Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Bishops Lydeard is over 50.9, older than 89% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Bishops Lydeard, 24%. Its 935 households held 2,050 residents at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White British at 95% in the village. Lower than in 78% of UK towns: 6.1% of households live in a flat or apartment.
What the Census says about Bishops Lydeard’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Bishops Lydeard’s residents are under 50.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 90% of UK towns, at 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: nearly one in ten residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The census found that 9.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Bishops Lydeard.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Only 7.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Bishops Lydeard
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%.
5.3% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 74% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Somerset’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The share of one-person households is 32%, against 30% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.5%.
Households in detached houses: 38%, a higher share than 73% of UK towns
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
In Bishops Lydeard, 12% of households have no car or van, beside 24% across England’s towns. 6.1% of households live in a flat, less than in 78% of UK towns; 38% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Bishops Lydeard sits above 82% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%). The wider picture: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 63% of UK towns. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 9.4% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 69% of UK towns
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: 95% of Bishops Lydeard · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.2%). As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Where 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, Bishops Lydeard has 40%.
Only 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Bishops Lydeard
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
Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Bishops Lydeard comes in at 51%. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Locally, 9.6% of residents give unpaid care.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Bishops Lydeard, 36% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 14% have no qualification at all (18%).
Older than Bishops Lydeard: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishops Lydeard | 2,050 | — | 50.9 | 30% | 24% |
| Cotford St Luke | 2,411 | 1.3 mi | 36.9 | 12% | 39% |
| Norton Fitzwarren | 3,770 | 2.8 mi | 35.7 | 14% | 31% |
| Milverton | 1,112 | 3.8 mi | 53.9 | 30% | 22% |
| Taunton | 61,667 | 4.6 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 26% |
| Trull | 1,427 | 5.3 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 29% |
| Wiveliscombe | 2,316 | 5.6 mi | 51 | 29% | 23% |
| Wellington | 13,815 | 5.8 mi | 45 | 24% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Somerset’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Somerset (or England), summed the same way as Bishops Lydeard’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 Bishops Lydeard’s residents
What is the population of Bishops Lydeard?
The 2021 Census counted 2,050 people in Bishops Lydeard’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bishops Lydeard?
The median age was 50.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bishops Lydeard?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bishops Lydeard?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Bishops Lydeard good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bishops Lydeard’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.