Census reference numbers.

[ImLostAgain]

I am just starting to research my family tree. I am pretty much having to do it from scratch as there is only one family member remaining and she is in her nineties.
Anyway the question I would like to ask is how do you read a census reference number. I have picked up little bits of information such as RG9 means it is the 1861 census. The rest of it is a mystery to me.

So if that is correct, in the following number RG9/1683 fo 25 p. 6, What parts of it are, the page number. the piece number, the class number and the folio number?
I am assuming that the fo and the p are folio and page but do they refer to the numbers to the left or right?

[NazNomad]

This might help you ... http://www.familyhist...ex.php?showtopic=2322

[ImLostAgain]

Hm, not really NazNomad. As I say I'm new to this. The reference numbers given in that post differ from the one I am trying to work on, inasmuch as they think PN means page number. Mine has the letter 'p' and the letters 'fo' as I mentioned.
Also I should say that the number I have quoted was given to me by a friend who did a class in genealogy, so maybe it's something specific to that class!! I'm not in any classes yet!

[carrot99]

Source Citation: Class: RG13; Piece: 316; Folio: 85; Page: 6.

That's the reference for the page where I found my grandad in the 1901 census. (not that I found him by that - the surname was sufficient for searching purposes.)

[dotty.]

RG 9 is the year, each town was given a 4 digit piece number like the 1683 above , within each town there were districts (enumeratioon disticts or EDs) these were numbered 1 to however many disticts a town had, within each district the pages have folio number,s which are stamped in the top right on alternate pages, and page numbers, which appear on the top left right but are printed with the form.
So to identify an exact page you would need:
RG9/1683 folio 25 page 6, a 'piece' can contain several enumeration districst and these are identifird by the pages at the start of each district that contain the enumerators statistics and the enumerators route.

[dotty.]

you could alsi add the schedule number, which is the chronilogical numbers allocared to each household

[ImLostAgain]

Thank you everyone. Excellent answers as usual.