Abstract
The latest volume in the Maynooth Research Guides for Irish Local History series is a very welcome exploration of the records of the Valuation Office. Written by a former director of the National Archives of Ireland – who has clearly immersed herself in the subject – this is a substantial volume that draws attention to the richness and diversity of the surviving documentation in a way that has never before been attempted. It is not an exaggeration to say that for many researchers this book will be eye-opening. Students and scholars of the nineteenth century and genealogical researchers will be very familiar with the printed records of the Primary Valuation, better known as Griffith’s Valuation, which can now be easily accessed online (http://askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation). Less well known are the archives of the Townland Valuation and the manuscript records of the Tenement Valuation, many of which are now viewable on the website of the National Archives of Ireland (http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/vob/home.jsp).
The valuation of Ireland was established by an act of parliament in 1826 and as a result every property on the island was valued between 1830, when work began in County Londonderry, and the mid-1860s. Initially, the work was carried out under the aegis of the Townland Valuation – which used the townland as the basic unit for the purposes of valuation – before the much more detailed Tenement Valuation was introduced in 1844. The sheer scale of the archives of the valuation – some 30,000 items – is daunting, but in a series of chapters the author carefully dissects the range of documentation available and places it within a broader context of the work of the valuation. Chapter one is a very helpful review of the background to the valuation and the way the system developed from the initial act of 1826, highlighting the ways in which new legislation and fresh instructions impacted upon the work of the valuators. Chapter two on the staff of the Valuation Office is a fascinating insight into the men who worked as valuators. Richard Griffith was a towering figure in the valuation and a demanding boss, setting high standards and not being slow to criticise what he considered to be shoddy work. The lot of a valuator was not always a happy one, with much of the work conducted out of doors in all weathers; the author acknowledges the ‘competence, stoicism and dedication’ of the staff which ‘allowed the novel enterprise to come to a successful conclusion’ (p. 59).
Chapter three provides a detailed explanation and analysis of the various manuscript books of the valuation, principally the field books, house books, quarto books, mill books, townland valuation appeal books, townland valuation printed books and tenure books, while chapter four is focused on the maps of the valuation, including town plans – some 12,000 in the National Archives alone. Chapter five looks at the best known of the valuations, the Primary Valuation. Appeals against the Primary Valuation are the subject of chapter six, distinguishing between those made under the terms of the 1846 act and those under the 1852 act. Chapter seven is titled ‘Keeping archives safe’ and considers the management and preservation of the records held in the past and at present in the Valuation Office. It is remarkable to think that the records were once stored in Griffith’s private house in Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin. This chapter also discusses valuation records held elsewhere, including local archives and libraries and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. One minor criticism that could be levelled at the book is that the extensive collection of valuation records in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is given limited treatment. The author makes the important observation that ‘the northern counties were both the first to be valued under the Townland Valuation and the last to be valued under the Tenement Valuation’, resulting in ‘two distinct sets of documents made at two well-separated periods of valuation’ (p. 196). This was not the case in some southern counties where one of the challenges for the valuators was negotiating the complex transitional stage between the two valuations – seen, for example, in counties Kilkenny and Tipperary.
There are nine appendices. Appendix B is a valuable chronology outlining the main legislative measures and amendments to the procedures to be followed by the valuators. Appendix C is a map showing the years in which fieldwork for both the Townland Valuation and Tenement Valuation was carried out in each county. This, however, is based only on the books held by the National Archives and so leaves out the years in which the fieldwork for the Tenement Valuation was carried out in the counties that now make up Northern Ireland. This information can be found in PRONI’s online catalogue listing of valuation records. Appendix G contains data that the researcher would find very useful to have at hand when exploring the manuscript books of the valuation for it provides an explanation of meanings of the letters and numbers used in the classification of buildings in the instructions of 1839 and 1853.
There are several attractive features of this volume. Each chapter and most of the sections within chapters have a conclusion providing a helpful summary of the main points covered. Another attractive feature is the inclusion of a series of colour reproductions of valuation documents, including maps, allowing the researcher to gain a visual impression of the records while reading explanations of them. These colour illustrations are discussed in Appendix I. In conclusion, this book should be read by anyone who wishes to understand better their locality in the nineteenth century. The subject matter is at times complex and sections of the book require careful reading and re-reading. Nevertheless, the researcher’s patience will be rewarded with a greater insight into and understanding of one of the most important archives for the study of this island in the nineteenth century.