The Griffith's Valuation, or Primary Valuation of Ireland, was executed under the direction of Sir Richard Griffith to determine the amount of tax each person should pay towards the support of the poor within their Poor Law Union (PLU). This involved determining the value of all privately held lands and buildings in rural as well as urban areas to decide the rate at which each unit of property could be rented year after year. The resulting survey was arranged by Barony and Civil Parish, with an index to the townlands appearing in each volume.

The Griffith's Valuation (Primary Valuation) was published between 1848-1864. They started with the Valuation in the south of Ireland and worked northwards. After the initial Valuation was done follow-ups were done periodically; these follow-ups are called the Cancelled Land Books which reflect the details of all changes in the head of households. The new head of household is shown and what year the person took over the property. Depending on which county and which area some Cancelled Land Books were done every 10 years and some for lesser periods of time. The date of the change over can be off by several years but it gives you an idea. These records are available for some counties through the 1960s. This is a great way to trace your family property and their movements from the 1840s.

The original volumes of the survey are held in the National Archives, Dublin Bishop St. Dublin 8 or The National Library, Kildare St. Dublin 2. and Public Record Office, Belfast. Northern Ireland. In Dublin you will need to apply for a reader's ticket, which is valid for the current year.

If you want to find out more about the work of Richard Griffith and His Valuations of Ireland with an Inventory of the Books of the General Valuation of Rateable Property in Ireland why not visit Griffith's Valuation Office.

HOW TO USE THE GRIFFITHS VALUATION of IRELAND

Using Griffith's Valuation with the Tithe Applotment Books: A combined list of the tithe applotment books and Griffith's Valuation is arranged by county and barony.

Courtesy of Margaret (Mairead)

Griffith's Valuation A 19th Century Irish Census Substitute

---

Important Note

A Lesser OWNS the property as a freeholder, and leases (lets) it to the Lessee who HOLDS the property as a leaseholder (similar to being a tenant, only the terms of the lease can be, say, 99 years, so there is a leasehold value which can be passed on, or transferred for a value).   Sometimes property could be "sub-let" to a third party, who paid rent, usually short term, or at least, shorter than the lease itself, either because it was too big for the lessee, or so that the Lessee could  make a profit on the rent as a source of income.   Tenants could be evicted if they did not pay their rent.

Jean Rice jeanrice@cet.com

FINDING YOUR ANCESTORS

If you have asked someone to do a Look-up for you on the CD-ROM version of the 'Index to Griffiths Valuation 1848-1864' below is the example of information you will receive:

Smith, Thomas

County: Laois/Leix/Queens

Parish: Ballyadams

Location: T/Knocks

(Note: T/Knocks - the significance of the T/ means that the surname mentioned lives in the Town as opposed to a Townland or Parish. There is also some argument that the T/ refers to the Tithe Books)

To find the address of this person you will need to get access to the Valuation Books which are located in Dublin. Most LDS FHC around the World have these records on Microfiche. The search should reveal the Plot Number and a Map Reference where this person lived.  Once you have established the Plot Number you then need to obtain the map of the area.

The Valuation Office in Dublin has the original OS maps with the property identifiers added in ink by Griffith's crew.  Each parcel of land in Griffith's is outlined in darker ink and the identifier (e.g., 2A, 4, 6C, etc.) is hand-written inside the parcel.  Copies of these Maps will cost in the region of about £20 each. You will find a complete price list on Griffith's Web Site.

In the past, map copies made at the Valuation Office were of poor quality.  If you plan to use the map as an illustration in a "family history book" or something, you might want to transfer the Griffith's markings to a clean copy of the old OS map.   The maps (without the Griffith's annotations) should be available at one of the large libraries or archives in the UK.  The Library of Congress in Washington DC and libraries/archives in Canada & Australia have a complete set of the c1840 maps on microfiche.  As I mentioned, these maps do *not* have the Griffith's markings.