- 1910 Valuation Office Survey
One of the best resources available to trace the owner and occupier of your house is the 1910 Valuation Office Survey: an assessment of the rateable value of all land and property in England, Wales and Scotland. You can also use it to see what used to stand on your land. The records are stored at The National Archives, Kew. Although there may be some records available in LLGC - YES THERE ARE ! details follow below.
- Each unit of property was assigned an assessment number (sometimes also called a hereditament number)
- Plans based on the Ordnance Survey sheet maps were drawn up as the chief means of reference to the other records created in the course of valuation.
- Two sets of plans were created:
- the working plans used in the course of the original valuation and
- the record plans made after that valuation was completed. Those working plans which survive are in the custody of local record offices, to which enquiries about them should be directed. The record plans are now held at The National Archives.The vast amount of information contained in the field books make these records a key source for local studies
- The maps are the best way of locating specific properties, after which you can turn to the relevant field book for more details. Not all of these maps and books have survived and you may need to look for the Valuation Office's working maps and Valuation Books. Where these survive they are generally held in County Record Offices(1). Record office addresses and contact details can be found in the ARCHON directory.
Wales Region are in IR 131/1 to IR 131/11 Some Valuation lists ( 1910 "Domesday Books") can be found in the Cardiganshire and the Carmarthenshire Archives
- The maps are based on the 1905 second edition of the Ordnance Survey maps - the Cardiganshire 1910 Finance Act Maps (if surviving) are held in Penglais in the National Library of Wales. Ever convenient, the relevant field books (Cardiganshire) may then be found in the Ceredigion Archives down on the front. YES, the Ceredigion Archive webpages list these.
- WORKING OUT which map you need is a challenge believe me.
- First - work out which page of the OS map you need to see. These are in the map section of the South Reading Room. I suggest you go there and make sure you are asking for the right refs. The library staff are very helpful]
This is an example - if you are looking for a 1910 Finance Act page.
- First find the reference number of the map page you are interested in.
- This is on the top right hand corner of the 2nd Edition OS volume
- Let us say for example... Cardiganshire XXXIV NW
- Then look to see in which quadrant of the page your "interest " lies
- NOTE, the four numbers which are available per Major Compass point are different for each section/area. This is the way it is ! The numbering system is actually logical when you see the whole picture - but may appear inconsistent when requesting numbers for a sub-division of the whole map-page area.
- If the property you are interested in lies across two sections (or more possible if centrally position on the map page) then ask to see ALL the map pages.
- The pages are laminated and therefore well protected.
- Ask if you need a photocopy... but here again a small camera might be useful as black/white photocopies will not show the colour outlines drawn in by the 1910 surveyors. Fill in yellow form, and pay at the photocopying desk when you pick up the copies later.
- Then check the Ceredigion Archives pages for the availability of the page you are interested in.
Ceredigion Archives click on Y Casgliadau /
The Collections (left hand margin options)
then click on District Valuation Records in the left margin list.
... the list of which areas, and which maps are available will appear (the asterix I have discovered means the original papers/maps came from WELSHPOOL, whilst the main body of documents came from the National Archives, London.
Note - Maps, it is stated, are in the National Library.
The amount of information entered in the field books varies considerably, but may include
Names of owner
Name of occupier
Owner's interest (freehold, copyhold)
Details of tenancy (term and rent)
Area covered by the property
There were other details sometimes recorded and these may include:
Date of erection
Number of rooms
State of repair
Liability for rates
Insurance and repairs, date(s) of previous sale(s)
A sketch-plan of the property
Figures entered for the purpose of valuation normally include the market value of the whole property and the market value of the site alone, with no structures. You should bear in mind that the valuation covered all land and not only land then being used for agriculture, industry, commerce or homes.
Next Week - Glandenys -
Wills
more on National Library of Wales site / Ceredigion Archives / National Archives
amongst other things... writing up our discoveried
googlemaps: Lampeter/Pencarreg - sites of tollgates in 1843
