Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0Shilbottle: 98% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 99% of UK towns
Nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 2% in Shilbottle. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 33% locally. Compared with other places, shared households of unrelated adults are scarce here: 1.5%, fewer than in 91% of UK towns. The village is home to 1,787 residents in 783 households, by the 2021 Census.
A median age of 46.2: Shilbottle is older than 63% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over trails 64% of UK towns: 20%. On the census count, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 95% of UK towns, at 6.2%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Shilbottle has 27% and 28%. The census found that 4.7% of adults are full-time students locally. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Shilbottle households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 57% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Northumberland’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Here, 30% of households are one person living alone. 27% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns.
Only 23% of households in Shilbottle live in a detached house
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 14% of households have no car or van in Shilbottle. Measured more widely, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
In Shilbottle, 2.2% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.3%). Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 97% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 82% of UK towns, at 56%
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 98% of Shilbottle · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Shilbottle, 38% of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married: 31%, a lower share than 61% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Married adults and civil partners: 49% here and 44% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 59 people.
27% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Shilbottle, 27%, and 18% have none, against 18%.
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Shilbottle
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shilbottle | 1,787 | — | 46.2 | 20% | 27% |
| Alnwick | 8,432 | 2.6 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 20% |
| Warkworth | 1,412 | 3.5 mi | 63.1 | 46% | 11% |
| Amble | 5,852 | 4.9 mi | 51.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Felton | 1,270 | 4.9 mi | 55 | 29% | 23% |
| Longhoughton | 1,173 | 5 mi | 45.5 | 18% | 30% |
| South Broomhill | 1,520 | 5.6 mi | 39 | 12% | 16% |
| Longframlington | 1,357 | 6.5 mi | 55.5 | 32% | 20% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Northumberland’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Northumberland (or England), summed the same way as Shilbottle’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Shilbottle’s residents
What is the population of Shilbottle?
The 2021 Census counted 1,787 people in Shilbottle’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shilbottle?
The median age was 46.2 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shilbottle?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 2.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shilbottle?
38% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Shilbottle good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shilbottle’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.