Tithe Records: A Detailed
Examination
Domestic Information Leaflet
41
©Crown Copyright 2002
1. The History Of Tithes
Originally, tithes were payments in kind (crops, wool, milk etc.)
comprising an agreed proportion of the yearly profits of cultivation or
farming, and made by parishioners for the support of their parish church
and its clergy. In theory, tithes were payable on (i) all things actually
arising from the ground and subject to annual increase - grain, wood,
vegetables etc.; (ii) all things nourished by the ground - the young of
cattle, sheep etc., and animal produce such as milk, eggs and wool; and
(iii) the produce of man's labour, particularly the profits from mills and
fishing. Such tithes were termed respectively predial, mixed and personal
tithes. Tithes were also divided into great and small tithes; generally
speaking, corn, grain, hay and wood were considered great tithes, and all
other predial tithes together with all mixed and personal tithes were
classed as small tithes. It was common, but by no means universal, for the
great tithes to be payable to the rector and the small tithes to the vicar
of the parish.
At the dissolution of the monasteries, not only much church land but in
many cases also the accompanying rectorial tithes passed into lay
ownership. These tithes became the personal property of the new owners or
lay impropriators. Usually a vicar continued to have spiritual oversight
of the parish and to receive its vicarial tithes.
From early times money payments began to be substituted for payments in
kind, a tendency further stimulated by enclosures, particularly the
parliamentary enclosures of the 18th century. Enclosures were often made
in order to improve the land and its yield, and had they proceeded without
some arrangements respecting tithes, the rectors, vicars and lay owners of
the tithes would have received an automatically increased income, as
indeed they did when cultivation was improved without preliminary
enclosure. One object of the Enclosure Acts was to get rid of the
obligation to pay tithes. This could be done in one of two ways: by the
allotment of land in lieu of tithes, or by the substitution either of a
fixed money payment or of one which varied with the price of corn (hence
the name corn rents applied to payments in lieu of tithes). The limits of
the land allotted, or of the land charged with a money payment, were
generally delineated on a map attached to the Enclosure Award. For more
details, see the leaflet on Enclosure
Awards
2. Tithe Commutation From 1836
Statutory enclosure was a purely local affair, prompted by local
landowners. Although much of the country was covered, in 1836 tithes were
still payable in the majority of parishes in England and Wales. Scotland
and Ireland have a different history: the Acts cited in this leaflet did
not apply there. By 1836, the government of the day had decided upon the
commutation of tithes (i.e. the substitution of money payments for
payments in kind) throughout the country. The Bill received Royal Assent
on 13 August 1836; three Tithe Commissioners were appointed, and the
process of commutation began. Although the Tithe Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will
IV, c.71) is a long and complicated piece of legislation, the underlying
principle was the simple one of substituting for the payment of tithes in
kind corn rents of the same sort as were already payable in many parishes
under the authority of a local Enclosure Act. These new corn rents, known
as tithe rentcharges, were not subject to local variation, but varied
according to the price of corn calculated on a septennial average for the
whole country. Existing corn rents were left unaffected: they continued to
be paid according to the varied provisions of the local Acts which created
them.
3. Tithe Files (IR 18 )
The first task of the Commissioners was to discover to what extent
commutation had already taken place. Enquiries were directed to every
parish or township listed in the census returns. The results of these
enquiries are to be found in the Tithe Files , which cover the whole of
England and Wales and not only those places where tithes remained
uncommuted by 1836. The files, which have been heavily 'weeded', include
any surviving correspondence of the Commissioners and show the nature of
the proceedings in the course of commutation. They contain the report of
the Assistant Commissioner who conducted the various meetings in the
district, and the draft of the award when one was made. Some of the files
also contain correspondence and drafts relating to later proceedings under
the Tithe Acts - for example, the exchange of glebe land, the sale of
tithe barns, the apportionment and redemption of tithe rentcharge. When
there was an agreement between the parties (see Awards and Agreements
below), the files are not likely to contain very much of interest. The
correspondence and reports of meetings leading up to a compulsory award,
on the other hand, are frequently instructive, as are some of the files
relating to the more uncertain payments in the nature of tithes which were
ultimately ruled to lie outside the scope of the Tithe Acts. The
correspondence sheds a good deal of light upon the circumstances of some
of the clergy in the early years of the nineteenth century and the
attitudes of their parishioners. Other files contain information on such
matters as enclosures and explain the limitations or the absence of an
apportionment.
The initial process in the commutation of tithes in a parish was an
agreement between the tithe-owners and landowners or, in default of
agreement, an award by the Tithe Commissioners. Generally the next stage
was the apportionment of payments, and the substance of the preceding
agreement or award was then recited in the preamble of the instrument of
apportionment. Consequently, a reference to the Awards and Agreements (TITH 2 ) will provide little more information than can
be found in the apportionment (see Tithe
Apportionments below). Such interest as the preliminary documents
afford lies only in such points as whether the parties acted by themselves
or by attorney, and the signature of the parties: the kind of material, in
fact, that may interest the family historian and has rarely any other
significance.
When an award was not followed by an apportionment because the
rentcharge was subsequently extinguished by merger and/or redemption (see
Deeds of Merger and Redemptions below), the awards were filed separately
and known as Special Awards (IR 106 ).
When the landowner was also the tithe-owner, a situation was created in
which an individual was effectively liable to pay tithes to himself. Such
a situation was usually resolved by merging the tithes (or tithe
rentcharge) in the land, that is to say, annihilating the liability to pay
tithes by virtue of being also entitled to receive them. (For a more
detailed explanation of the legal term merger, see e.g. volume 2 of
Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law, 2nd edition, 1977). Although
unity of possession was the most common cause of merger, the Tithe Acts
provided for merger under certain other circumstances also. Provision was
made for mergers to be confirmed under the seal of the Tithe
Commissioners. Many Declarations of Merger (TITH 3 ) were executed under various provisions of the
Acts, thereby making the lands free of rentcharge liability, until by the
Tithe Act 1936 all tithe rentcharge was extinguished (see The Tithe Act
1936 below). Merger, whether of tithes or of tithe rentcharge, might take
place before apportionment, and in such cases the merger may have been
effected by the original agreement or award and not by a separate deed.
The instrument under which merger was effected may be important to
establish liability for chancel repairs (see section 14).
In most cases, the principal record of the commutation of tithes in a
parish under the Tithe Act 1836 is the Tithe Apportionment . Strictly
speaking, the tithe apportionment and the tithe map (see Tithe Maps below)
together constitute a single document, but they have been separated to
facilitate use and storage.
Readers normally consult microfilm copies of the tithe apportionments,
for preservation reasons. To find the document reference using the PRO’s
online catalogue
(PROCAT), go to the search screen, type the place-name in the first box,
and IR 29 in the third box, leaving the second box empty.
Most apportionments follow the general pattern set out in the
instructions which were issued at the time. The standard form of
apportionment contains columns for the name(s) of the landowner(s) and
occupier(s) (because until the passing of the Tithe Act 1891 the payment
of tithe rentcharge was the owner's liability); the number, acreage, name
or description, and state of cultivation of each tithe area; the amount of
rentcharge payable, and the name(s) of the tithe-owner(s). The
apportionment opens with a preamble reciting the names of the
tithe-owners, the circumstances in which they owned the tithes, and
whether the amount of rentcharge to be apportioned was the subject of an
agreement between the landowners and the tithe-owners or of a compulsory
award made by the Tithe Commissioners. The preamble usually contains, too,
statistics as to the area and state of cultivation of the lands in the
tithe district; the extent of the land subject to tithes and of lands, if
any, exempt on various grounds from payment of tithes; and the area
covered by commons, roads etc. It concludes with a statement showing the
respective numbers of bushels of wheat, barley and oats which would have
been obtained if one-third of the aggregate amount of rentcharge had been
invested in the purchase of each of those commodities (Tithe Act 1836,
s.57) at the prices prescribed by the Tithe Act 1837, s.7. The detailed
apportionment of the aggregate tithe rentcharge then follows. A rentcharge
is set out against each unit of charge, termed a tithe area. The amount of
the charge is the par value, not the amount actually paid, which varied
from year to year. The annual value of tithe rentcharge was ascertained
and published yearly (Tithe Act 1836, s.56), and tables were issued from
1837 onwards which enabled the precise payment due to be calculated for
the par value of any amount of rentcharge.
By the Tithe Act 1839, ss.2 and 4, the Tithe Commissioners could
confirm Special Apportionments (IR 97 ) of certain charges attaching to lands subject to
tithes, such as liability for chancel repairs (see section
14).
7. Altered Apportionments
In a few parishes, properties have remained undivided from generation
to generation, but such instances have become increasingly rare. Over much
of the country, changes in ownership have been numerous, and these changes
are reflected particularly in the altered apportionments. Historically,
the interest of these documents is limited, especially as the altered
apportionment was sometimes not formally made until several years after
the change in ownership. Indeed, many changes in ownership were not
followed by an altered apportionment at all, informal and local agreements
being made between tithe-owners and landowners. Until 1936, altered
apportionments were laced up with the original apportionment, unless their
bulk necessitated a separate roll. Some are to be found with the
associated maps. After 1936, altered apportionments were filed separately
and called Orders for Apportionment (IR 94 ) by way of distinction.
By the Tithe Act 1860, s.34, the Commissioners were empowered to
determine the parish in respect of which tithe rentcharge ought to have
been charged where land had been made chargeable in more than one parish.
This power was later extended by the Tithe Act 1936. Overlap Orders
concerning such determinations from 1928 onwards are preserved separately
in IR 96 .
8. Cases Where No Apportionment Was Made
There were a good many districts in which, although the tithes were
commuted under the provisions of the 1836 Act, no apportionment was made.
This was either because the amount involved was negligible or because
there was a Special Award (see section 4)
and/or the redemption or merger of the tithe rentcharges (see section 5 and
section
12). By this means the expense of a formal apportionment and of the
preparation of a map was avoided.
9. Tithe Maps (IR 30 )
The Tithe Maps are by no means as uniform as the apportionments (see section 6),
varying greatly in scale, accuracy and size. At the outset, the
Commissioners had attempted to secure a uniform and high standard. Many
skilled land surveyors were available, but the expense of any survey had
to be met by the landowners, and it soon became obvious that as in most
cases there was no suitable map already in existence, insistence upon a
fixed standard would retard the progress of commutation. Concessions
therefore had to be made, and when the 1836 Act was amended in the
following year a provision was inserted to the effect that, whilst every
tithe map should be signed by the Commissioners, a map or plan should not
be deemed evidence of the quantity of the land, or treated as accurate,
unless it was sealed as well as signed by the Commissioners (Tithe Act
1837, s.1). Approximately 1,900 only of the tithe maps - about one-sixth
of the whole - were sealed by the Tithe Commissioners, and it is these
alone - called first-class maps - which can be accepted as accurate. The
unsealed (or second-class) maps constitute a very mixed collection -
indeed, some are little more than topographical sketches.
In many cases, discrepancies between apportionment and map subsequently
created difficulties in the administration of payments and redemptions. At
the time of the survey, when all the landowners concerned were well
acquainted with the ground, the exact area of a piece of land or its
precise delineation on a map might have appeared of little significance.
The matter assumed more importance as time went on, particularly when
readily-identifiable tithe areas vanished as a result of later
developments. It is unnecessary to discuss in detail the problems of
interpreting a tithe map; but it is well to bear in mind that reliance
cannot be placed upon the area of individual enclosures stated in an
apportionment or computed from the tithe map, unless the map is
sealed.
The numbers of the tithe areas on the map correspond to those in the
schedules to the apportionment. These numbers are not consecutive. In
order to facilitate reference, most tithe apportionments of any size have
been supplemented by a numerical key showing the page of the apportionment
upon which each tithe area appears (these are purely for convenience of
reference and form no part of the original documents). Even so, there are
traps for the unwary. The same series of tithe area numbers may be
duplicated upon a tithe map, due, in most cases, to the fact that more
than one township is included in the same tithe district. But there are
some anomalies and duplications that are not easily explained. Again,
different series of numbers may be differentiated by letters or some other
sign, either in the original apportionment or in subsequent altered
apportionments, as, for example, 22, 22a, 22Aa, A22. Confusion may easily
result if care is not taken to observe the absolute correspondence of the
number in the apportionment with the number on the map.
A number of tithe maps were so heavily used that they fell rapidly into
a state of disrepair. Some of these maps were copied by the Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries, and in such cases it is these copies rather
than the original maps which are now in IR 30 . The original maps, together with a few drafts
and earlier versions of tithe maps are preserved as Tithe Maps
Supplementary (IR 77 ). Although the maps in the two series are not
always identical, many of those in the supplementary series are in poor
condition and should not be consulted unless the maps in IR 30 fail to provide the required information. Some are
unfit for production.
The tithe maps have been partially copied to microfiche (English
counties alphabetically up to and including Middlesex) and readers
requiring maps for these counties normally consult the microfiche copies,
for preservation reasons. To find the document reference using the PRO’s
online catalogue
(PROCAT), go to the search screen, type the place-name in the first box,
and IR 30 in the third box, leaving the second box empty.
Ordnance Survey maps used by the tithe authorities to record the
boundaries of tithe districts and other information relating to tithe
rentcharge etc. are to be found in IR 93 and IR 105 .
10. Boundary Awards (TITH 1 )
Sometimes, particularly in the early stages of commutation, it was
necessary for the Commissioners to ascertain and define ancient boundaries
between parishes or townships, or to establish new boundary lines, in
order to resolve disputes between landowners. These Boundary Awards, made
under the Tithe Acts 1839 and 1840, are usually accompanied by a plan and
often include schedules of lands giving names of owners and occupiers.
11. Extraordinary Tithe Rentcharge
As the value of the produce from hops and fruit was greater than that
from most other agricultural produce, lands cultivated as market gardens,
orchards etc., were subject to a separate payment in addition to the
normal tithe rentcharge. This charge, called an extraordinary tithe
rentcharge, was payable only during years when the land was so cultivated.
Such lands were to be found in sixteen counties, but the majority lay in
Kent (almost half of them), Sussex and Herefordshire. The Extraordinary
Tithe Redemption Act 1886 provided for the cessation of this extraordinary
charge and for its capital value to be ascertained and certified by the
Commissioners. The land was thereafter charged with the payment of an
annual rentcharge at the rate of 4% per annum on the certified capital
value until the charge was redeemed.
The basic documents in respect of these districts, equivalent to the
tithe maps and apportionments for 'ordinary' districts, are known as
Certificates of Capital Value (IR 95 ). A list of the certificates of capital value
issued under the 1886 Act was published for Parliament (House of Commons
1890, LV, 353). Each certificate has a map (usually attached, but
sometimes filed with the District Record Map: see section 13),
which shows those lands subject to the extraordinary rentcharge.
In 1897, a further Act was passed to clarify the intentions of the 1886
Act. Payments under both these Acts were subsequently extinguished by the
Tithe Act 1936 and replaced by terminable annuities.
Prior to the Tithe Act 1936 (see section 13),
various Acts made provision for the liability to pay tithe rentcharge to
be extinguished by redemption of the charge. The Tithe Act 1846 (9 &
10 Vic. c.73) was the first to make such provision. Until 1918, redemption
could be effected only by payment of a lump sum; such redemptions are
recorded in the Registers of Certificates of Redemption of Tithe
Rentcharge by Lump Sum (IR 109 ). The Tithe Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c.54)
made provision for the redemption of tithe rentcharge by means of
terminable annuity payments, initially for a period not exceeding 50
years, but extended by the Tithe Act 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. V c.87) to a
maximum of 60 years. After 1918, therefore, redemptions may be recorded
either in the above-mentioned registers or on the Certificates of
Redemption of Tithe Rentcharge by Annuities (IR 102 ). The latter are similar to tithe
apportionments, and may be supplemented by the addition of later
apportionments. They are annotated to show subsequent transactions, but it
does not necessarily follow that all subsequent transactions are recorded
since there is nothing to prevent the informal redemption of an annuity.
Lands subject to such annuities can generally be identified by reference
to the original tithe apportionment or, where the tithe areas have become
divided in ownership, by the maps attached to later altered apportionments
or orders for apportionment.
The Tithe Act 1936 (26 Geo. V & 1 Edw. VIII, c.43) was introduced
following the Report of the Royal Commission on Tithe Rentcharge 1934
(whose records are in IR 101 ), and affected the position in three main ways.
Firstly, it abolished all tithe rentcharges payable on land immediately
before 2 October 1936 and replaced them by redemption annuities payable
for 60 years ending on 1 October 1996 unless redeemed or otherwise
extinguished in the meantime. These annuities were to be paid to the State
by those who had formerly paid rentcharge. Secondly, it compensated the
former tithe-owners out of Government stock. Thirdly, it set up the Tithe
Redemption Commission with the duty, inter alia, of collecting the new
terminable redemption annuities for the State. In 1960 the functions of
the Commission were transferred to the Board of Inland Revenue.
The first task facing the Tithe Redemption Commission in 1936 was to
check claims submitted by tithe-owners who had hitherto been entitled to
collect tithe rentcharge payable under the Tithe Act 1836. These are
preserved as Particulars Submitted by Owners of Tithe Rentcharge (IR 110 ). Valid rentcharges were then converted into
redemption annuities and the sums to be collected from landowners were
calculated.
At the same time, the Commission also undertook to prepare fresh maps,
based on modern Ordnance Survey sheets, for each tithe district.
Interpretations of each area as shown on the original tithe maps were
plotted as accurately as possible in a limited time. Subsequently a
programme was begun of checking in detail these first interpretations, the
correctness of the rentcharge/annuity conversions, and the ownership of
the properties concerned, following which the annuities were confirmed
and, where appropriate, apportioned by a formal Order. This process was
known as 'District Apportionment', and resulted in the creation of
District Record Maps (IR 90 ) and Orders for Apportionment (IR 94 ). The programme was interrupted by the Second
World War, modified by the Tithe Act 1951, and abandoned in about 1956, by
which time about 5,900 of the 11,830 tithe districts had been dealt
with.
District record maps do not exist for all the original tithe districts.
Maps were not prepared for districts in respect of which a claim was
either not received or, on checking, was found to be invalid. Moreover,
until about the early 1950s it was the practice, after an approved period,
to destroy the maps of districts in which all annuities had been redeemed
or otherwise extinguished.
The whole scheme as envisaged by the 1936 Act was wound up prematurely
under the Finance Act 1977 (see section
18).
The duty of repairing the chancel of an ancient parish church fell on
the owner of the rectorial property and was more particularly associated
with the rectorial. For more details, see the leaflet on Chancel
Repairs.
15. Tithe Records Preserved Locally
The Tithe Acts provided for the making of an original and two copies of
every confirmed instrument of apportionment; all were sealed and signed by
the Commissioners. The originals were retained in the custody of the
Commissioners and are now in the Public Record Office. They are complete
and have been maintained in good order. The copies were deposited (a) with
the Registrar of the diocese and (b) with the incumbents and churchwardens
of the parish (Tithe Act 1836, s.64). Copies of subsequent altered
apportionments and certificates of redemption were to be similarly
deposited, as well as a copy of the record of ascertainments. Many of
these copies are now in local record offices. The local statutory copies
have in many cases suffered from neglect and accidental loss or
destruction and are rarely complete; nevertheless, for most purposes the
local copies may be found as serviceable as the originals. Great trouble
has been taken by some county archivists to supply gaps in the series in
their charge by photographic copies: in such cases there is rarely any
purpose to be served in consulting the originals.
16. Annotations on Tithe Documents
In order to enable the incidence of tithe rentcharge to be readily
ascertained the original tithe apportionments have been annotated to
record later official transactions for altered apportionment, merger or
redemption. The same system was extended to certificates of capital value
and altered apportionments of all kinds. These annotations form no part of
the original tithe document but, until they were discontinued in 1965/66,
they afforded an index to amending transactions. The locally deposited
copies of tithe documents do not bear official annotations.
17. Special Acts
Certain areas were subject to separate Acts of Parliament for tithe
purposes. Records relating to the London (City) Tithe Acts are in MAF 8 . Those relating to the Vicar's Rate in Halifax
Act 1877 are in MAF 16 and MAF 76 . The tithes payable in Kendal were commuted
under the Kendal Corn Rent Act 1834, and records relating to the
redemption of this corn rent after 1932 are in MAF 28 and HLG 64 .
In 1976, the Government announced that as there were sufficient funds
in the tithe account to service the existing redemption stock and because
of the high administrative costs of the scheme, tithe redemption annuities
should be extinguished. The Government proposed a normal payment in 1976
followed by a final payment in October 1977 equal to twice the normal
payment. Legislative effect was subsequently given to this in the Finance
Act 1977.
19. Further Reading
Eric J Evans, The Contentious Tithe (London, 1976)
Roger J
P Kain and Richard R Oliver, The tithe maps of England and Wales - a
cartographic analysis and county-by-county catalogue (Cambridge
University Press, 1995)
Roger J P Kain and Hugh C Prince, Tithe
Surveys (Phillimore, 2000)
P W Millard, The Law Relating to
Tithes (3rd edition, London, 1938)
W Foot, Maps for Family
History, chapter 1 (PRO Publications,
1994) |