	Bournemouth	142,800
35	Stockport	135,500
36	Brighton	134,600
37	Ipswich	129,700
38	Swindon	127,300
39	York	123,100
40	Poole	122,800

1991

Rank	Town	Pop'n
1	London	6,679,700
2	Birmingham	1,040,000
3	Liverpool	452,500
4	Sheffield	445,000
5	Leeds	432,000
6	Manchester	404,900
7	Bristol	367,000
8	Coventry	292,500
9	Leicester	280,000
10	Bradford	274,000
11	Nottingham	262,000
12	Newcastle	259,500
13	Stoke-on-Trent	245,000
14	Hull	242,000
15	Wolverhampton	237,000
16	Plymouth	236,000
17	Derby	214,000
18	Southampton	192,000
19	Sunderland	192,000
20	Dudley	186,000
21	Portsmouth	173,000
22	Walsall	171,000
23	Norwich	170,000
24	Northampton	166,000
25	Luton	165,000
26	Southend-on-Sea	154,000
27	Milton Keynes	148,000
28	Blackpool	145,000
29	Reading	142,900
30	Bolton	142,000
31	Middlesbrough	140,000
32	West Bromwich	140,000
33	Preston	140,000
34	Brighton	132,000
35	Stockport	130,000
36	Poole	130,000
37	Peterborough	129,000
38	Huddersfield	122,000
39	Ipswich	116,000
40	Telford	115,000

References

1. Cunliffe B. Wessex to AD 1000 1997
2. Pryor F. Britain BC 2003
3. De la Bedoyere G. Roman Britain: A New History 2006
4. Hingley G. A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons 2006
5. "Life in the 11th century". The Domesday Book Online.
6. "Great Domesday - Areas Covered". The National Archives.
7. "Domesday Book - Life in towns and villages". The National Archives.
8. "Gazetteer of markets and fairs in England and Wales". Institute of Historical Research.
9. W. G. Hoskins (1984). Local History in England. Longman, London & New York.
10. J. C. Russell, British Medieval Population
11. B. R. Mitchell. International historical statistics. Palgrave Macmillan.
12. "The Census, 1801-1901: Statistical Reports". The National Archives.
13. Includes Devonport

See also

• List of localities in England by population
• Demography of England - for the population of England at various points in history.