Tithe Books

Early-19th Century Tithe Applotment Books

Owing to the destruction of most early-19th century census returns the Tithe Applotment Books are widely used by family history researchers as a census substitute for pre-Famine rural Ireland.

The Tithe Applotment Books were compiled between 1823 and 1837, by civil parish, and they list all landholders, against their townland address, who paid tithe. Tithe was a tax, based on land valuation which was determined by farm size and quality of land; it was paid by all landholders, irrespective of religious denomination, for the support of the Established Church (i.e. Church of Ireland). The year of tithe assessment varied from parish to parish.

Tithe Books, therefore, will record the names of tenant farmers but not of urban dwellers or landless labourers. A landholder may also appear more than once on a list, thereby indicating that they held more than one piece of land. The results of this assessment were published in hand-written volumes by parish. Tithe Books for Northern Ireland can be examined at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.proni.gov.uk) and for the Republic of Ireland in the National Archives of Ireland (www.nationalarchives.ie).

This source usually details against every landholder in early-19th century Ireland: the landholder’s name; size of farm (in acres, roods and perches); quality of land (1st class, 2nd, 3rd etc.); valuation of land; and amount of tithe composition (in pounds £, shillings s, and pennies d).

Tithe Books, like Griffith’s Valuation, name heads of household only; it doesn’t name any other family members. However, in addition to confirming the ancestral home (i.e. townland) of an ancestor, the tithe entry of a landholder, by variously detailing farm size, quality and valuation of land, and amount of tithe to be paid, will offer some insight into the economic and social status of an ancestor.

The Genealogical Publishing Company has published in CD, Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1838, an index to some 200,000 landholders extracted from the Tithe Books of 233 parishes in the six counties of Northern Ireland. Landholders are listed by surname and forename against their townland, parish and county of residence.