This survey became known as griffiths valuation after richard griffith who was the director of the office at that time. The ordnance survey os maps and town plans used by the team working on griffiths primary valuation during 18471864 still exist, marked up and annotated by those working on the primary valuation and subsequently by valuation office personnel. Griffiths primary valuation of ireland archives from. There are four main sets, the tithe applotment books about which i have already blogged about, see under march 26, 2014 below, griffiths valuation, the valuation office house and tenure books, and the valuation office cancelled books.
Griffiths valuation revision books, cancelled books and. The primary valuation of ireland or griffiths valuation carried out between 1848. Thus began an assessment of the whole country, county by county by sir richard griffith. How to get the most from this valuable source, now freely available online at the national archives of ireland.
Revision books, cancelled books and current land books are resources for advanced study of griffith s valuation. They are arranged by county then alphabetically by barony, parish or townland. All of these books helped to inform the publication of griffiths valuation, which was a comprehensive assessment of the rental value of irish lands and property. Initially the country was divided into unions and this was adjusted to create smaller unit sizes, so that by 1850 there were 163. Valuation books going deeper into griffiths valuation. The land valuation books the valuation office has two related sets of records which are very valuable to the family historian. Griffiths valuation, or primary valuation of ireland, was executed under the direction of sir richard griffith to provide a basis for determining taxes.
Is there more in griffiths valuation than just names. Val1 of 1828 to 1840 was followed by a primary valuation of ireland 1848 to 1864, better known as griffiths valuation. They always predate the published version of griffiths valuation. House, field, and tenure books online house, field, and tenure books on film griffiths valuation online cork gen tenure books not online at the national archives. The primary valuation also known as griffiths valuation was published between 1847 and 1864. I also noticed that in the original handwriting in the house book, widowed women were identified. Land records ireland tithe, griffiths valuation, estate. Another online version of griffiths valuation uses later editions of ordnance survey maps that date from forty to eighty years afterwards. Reading griffiths valuation office books vs printed. For example, the perambulation books for county cork predate publication of griffiths valuation in 1848. All the valuations through griffiths were enumerated by civil parish. Firstly, the pre1836 valuation of the northern counties, based on the. The primary valuation of ireland or griffiths valuation carried out between 1848 and 1864 to determine liability to pay the poor rate for the support of the poor and destitute within each poor law union provides detailed information on where people lived in midnineteenth century ireland and the property they possessed. It was made to determine how much money the uk government could expect from collecting rates and so it was designed to make a record of all the properties in ireland.
Perambulation books recorded the visits made by the valuers from late 1844 to the early 1860s, according to area. Griffiths valuation, the most detailed guide to people and property in mid19th century ireland, has gone online for free for the first time. In this collection you can find several different manuscript records from the valuation office in ireland. They did so by keeping manuscript copies of the original valuation books and constantly updating them. All 3 have maps which indicate the holding they refer to. The field books, house books and various other books were. The primary valuation, also known as griffiths valuation, was the first, fullscale. General valuation of rateable property in ireland, 18471864 and griffiths. Griffiths valuation does not list every person who lived in ireland in the 1840s1860s. In his 1852 edition, instructions to the valuators and surveyors for the uniform valuation of lands and tenements in ireland reprint.
Griffiths valuation house books are the notebooks that were used by valuators to record information on the majority of the buildings of ireland, be it dwelling house, outoffice or even lavatory in order to place a rateable value on the building and these records formed part of the informationgathering process required for the completion of the. Valuation office records the national archives of ireland. There are printed and indexed compilation of these valuations. General valuation of rateable property in ireland, 18471864 and griffiths valuation. Griffiths valuation of ireland index extracts for all counties in ireland. The griffiths valuation or the primary valuation is a much used and valuable source in genealogical research. These records are the original notebooks that were used when the property valuations were conducted by the office of the general valuation of ireland. It is a detailed record of irish landholding surveyed from 1846, and published between 1847 and 1864. This involved establishing the value of all privately held lands and buildings in both rural and urban areas in order to figure a rental rate for each unit of property. What else can griffiths valuation tell you about your irish ancestors. Griffiths valuation is fully searchable online, free of charge on the ask about ireland website. If youre new to irish land records, or just want a good overview of what this. Valuation office records griffiths and tithe books.
After the change in the basis of assessment in 1844, the main categories of valuers notebooks continued to be known as house books and field books, but the distinction became more than a little blurred, with information on occupiers appearing in both. Valuation house book 16 nov 1848, leitrim townland, leitrim parish, co. Places name books thoms search tips upload about gv maps read more. Explanation of griffiths valuation and the householders index. Valuation, including field books, house books, mill books, quarto books and. Copied and typed in 1989 and entered into computer and printer on 25 may 1997. Griffiths valuation is one of the most important sources to irish local and family historians since it is the most comprehensive household survey that survives for the midnineteenth century, providing an insight into households in the period between the famine and the start of civil registration in 1864. Ireland xo insight griffiths valuation and cancelled books.
Griffiths valuation archives timeline genealogy ireland. Unions are no longer in use as an administrative unit. At some point between that valuation date and october 1851, the date of the published valuation for kilnaughtin, thomass name was scratched out in the house book and the name of mary mahony was substituted and the published griffiths lists mary. This collection is an index of ireland land valuation records dating from 1831 to 1856. Published between 1847 and 1864 it provides a detailed county by county record. The union was introduced as the most basic unit of administration under the poor law system in 1838 as the barony and parish units were felt to be unsatisfactory because of their unequal sizes. There is a printed valuation book for each barony or poor law union in the country showing the names of occupiers of land and buildings, the names of persons from whom these were leased and the amount and value of the property held. On griffiths valuation, the numbers and letters of reference to the maps are the connection between the valuation and the accompanying ordnance survey map. The griffiths valuation of ireland was a systematic survey of all of ireland. Rather, it lists only the householder, or that person recognized as the principal owner, renter, or lessee of a house or property. The main sources for records of place are griffiths valuation, the tithe applotment books, estate papers and maps. Unlike griffiths valuation they do not cover cities or towns.
The survey was used to determine the amount of tax each person should pay towards the. Griffiths valuation and the tithe applotment books described and explained. Find out what additional information the valuation books, field and house notebooks etc. The tithe applotment books, 18231837 were compiled approximately 2040 years prior to griffiths valuation gv, depending upon when the county valuation was published and or had the tithe responsibilities recorded. Irelands valuation office conducted its first survey of property ownership in ireland from 1848 to 1864. I will return to some of the above at a later stage. The tithe applotment books are available online, free of charge on the national archives of ireland website.
Griffiths valuation 184764 was the third survey by the valuation office to calculate what taxes should be charged. Griffiths valuation history and genealogy research by. These give details of all changes in the holdings from the. The tithe applotment books were compiled between 1823 and 1838 as a survey of land in each civil parish to determine the payment of tithes a religious tax. The term griffiths valuation books covers the library of materials created by the valuation office both before and after publication of the primary valuation of tenements in the mid 1800s. Griffiths valuation house books are the notebooks that were used by valuators to record information on the majority of the buildings of ireland, be it dwelling house, outoffice or even lavatory in order to place a rateable value on the building and these records formed part of the informationgathering process required for the completion of the primary valuation of ireland. It is still in existance and has in its possession the original set of notebooks used by the griffiths valuation surveyors these are the field books, the house books and the tenure books. The griffiths valuation for county mayo was published between 1855 and 1857. After that, properties were valued annually from 1864 until the early 1930s the annual valuation revision books proni reference. Before 2003, no complete set existed, simply because no archive or library had the complete records. The records of this document provide a glimpse of occupiers of land in the immediate post famine period. The tax collectors had to keep an account of these changes. The valuation office was set up to carry out the original primary valuation.
There is a printed valuation book for each barony or poor law union in the country, showing the names of occupiers of land and. These books can be very useful for finding ancestors who. All irish records free until march 7th its not a single document griffiths valuation includes over 300 books and original maps. The pages of the manuscript books, apart from having an extra column, headed observations, are identical to the pages of griffiths valuation. In general, each townland is surrounded by a thick line on the map, with the numbered. Each of the surveys overlaps in time, but produced a unique set of records. Use this form to search for a particular family name in griffiths valuation. Primary valuation the primary valuation, also known as griffiths valuation, was the first, fullscale valuation of property in ireland and details of property with valuations were published between 1847 and 1864.
My focus in this section will be the primary valuation, but a look at the cancelled books used to compile the griffiths valuation could be invaluable as well. A printed and indexed compilation of these valuations, known as general valuation of rateable property in ireland, 18471864 or griffiths valuation is also. This collection houses several types of manuscript records from the valuation office in ireland. Revision books, cancelled books and current land books are resources for advanced study of griffiths valuation. They are arranged by county then alphabetically by parish or townland.