Census from 1961 reveals how life has changed in Norfolk
Prince of Wales road in Norwich pictured in 1961 - Credit: Archant
An area of Norfolk once had the highest proportion of outdoor toilets in the country, newly digitised data from the 1961 census has revealed.
Almost 60pc of households in Mitford and Launditch had lavatories separate from their properties when the survey was taken six decades ago.
Mitford and Launditch was the name given to an old grouping of parishes which encircled Dereham.
It contained dozens of villages including Scarning, Mattishall, Shipdham, Yaxham and Swanton Morley.
Out of 1,400 areas across the country, Smallburgh - in what is now North Norfolk - also ranked highly for not having indoor toilets (20th), as did Depwade in South Norfolk (22nd).
The Dereham and Fakenham Industries factory in Fakenham - Credit: Archant
Wayland Rural District, which encompassed Attleborough and Watton, placed 27th, with 45pc of loos outside the home.
Mitford and Launditch also ranks highly (20th) for households not having fixed baths.
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More than half (53.8pc) of properties in the area did not have a bath with waste-water plumbing.
They would instead have used table-top or standalone tubs, filled and emptied using buckets.
Depwade Rural District, which included Long Stratton and surrounding parishes, features near the top of the list again (21st).
A look at property ownership in 1961 shows renting was largely the norm.
Bedford Street in Norwich pictured in 1961 - Credit: Archant Library
Only 42pc of households owned their own home and, in several areas of central London, ownership was lower than 10pc.
By the time of the 2011 census - 50 years on - nationwide home ownership had risen to 64pc.
The biggest upsurge in Norfolk over that period was in Swaffham Regional District, which saw a jump of 46.2pc.
There were also significant increases Mitford and Launditch (40.4pc more homeowners), Walsingham (40.1pc) and Bungay (39.8pc).
Some of the smallest growths in homeownership came in Great Yarmouth County Borough (5.2pc), Southwold (10.6pc), Lowestoft (10.9pc) and Wisbech (13.8pc).
As for population, Thetford Municipal Borough went through one of the most dramatic changes between 1961 and 2011.
Magdalen Street, Norwich, pictured in 1961 - Credit: Archant Library
Its total number of residents rose from 5,399 to 20,632 over half a century, the 10th-biggest upswing in the country.
The populations in Lothingland Regional District and Downham Market Urban District went up by 179pc and 175pc respectively.
A furniture sale taking place on Exchange Street, Norwich, in 1961 - Credit: Archant Library
Dereham High Street pictured in 1961 - Credit: Archant Library
