Bransford

1881 occupational structure of Bransford, Worcestershire, as reported by 1881 census

It was in 1894 that Bransford was separated from Leigh as an ecclesiastical parish and made into a civil parish of its own right.[6] Bransford was once devoted to pasture and had 2,366 acres of arable land as well as a further 1,062 separate acres of land.[6] There was once a clothing factory by the Teme, explaining why 7 women worked in dress in 1881.[9] There was also a snuff-mill, which then became a corn-mill.[6] When the clothing factory and snuff-mill disappeared, people became involved heavily in agriculture, which explains why in 1881 at least 46 people were engaged in agriculture as their occupation.[9] It was at this time that men were involved in agriculture, whilst women were working in occupations such as domestic services (12 women) and dress services (4 women). Ninety women that lived in Bransford had an unspecified occupation, which was representative of the time.[9] Today, there are 186 residents in employment.[10] 8 people now work in agriculture, compared to 46 in 1881. Wholesale and retail trade now has the highest level of works in Bransford, with 35 people (18.8% of employment) working in this field.[10] Human health and social work has the second highest level of employment in Bransford with jobs in education being third highest.[10] This shows a huge change from 1881 where the majority of jobs were in agriculture, mining and domestic services.

Total Population of Bransford Civil Parish, Worcestershire, as reported by the Census of Population from 1881 to 2011

The population of Bransford has steadily increased since 1881. There was a slight decrease in 1891 but then it continued to increase until 1911. In 1911, the population was at 263 but this then steeply dropped to 198 in 1921.[11] This was most likely due to World War 1 leading to a vast decrease in population. Since 1961, there has been a sharper increase in population, going from 267 to 389 today.[11] It is important to note that there was no census information between 1961 and 2001, so there may have been changes here that were not recorded. Today, the population may be increasing due to a growing population, as well as the growing number of businesses in Bransford. In 1881 there were 129 males and 128 females living in Bransford.[12] This has changed quite drastically today, as there are 266 males and 264 females.[1] Due to this rise in population there was an increase in housing, going from 62 houses in 1881[13] compared with the 171 households there are in Bransford today.[14]

The mean age in Bransford is 49.4 and the median age is 53. The largest age bracket is 45–59 years old, as 23.9% of people in Bransford are of this age.[15]