| In association with the National Library of Ireland |  |
- What is Griffith's Valuation?
- Why is Griffith's Valuation important today?
- What is the structure of Griffith's Valuation?
- Why are there different versions of the Valuation?
- How were the occupiers listed in Griffith Valuation?
- Has Griffith's Valuation been indexed before?
- Where are the original volumes of Griffith's Valuation located?
- Who was Richard Griffith?
- Were there other valuations completed in Ireland?
- Why is Griffith's Valuation better than previous valuations?
- Explanation of terms
- Acknowledgements
- Logged in users search the collection
What is Griffith's Valuation?
The valuation of Ireland (technically known as the Primary Valuation of Tenements) was completed between the years 1847 and 1864 and has become known as Griffith's Valuation partly because of the influence of its Director, Richard Griffith. This massive project was undertaken to assess the payment of various local taxes by the people of Ireland. These taxes were linked to the value of property occupied by each tax payer. The results of the valuers' work were published in a series of over 300 volumes detailing the names of all the property occupiers (not simply owners) in Ireland and the value of their house and land.
Why is Griffith's Valuation important today?
The 19th century Irish census records were destroyed in two disasters - either because they were pulped for paper during WWI or incinerated when the Public Record Office in Dublin was burned down in 1922. This has meant than Griffith's Valuation has become a vitally important "census substitute" for mid-19th century Ireland, in the years between the Great Famine and the beginning of civil registration in 1864. The valuation covers the entire country: every property in Ireland was included in the valuation, with the occupier's name (as well as the name of the person to whom the occupier paid rent). The occupier would generally be the head of the household. The valuation covers not just houses, but also buildings and land of any description, and so lists every landholder and occupier who paid rates in Ireland. Genealogists and family historians will be able to find a wealth of information to link together family members, as well as giving an indication of how their ancestors lived.
What is the structure of Griffith's Valuation?
Originally, under legislation in 1846, the valuation was to be done by Barony, with a volume printed for each barony. Within each book, houses, lands and their occupiers were enumerated by civil parish and townland (the basic land units in Ireland). Each entry gives this detailed location information for each plot, along with the occupier's name, the immediate lessor's name, description of the property, acreage, rateable valuation of the land and buildings, and annual valuation. In 1852, the valuation format was changed in the midst of the valuers' work. Thereafter valuation was done by Poor Law Union (rather than Barony). Otherwise the format remained very similar to those published prior to 1852. The bulk of the valuation was done by Poor Law Union, but the earlier volumes by barony were not recomputed or revalued.
Why are there different versions of the Valuation?
Under the 1846 Act that set out the plan for the Valuation, there were to be three publications for each Barony: first a full valuation, then a publication listing the appeals made against the valuation, and lastly a completely revised version of the valuation for each barony. The list of amendments are important because they also contain the reasons given for the appeal, which typically record that a person's name has been recorded inaccurately, or that they are no longer resident, or that the valuation is too high, etc. Because there was often a five year gap between the first publication and the last there can be significant changes recorded in occupation. Under the 1852 Act, which meant that the Valuation was published by Poor Law Union, there was no requirement to publish amendments or a revised edition.
How were the occupiers listed in Griffith Valuation?
Usually by last name, then first given name or initial, and often with an agnomen (or additional name) if there was more than one occupier of the same family and given name. These agnomen are a major benefit of this valuation as they can give much needed additional information about an occupier, e.g. Jr., Sr., or physical characteristics, which can be helpful for genealogical research.
Has Griffith's Valuation been indexed before?
There have been several attempts to index this source, but the most complete index to date is that being produced for Irish Origins. Earlier attempts had a number of weaknesses:
- they did not include occupier forenames (e.g. The Index of Surnames or Householders Index)
- they did not include immediate lessors' names (e.g. the All-Ireland Heritage Inc. indexes)
- they did not cover the entire country (e.g. Heritage World/Genealogical Publishing Company CD-ROM)
- they did not include all the various versions of the printed valuation, like the lists of amendments and completely revised volumes
Where are the original volumes of Griffith's Valuation located?
Although the original volumes of Griffith's Valuation are located in many different repositories, there does not appear to be a complete version of the valuation in any one repository, either original volume, or on microfilm today. The National Library of Ireland in Dublin and the Valuation Office in Dublin probably have the largest collection of original volumes. There are also large holdings at the National Archives of Ireland, the Genealogical Office, and the Gilbert Library (for Dublin only). The material on Irish Origins represents what we believe to be the most complete version of the Griffith Valuation in one place. It has been created in association with the National Library of Ireland, and with the help of the Valuation Office, Genealogical Office, National Archives of Ireland, the Gilbert Library and the private collection of George Handran.
Who was Richard Griffith?
Richard Griffith (20 Sept 1784 - 22 Sept 1878) was born in Dublin, the son of a Member of Parliament, and certainly of the Irish Ascendancy; he was a geologist by occupation. He worked for the Royal Dublin Society as a geologist and was longest employed by the government as director of the Valuation Office from 1839 to 1868. He was created a baronet on 8 March 1858. He is best remembered for his work on the Griffith Valuation, particularly his persistent advocacy of a scale of fixed prices, combined with a careful examination of the soil and sub-soil as the proper basis of valuation, as well as his autocratic management of the Valuation Office. His achievements as a valuator were considerable: he supervised official valuation in Ireland for nearly 40 years and his valuation remained in use in Ireland until the 1970s.
Were there other valuations completed in Ireland?
The Townland Valuation in 1826 was the first nineteenth century attempt to create a uniform valuation of land in Ireland to deal with the local county 'cess' tax. The second (or Tenement Valuation, now known as Griffith's Valuation) was created to deal with the problems and errors found in the Townland Valuation. In accordance with the new act in 1846, the land was to be valued by barony and is discussed above; but by 1852 it was determined that the 1846 valuation needed to be revised, and was completed by Poor Law Union, also discussed above.
Why is Griffith's Valuation better than previous valuations?
Griffith's Valuation was superior for several reasons:
- It valued individual farms and all houses.
- It was carried out under the supervision of a central authority, with Richard Griffith acting as Commissioner of the Valuation.
- The valuation became the basis for all subsequent local taxation.
- The principles on which the valuation was based were clearly enunciated and described in detail.
Explanation of terms
Griffith's Valuation is arranged by the following:
Apart from townland address and occupier's name, the particulars given in the valuation records are:
Acreage
Land in Griffith's valuation is measured by; statute acre, rood and perch. A statute acre contained 4840 square yards, a rood was ¼ of an acre of 1210 square yards and a perch was 1/40th of a rood containing 30 square yards
As Lessor
The immediate lessor is the same as the occupier (lessee). In other words the occupier owns the land.
Barony
A territorial division of a county often based on medieval Gaelic lordships, and used as administrative units for taxation and other administrative purposes until the late 19th century. There are 331 baronies in Ireland. Some baronies overlap more than one county. Baronies are no longer used for local government.
Common
Some land in Ireland was still legally common land (or commons). These were generally medieval rights allowing common use of specific lands, usually waste ground. By the mid-nineteenth century most common land had been enclosed under parliamentary legislation, or had become the freehold property of squatters.
Cottier/Labourer
A landless person renting and cultivating a small holding - known as cottier tenure. The land was let annually and in small portions directly to labourers with the rent fixed, who usually off-set their rent against a number of days working on the rentier's lands for free.
County
The principal unit of local government, created by the English between the Norman invasion and 1606. They often reflected older Gaelic territorial boundaries. There are 32 counties in total - 6 in Northern Ireland and 26 in the Republic of Ireland.
Free
An abbreviation of Freehold (qv.)
Freehold
Freehold tenure constituted absolute ownership of land.
Immediate Lessor
The immediate lessor was the person or organisation the occupier (usually a leaseholder) held their land from usually by payment of rent. This could be the outright owner who held the freehold, or a middle man who held an estate by some form of leasehold and sub-let the premises to the actual occupier. If this term appears in the 'Immediate lessors" field, it means the same as "As Lessor", ie that the occupier owns the land.
In Chancery
Lands were considered to be 'In Chancery' when they were under the control of the Law Courts and subject to their judgement. This might happen if the lands were in contention between two parties, or if the immediate lessor had died intestate, or there were other reasons for any of the courts to take control of the land.
In perpetuity
For ever
In fee
Lands held 'in fee' were freehold tenures, derived from a grant from the Crown.
Lease
The frequent term of a lease was 21 or 31 years, known as a 'lease of years'. Alternatively land was leased for the life time of named individuals otherwise known as a 'lease of lives', eg. typically there were three named lives, including the tenant, his son and another named individual. The lease and rent agreement remained in force until the death of all three named persons. Some of the more prosperous tenants secured the right to get renewable leases for ever, or leases for several hundred years, which were essentially freehold in all but name. However over 80% of all tenancies in the mid nineteenth century were annually set, with no security and no formal lease.
Occupier
The individual or corporation who owns, leases or rents a holding (tenement) and who is financially responsible for the taxes levied on the holding. This will generally be the head of the household, in the case of a house. NOTE: Particularly in urban areas there may be several households living within a single house, and only one head-of-household (if any) will be named.
Parish
A civil parish may contain anything from 5 to 30 townlands. Parishes appeared in the medieval period (12th century) and were originally an ecclesiastical administrative division over which a clergyman exercised jurisdiction. These medieval parishes were used as geographical units of local administration, otherwise known as civil parishes. The majority of 19th Century (or earlier) records are based on these, but they are no longer in administrative use today.
Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes are not the same as the civil parishes. While the majority of Church of Ireland parishes do correspond to the civil parish, most Roman Catholic parishes cover parts of more than one civil parish
Poor Law Union
The poor law union was introduced in 1838 under the Poor Law Act. Between 1838 and 1852, workhouses were built throughout the country, each at the centre of an area known as a Poor Law Union (PLU). At first there were 130 PLUs covering the entire country, but these were expanded to 163 during the course of the Griffith Valuation. These workhouses were generally situated in a large market town and the Poor Law Union comprised this town and its catchment area, the result being that the Unions in many cases ignored the existing boundaries of parish and county.
Quality Lot
The areas of the holding, distinguished, for valuation purposes, by the quality of the soil.
Tenant
An individual who rents or leases a property and pays stated rent (in money, kind, or days worked for free) to a middleman or owner.
Tenement
Any taxable property (building structure and land) that is held or possessed for any time period (term), whether owned, rented or leased for not less than year to year. One person may hold several distinct tenements and several persons may hold one tenement (NOTE: Because much urban property was held under terms of less than one year, e.g. flats on a weekly rent, the occupiers of this property are not recorded in Griffiths).
Townland
The smallest of the governmental administrative land districts, townlands are still in use today. The term townland probably derives from the Anglo-Saxon word 'toun' which means farmstead. The Gaelic equivalent is Baile, anglicised as Bally. There are more than 64,000 townlands in Ireland, varying in size from an acre or less to several thousand acres. They can be individual family farms or a group of farms; they also tend to be larger than towns, so that most towns and villages in Ireland are contained within a townland - often, though not always, with the same name. In a few cases, a townland may be contained within the boundaries of a town. Many townlands take their names from physical characteristics of an area such as ruins of churches and forts and from clan names.
There are frequently several separate townlands with the same name: for example there are 56 Kilmores and 47 Dromores. So you usually will need to know at least the county, and preferably the parish, to identify a townland unambiguously.
Union
See Poor Law Union
Thanks to George Handran. George B. Handran, CG, is both a lawyer with expertise in estate law, and a certified genealogist specialising in Irish research. He has lectured extensively throughout the US, and was formerly a board member of both NGS and BCG. He is based in Boston, Mass.
