POPULATION

The sharp drop in the population of Gisburn during the 1 9th Century (see below) was almost certainly due to the decline of the cottage weaving industry in the village. The figure for 1861 is misleading, as a total of 80 men were present in the Parish on the night of 7th April (whose usual home was elsewhere) and were recorded as attending the cattle market (41 cattle dealers, 22 drovers, I pig dealer, 16 others). The true population of Gisburn would have been 454. The increase in population between 1871 and 1881 was probably due to employment created by the opening of the railway. (See also Business and Employment section - page 8) Between 1971 and 1981 the population dropped quite dramatically, during which period, the school roll numbers fell in similar proportions. Between 1981 and 1991 school roll numbers began to increase again as more houses were built and consequently more people came to live in the village.

In 1851 there were 518 persons living in 119 houses (4.3 persons per house) and in 1991 447 people were occupying 167 houses which averages only 2.7 persons per house.

For information on registers and other genealogy resources see the Genealogy page.