What the Tithe Applotment Books are!
Tithes were an income tax on farming - usually about one tenth of the
annual income. These were used for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland
and were paid from the time of the Reformation. Before the Composition
Act of 1823 it was possible to pay them in kind in stead of money. From
the time of the Composition Act they were supposed to be paid in cash
and Tithe surveys were carried out in each Parish to assess what the
income for that parish would be. Two people were appointed by each parish
to carry out this assessment. Both Catholics and Protestants resented
this tax - tax was not payable on all land, and there was even variation
on the types of land from place to place. From 1736 grazing land had
an exemption - this was usually land held by landlords. Certain crops
were taxable, others weren't. Potatoes could be taxable in one parish
and not in the one next door.
Tithe books are not comprehensive, people who did not hold land are
not listed and some types of land were passed over absolutely. Towns
and cities were usually not assessed.They are arranged by Townland and
usually give the acreage held by each farmer. However, note here that
the measurement used was the plantation or Irish acre which differs
in size from the imperial or English acre used in the Griffith's Valuation.
The information you get from the Tithe Books is simple, townland name;
landholders name; area of land and tithes paid. Some will list the landlords
name as well. The original tithe books for the 26 counties of the Republic
of Ireland are held in the National Archives in Dublin.
The original Tithe Books for the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland
are available in the National Archives. Those for the six counties of
North Ireland were transferred to the Public Record Office of North Ireland in 1924. Photostat copies of these are available at the National
Archives, and microfilm copies in the National Library.
The Origins of Tithe
The tithe was an annual payment of an agreed proportion (originally
one-tenth) of the yearly produce of the land, which was payable by parishioners
to the parish church, to support it and its clergyman. Originally tithes
were paid in kind (wool, milk, honey, fish, barley etc) and were payable
on 3 categories of produce:
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Great
tithes
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from corn, other grains, hay and wood – commonly payable to the Rector of
a parish – were also called 'rectorial tithes'. |
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Rectors
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often remote from the parishes, so a new deputy or vicar was appointed to
act as the parish priest. Because the vicar was not entitled to the great
tithe, it was usual to provide him with the sl tithes – worth about a third
of the total tithe of the parish - as a basis for a living |
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At the dissolution of the monasteries, many of the great tithes – rectorial
tithes – passed into the hands of laymen, who became the new owners of the
church land and its accompanying rectorial tithes. |
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Sl tithes
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from all other things which grew, like vegetables, fruit, hops; also anis
and ani produce, and milling and fishing profits – commonly payable to the
Vicar of a parish also called 'vicarial tithes'. |
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The difference in income between the Rector and the Vicar could be quite
considerable, with the bulk of the tithe income often going to an absentee
Rector. Some Vicars did their utmost to increase their income by making
such produce as acorns or fallen apples tithable! |
| Tithe Applotment books and indexes for North Ireland (
covering the years 1822-1837) are indexed by townland: |
| A-D |
Film 1565424 and also by surname |
| E-W |
Film 1565423 |
| Actual records can be found by surname on |
Films 1565426 through 1565604 |
| Catalog of tithe books for 1824-1840 |
Film 0258443 |
| Actual tithe applotment books for North Ireland, listed
alphabetically, by townland, see Family History Library Catalog under "Ireland,
Land and Property" |
( 27 films) |