Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, Electoral Registers, 1889-1970

General collection information

This collection includes electoral registers dated between 1854 and 1965 from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. The registers include the names of registered voters in the districts and their places of residence.

Voting rights changed during the 111 years covered by this collection, which is reflected in the registers. Some demographic groups aren't represented in the earlier registers because they didn't have the right to vote, including men who didn't own property and women. Registers weren't produced in 1916, 1917, or from 1940 to 1944 because of the two world wars.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include:

The information in each electoral register, produced annually, provides a snapshot of where your ancestor lived at a specific time. By searching for your ancestor in registers produced over several years, you can establish a timeline of their mobility. Did their address stay the same for a long time, or did they move frequently?

Collection in context

The electoral registers were created by municipal officials in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This collection includes images of the original documents, making them high quality primary sources. The original documents are housed at the Kensington and Chelsea archives in the Kensington Central Library.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, electoral registers only listed men who owned property. Universal male suffrage was instituted in 1918 and that same year, voting rights were given to women older than 30 and younger women who had attended a university. Voting rights were extended to all men and women aged 21 and older in 1928, and the voting age was lowered to age 18 in 1969.

Bibliography

Family Tree Resources. "About Electoral Registers And How To Use Them in Genealogy." Accessed 25 November 2022. https://www.familytreeresources.com/electoral-registers.html.

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. "Local studies and archives." Accessed 25 November 2022. https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/libraries-0/libraries-and-room-hire/local-studies-and-archives.