Religion

There were national religious returns or censuses in 1829 and famously in 1851, but 1841 is less documented in historical records.

The British Isles certainly remained highly religious, and this influenced politics and regional cultures in countless ways. Roman Catholicism continued to be concentrated in its established areas – most notably in Ireland, where it had the allegiance of a large majority.

Elsewhere it was often found under the influence of older Catholic landowners, who had benefited from Catholic emancipation in 1829. These families were located in regions like Northumberland, the North Riding, Lancashire, Monmouthshire, or places like Husbands Bosworth in Leicestershire.

Roman Catholicism in England, Wales and Scotland was about to be transformed by the exodus from the Irish Famine of the 1840s, but the Irish-born population outside Ireland was already substantial.

In the Church of England. divisions between high and low church groups continued. The Gothic Revival, inspired by the architectural ideas of A.W.N. Pugin (who published his famous book Contrasts in 1836), influenced many. Much church building and restoration was already underway.

The Anglican Church was experiencing considerable reform at this time, for example affecting tithes, parish structures, church discipline, or the holding of more than one benefice. The influence of the old dissenting denominations (notably the Presbyterians, Quakers, Independents and Baptists) persisted, often with enlarging memberships around 1841.

Methodism continued to undergo schisms and reformations, with the Wesleyan Methodist Association being formed in 1835-6. This followed arguments about the powers of the Methodist Conference and the nature of Methodist worship.