Tithe map: Difference between revisions

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The term '''Tithe map''' is usually applied to a map of an [[England|English]] parish prepared following the [[Tithe Commutation Act 1836|Tithe Commutation Act of 1836]]. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave the names of all owners and occupiers of land in the parish. Individual tithe owners sometimes prepared maps for their own use to show who owned what land. These maps are sometimes also called tithe maps.

==Tithes==

Main article [[{{main|Tithe]]s}}

The payment of one tenth of local produce to the church had been established before the [[Norman Conquest]]. This was originally in kind - every tenth stook of corn, etc. It originally supported the local priest, but in some cases, the right to receive the tithe was acquired by an organisation such as a monastery or college who paid a [[curate]]. With the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], the right to receive tithes were acquired by individuals. Tithes themselves were controversial - particularly among [[non conformist]]s who resented supporting the established church - and payment in kind was not convenient for either the farmer or the tithe owner.

==Conversion to cash payments==

Over time, in some parishes, the tithe owner came to an agreement with the tithe payers to receive cash instead of farm produce. This could be for a stated period of time or indefinitely. During the period of [[enclosure|parliamentary enclosure]], the enclosure act frequently abolished tithes in return for an allocation of land to the tithe owner. However, in many parishes, tithes continued to be paid in kind.

==TheTithe 1836Commutation Act 1836==

The Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 and an amending act in 1837 established a process by which tithes could be converted to money payments. This required the drawing of an accurate map (the accuracy of which was certified by commissioners) showing all the land in the parish. The map was accompanied by a schedule showing the owner, occupier and a description of the land in the parish including individual fields - sometimes with field names. (The description may be short - house and barn, arable, etc.) Two copies of these maps and schedules were prepared, one of which was held centrally by the Tithe Commissioners and the other locally in the parish church.

==The mapsMaps==

The map (and schedule) held by the commissioners passed to the [[Inland Revenue]] and these are now held in the [[The National Archives]] at Kew (classe IR29 and IR30). Although the maps do not always survive, the local copy is now usualy held in the county record office. Prior to the publication of large scale [[Ordnance Survey]] maps in the late nineteenth century, tithe maps were frequently copied (in whole or part) for other purposes - for example to accompany planned railways or as part of the title deeds for a sale. For many parishes they provide the only large scale map showing the landscape prior to the [[industrial revolution]] and they frequently provide the earliest evidence for the [[field system]] in the parish.

==References==

==Sources and Further Reading==

{{reflist|1}}

==Sources and Further Reading==

*William Foot, ''Maps for Family History'' (Public Record Office Readers Guide No 9, PRO Publications, 1994)

*J B Harley, ''Maps for the local historian'' (Blackfriars Press, reprinted 1977)

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[[Category:Maps|Tithe Maps]]

[[Category:Personal taxes]]

[[Category: Landscape history]]