Parish Records

Land Tax

During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, typically from about 1780 to 1830, a Land Tax was established on land worth in excess of twenty shillings. These records note both owners and occupiers, providing information about your ancestor's standing in the community.

Inclosure Awards

Until the middle of the eighteenth century farming in English parishes was on the basis of strip farming for the wealthier villager and access to common land for the poorer inhabitants. The Inclosure Acts replaced this inefficient system; establishing field systems enclosed by walls or ditches that have survived to the present day.

The Inclosure Maps and associated Inclosure Awards provide information on land ownership within the parish, and can provide information on your ancestor’s status and land holdings.

Tithe Records

The church was entitled to a tenth (tithe) part of the produce of the villagers, be it arable or stock, which was used to support the church and clergy. In the 19^th century (Tithe Commutation Act 1836) the payment in kind was replaced by a cash obligation, which was determined on the basis of land holding and occupancy.

The resultant Tithe Map and Tithe Award, many of which have survived, show land owners and land occupiers throughout the parish, and can thus identify the status of your ancestor, and which particular plot of land they were associated with.

Manorial Records

Tracing your ancestry back beyond the earliest parish registers is usually only possible by reference to the Manorial Records, when the Lord of the Manor, rather than the Church, was the dominant power in the community.

These records typically concentrate on the “landed gentry”. If your ancestors were such people, then these records offer the opportunity to trace your family line back to the Norman invasion of 1066; but it must be stressed that such cases are very rare.