SOUTH STONEHAM/EASTLEIGH AND WINCHESTER UNIONS: RATING RECORDS

Introduction

The following rate books and rating documents, relating to South Stoneham/Eastleigh and Winchester Unions were deposited by the rating officer of Winchester Rural District Council in 1962. For the most part these records relate to the assessment and collection of poor rates. However, following the Local Government Act 1894 parish overseers assumed responsibility for assessing and collecting rates on behalf of the newly established rural district councils. Accordingly this collection also contains records relating to lighting, watching, sanitary and other district rates. District councils became rating authorities in 1927

Selection policy

The bulk of rating records and the essentially repetitive nature of the information which they contain make it preferable to retain only a selection of surviving volumes, especially where similar information is available elsewhere. All records to 1884 have been kept. Thereafter, where two assessments were made for the same purpose in the same year, only the volume relating to one (usually the autumn assessment) has been retained. From 1916 the volumes for each census year and the five year interval in between have been selected (1916, 1921, 1926). In the latter years information contained in rate books is largely duplicated by electoral registers

Records relating to the valuations of 1912, 1925/26 have been kept, as have a selection of documents which illustrate the method of rate assessment/collection, including overseers' accounts and collection books

B = borough rate H = highway rate L - lighting rate

LW = lighting & watching rate P - poor rate S = sanitary rate

Records are open for a consultation unless otherwise indicated NFFP = not fit for production