England & Wales 1921 Census regional free access hubs

Question

(Only of interest to a few fellow British persons, sorry.)

Free (online) access to the England & Wales 2021 census will be available at The National Archives at Kew, Manchester Central Library, and the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth from 6th January 2022.

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/regional-hubs-to-offer-free-online-access-to-1921-census/

Comments

(Only of interest to a few fellow British persons, sorry.)

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Why would it be of interest only to the British?  If it is available online, then non-British could also access it, yes?

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I read this as free access only being available on-site at those locations.  Online access (paid) is available through find-my past - still cheaper unless you happen to live within commuting distance of Kew, Manchester or Aberystwyth.

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Ah, there's a catch.  You're required to go to those places and log on to Findmypast there, on their terminals. Then its free...  I could go to Aberystwyth a few times, but to be honest that would cost more in fuel than getting a short subscription to Findmypast.  And they've put up so much money to get the census copied it only seems fair that we repay them.  Money is what makes the Genealogy World go round.

PS Just had a look at Findmypast's info and there will be a charge of £ 3.50 per image.

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Ok, then it's not the interest that is the issue (because I am extremely interested), but accessibility.   Gotcha.

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Very much agree with Joe. Personally there isn't that much I could find from the 1921 census.  We already have the 1939 register, The cost of travel to Kew would be far more than the FindmyPast charge for several entries.

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The family I need 1921 for is unfindable in 1939 with the small amount of info I currently have.  Plus, the father was deceased before 1939, but I don't know when.  (I am hanging a lot of hope on the 1921 census.)

Answer 1

Thank you! Sounds great, But:  

The British national archives site says

" Tuesday 30 November 2021-Today we can announce two regional hubs that will provide free online access to the 1921 Census of England and Wales from 6 January 2022. The census will be available online via our commercial partner Findmypast and will be free to access in this way at The National Archives, in Kew. In addition, visitors to the Manchester Central Library and the National Library of Wales will be able to access the 1921 Census of England and Wales via the Findmypast website for free following its publication next year."

Find My Past says " How much will the census cost? £2.50 for every record transcript and £3.50 for every original record image.  This will cover the cost of digitising and transcribing the 18,235,242 images created from the records supplied exclusively to us by The National Archives. It means these precious records are accessible, commitment-free, for everyone."

This sounds a lot like you can search the census for free, but you can't see any records without paying

Comments

No, free digital images of the 2021 census will be available at Kew, Manchester & Aberystwyth.

(Hence why I said only of interest to a few - either those nearby, or those already planning a trip.)

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Your 'only of interest to a few' made sense after I looked more closely at the British Archives website.

I will be in Manchester next summer just flying out of the airport but won't have any time available to go to the library.

I imagine that at some later date, the records will be available at a lesser cost on FMP.

Answer 2

I live about 2 hours drive from either of these places but unless I want to go for other reasons I doubt it will be cheaper to go to the archive than use Find My Past from home.

Even though I get access to some things via the National Library of Wales it will not include these.