Composing a national picture from local scenes: New and future insights into the fertility transition

This contribution examines the relationship between local population studies and the national picture by considering the example of the Victorian fertility transition in England and Wales. It begins by summarising the history of research into the fertility decline. It then describes a recent project, the Atlas of Fertility Decline, which has used the newly available machine-readable data on individuals from the censuses from 1851 to 1911 to estimate fertility at the level of the registration sub-district. The results from the project can be used to highlight geographical variations in fertility at the regional and local level. Explaining the patterns observed, though, will require detailed local studies. New resources that are being opened up for researchers interested in such issues in their local community, in their county, in their region or in the nation as a whole, make the pursuit and attainment of answers possible. New light can be thrown on local scenes that will each add a piece of the jigsaw which, when completed, will bring a whole new level of understanding of the complex puzzle that is the fertility transition in England and Wales.