On this page, you’ll find detailed information about the valuation of Ireland, including the townland and tenement valuations, legislative framework, and historical context.
Explore extensive archives with field books, house books, maps and more. Access the Primary Valuation (Griffith’s Valuation) online, and discover how these records can aid your research into property, occupiers and historical change.
The valuation of Ireland was a cadastral survey conducted to levy property taxes. A cadastral survey is a type of land survey that defines and documents the boundaries, dimensions and ownership of land parcels.
It established a valuation price for every piece of property, forming the basis for local tax rates. The initial valuation work occurred between 1830 and the mid-1860s, starting with the townland valuation and later the tenement valuation. This created a baseline valuation, which was updated for domestic dwellings until the end of the 20th century and continued to be revised for commercial properties.
The initial valuation archives were held by the National Archives, while revision documents remained with the Valuation Office. Northern Ireland’s related archives were mainly held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast.
Legislative framework
The valuation was authorised by Acts of Parliament from 1826 to 1864, with minor amendments afterward. These Acts, some of which remained in force until the Valuation Act of 2001, set the framework and operational requirements for the valuation process.
Between 1830 and 1865, the valuation requirements evolved due to practical difficulties and external factors, most notably shifting from townland to tenement valuations.
Background to the valuation
In the early 19th century, counties in Ireland were managed by grand juries, funded by a tax called county cess. Due to widespread dissatisfaction with this system, the Spring Rice Committee in 1824 recommended a uniform national valuation for tax purposes. Accurate maps by the Ordnance Survey were essential, and the Boundary Survey was established in 1825 to define territorial boundaries. The first Valuation Act was passed in 1826, and fieldwork began in 1830 in County Londonderry, progressing from north to south as Ordnance Survey maps were published.
The work of valuation
The valuation process was based in Dublin and involved extensive fieldwork in each county, organised by barony. Richard Griffith, the Commissioner from 1830 to 1868, led a team of clerks, draftsmen, valuators and surveyors. Fieldwork collected necessary data, which was then processed in Dublin to prepare preliminary valuations for appeal. Once appeals were settled, the valuations became official for local taxation. The Valuation Office moved location several times, before finally settling in Lower Abbey Street in the late 1990s.
The townland valuation
The townland valuation, conducted under Acts from 1826 to 1836, aimed to value properties in counties, baronies, parishes and townlands. Individual holdings were not valued, and properties were divided into ‘lots’ according to quality. Houses and land were valued separately, with occupiers’ names recorded only for houses valued above certain thresholds. Data was collected in field books and maps, checked in the office, and used to create preliminary valuations for appeals. Changes to the system included thresholds for house valuations and standardising land descriptions. This method was used in 26 counties before being replaced in 1844.
The tenement valuation
The tenement valuation replaced the townland valuation starting in 1844, driven by the introduction of the poor law and critical reviews of the townland valuation. The 1846 Valuation Act applied to counties not yet valued and extended tenement valuation to the entire country by 1852. This method recorded every individual tenement and occupier’s name, significantly increasing the amount of work.
Preliminary valuations were published as Griffith’s Valuation, and occupiers could appeal their valuations. Appeals were initially public but later became administrative, with further appeals possible to the Court of Quarter Sessions. The final valuations were recorded in ‘cancelled books’ held by the Valuation Office.
The archives of the Valuation Office
The valuation work produced extensive archives valuable for research in various fields, including family history and academic studies. These documents, covering the entire country, provide detailed records of property and occupiers over a significant period. The archives include field books, house books, maps and other documents created during the valuation process. They allow researchers to trace changes in families, properties and localities up to the end of the 20th century.
Types of documents
The majority of the archives relate to the valuation itself, with some administrative documents like instructions and correspondence. Fieldwork used pre-printed notebooks, and office work produced additional documents, including preliminary valuations for appeals. The final valuations were recorded in ‘cancelled books’ held by the Valuation Office.
Organisation and availability
The National Archives also holds many manuscript records compiled in connection with the Primary Valuation, including Field Books, House Books, Mill Books, Quarto Books and Tenure Books. A list of the records arranged by type of book, county, barony and civil parish is available in the reading room. Some of these books, along with detailed guides to the records, are now available to search online free of charge on our Genealogy website.
The valuation books were made for each parish, with maps used as base maps for rural areas and town plans for urban areas. The archives are arranged in twenty series, with documents interlinked and listed individually. Some documents are fragile or worn and may only be available in surrogate form. Approximately 30,000 documents are listed in the National Archives, though not all have survived. Some records are digitised and searchable on the Genealogy website.
Primary Valuation
The Primary Valuation, also known as Griffith’s Valuation, was the first full-scale valuation of property in Ireland and details of property with valuations were published between 1847 and 1864. There is a printed valuation book for each barony or poor law union in the country, showing the names of occupiers of land and buildings, the names of those from whom these were leased, and the amount and value of the property held.
A list of the Primary Valuation books arranged by civil parish is available in the reading room, but the printed valuation can only be consulted on microform in the National Archives. The printed valuation is also available to search free of charge online at Ask About Ireland.
How these records can help with your research
These records provide detailed information about where individual occupiers lived, the size and quality of farms and the types of houses. They offer insights into the location, size and quality of properties, including agricultural land and buildings. Researchers can trace how families, properties and localities changed over time, especially through the revision documents that track changes up to the end of the 20th century.
The data on property values and taxes can be used to study economic conditions and social structures of the time. Additionally, the records shed light on the administrative processes and legal frameworks that governed property valuation and taxation. Detailed maps and plans show the layout of townlands, parishes and tenements, providing a geographical context to the data.