ED, Institution or Vessel

This may have been asked before, but is there an index available that
would explain the number next to "ED, Institution or Vessel" in the
census?

I have a Charles COX, born 1793 in Aston Cantlow, in the 1871 census
he is working as a servant in Marylebone, and the "ED, Institution or
Vessel" is classed as 12.

What would a 12 actually be?

Astral Voyager...

The number of the enumeration district. If you have access to Ancestry you
can see what was contained in it by going to:

Jenny M Benson...

ED stands for Enumeration District, so your Cox was living in the area

Jenny M Benson...

I meant to add that sometimes an ED would be just one vessel or
institution such as a large school or workhouse, in which case the name
of the vessel or institution would be used instead of an ED number.

covered by the 12th Enumeration District. Incidentally, the EDs
changed from one Census to the next, so he may or may not be in the same
number ED in other years, whether or not he is at the same address.

If you select the Census year then, instead of entering search details,
scroll down the page to the list of counties, you can select the county
then the Civil Parish and then view a description of the ED.

ED, Institution or Vessel - Question