Tithe Surveys are among the sources most frequently consulted by local historian and geographers. They provide millions of items of details information about parish and field boundaries, land use, farming, roads and rural settlements. They are a comprehensive source for names of owners and occupiers of land and may be used to local householders listed in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. Many other aspects of agriculture, industry and rural society are recorded in parish and township files kept by the Tithe Commission.
This important new book explains the nature of tithes and the deepening conflict between tithe owners and payers over the right to collect tithe in kind as grain, hay, milk, lambs and piglet - a tenth of actual produce from the soil. From 1816 onwards, tithe' payers grievances were aggravated by the depressed state of agriculture. After four unsuccessful attempts at legislation, the Tithe Commutation Act was passed in 1836, establishing a Commission to assess the value of tithes in over 11,000 parishes, and to apportion amount among different parcels of land. Payments were converted into annual rent charges that fluctuated according to the prevailing prices of crops. The enormous task was accomplished in a remarkably short time and the maps and schedules were fuller, by far, than any previous record.
The authors have been recognised as the leading authorities on the subject since the mid 1980s. Well aware of the needs of the local historian, as well as the post-graduate researcher, they carefully examine and illustrate the different documents that make up the tithe surveys, and they explain how evidence may be abstracted and analysed and used to identify field systems, plot categories of land use, measure sizes of estates and farms and describe farming practices and elements of rural society.
This is the book that local historians have been waiting for. It fills a great gap in their armoury of guides to source material. Genealogists too will welcome an authoritative explanation of an under-utilised source, as will social and economic historians.
Contents:
List of Figures
Preface
Introduction
1. The Nature of Tithes
2. The Tithe Commutation Act of 1836
3. Tithe Maps, Apportionments and Files
4. The Accuracy of the Tithe Surveys
5. Tithe Surveys as a Historical Source
- Boundaries
- Land Use
- Farming
- Landowners and Occupiers
- Rural Society
Guide to Further Reading
Notes
Index
