| Located At | Staffordshire Record Office |
| Level | Collection |
| Doc Ref No | D3573 |
| Title | Valuation Books under the Finance Act, 1910 ("Domesday" Books) |
| Administrative History | Administrative History
Finance Act 1910
The Finance Act of 1910 allowed the government to levy various duties on land, principally Increment Value Duty. The basis for the calculation of duty was a complex one, and farming land was exempted if its value was no greater than its current value on the agricultural market.
To enable the necessary information to be supplied for the calculation of duty, the Act also provided for a valuation of all land in the United Kingdom. This included land which might eventually be declared to be exempted from duty. The process of valuation began in 1914 and was completed by late 1915. It was carried out locally by the valuation officers located within the 118 valuation districts.
Records of the 1914/1915 Valuation
Initially forms (Form 4) were issued to all landowners and there were penalties for non-completion. The information supplied on the forms was then transcribed into a field book by the valuer and this was followed up by a physical inspection. Record maps were also drawn up showing each property and piece of land to be valued. The field books are now deposited at the Public Record Office in London (Class IR/58) as are the record maps. The record maps for Staffordshire are incomplete. Detailed information on the field books and record maps is available in the Public Record Office Readers' Guide No. 9, Maps for Family Historians. |
| Date | 1910-1911 |
| Description | In addition to the main series of field books and record maps, which are held at The National Archives, additional records were generated as part of the valuation process. The valuation books, also known as "Domesday Books", are held in local record offices and those for Staffordshire are listed in this catalogue. Although the valuation books give similar information to that contained within the field books, they lack any description of land and premises and are therefore limited in their usefulness. In order to tie up a property recorded in the valuation books, it is necessary to note the hereditament number, recorded in the left hand column, and the parish in which the property was located.
The volumes have the following column headings:
No. of Assessment
No. of Poor Rate
Christian Names and Surnames of Occupiers
Christian Names and Surnames of Owners with their Residences
Description of Property (with Inn Sign if an Inn)
Precise Situation of Property
Extent and Value under Poor Rate
Reference to Map [used occasionally]
The following columns all sit under a heading Determination of Commissioners of Inland Revenue, as amended on Appeal (if any). They include:
Extent as determined by Valuer
Original Gross Value
Original Full Site Value [deductions noted]
Original Total Value [deductions noted]
Original Assessable Site Value (or Original Capital Value of Minerals) [deductions noted]
Value of Agricultural Land for Agricultural Purposes, where different from Assessable Site Value
Observations and References
There are 39 valuation books for the Lichfield Division plus 7 volumes of indexes. There are 30 valuation books for the Staffordshire Division plus 3 volumes of indexes. There are 89 valuation books for the Stoke on Trent Division. Many volumes also contain some form of place or street listing at the front with page numbers given. The West Midlads areas are excluded from this collection which was transferred in 1980 from the Public Record Office (National Archives).
These volumes remained in use for many years at the District Valuation Office in Hanley. They contain a lot of added or inserted information which must be relevant to later years.
See also D1058 O.S. map list for some maps relating to the 1910 Act, and some other collections. These maps require advance notice of at least two working days. However please note that there are only a few maps in this collection that are either relevant to the 1910 Act (including enlarged special editions) or that are annotated in any way. The majority of the collection consists of unannotated 3rd edition sheets, so not normally produced from this series. For any enquiries, we will check the Ordnance Survey sheet number then check our list to see if there are any annotated or special edition sheets. |
| Extent | 168 volumes |
| Related Material | See also map collections of the District Valuation Offices, mainly covering the Stafford Lichfield and Walsall District office areas (D1058, LD274, D4853, D7765/5/1, catalogues not available online). |