Inland Revenue Land Valuation Records

Created under the Finance Act of 1910. Presented by the Public Record Office in 1979

Both the "Domesday Books" and the "Forms 37 - Land" were initially accepted by the W.S.R.O., but all the forms have since been destroyed as having no independent merit with the exception of those for Ashurst Wood and Ifield. These have been kept because Ashurst Wood was in 1910 part of Forest Row, and appears in a volume at the East Sussex Record Office; while Ifield is in a volume at the Surrey Record Office

These records, whether books or forms, effectively form a directory of landholding in 1910, giving owners and occupiers, areas and gross and rateable values. The forms were merely the "file copies" of the individual entries in the books. Regrettably, neither books nor forms survive for the west end of West Sussex, i.e. the Chichester and Midhurst areas, whereas most of the working (OS) maps do

In this catalogue, the details of the books have been copied from the title pages. Some books however have had parishes cut out in the past so as to fit in with later administrative changes, and W.S.R.O. has followed this lead and, by arrangement with E.S.R.O., cut the pages for Patcham from IR/56 and received pages for East Grinstead from a volume at ESRO. Parishes that have been cut from volumes appear in the list in square barckets

PRO Information Sheet no.68

VALUATION OFFICE RECORDS CREATED UNDER THE 1910 FINANCE ACT

The Finance (1909-1910) Act (10 Edw. VII, c.8) provided for the levy and collection of a duty on the increment value of all land in the United Kingdom. The main object of this legislation was to tax that part of the capital appreciation of real property which was attributable to the site itself, ie excluding that arising from crops, buildings and improvements paid for by the owners. In this way, private owners were required to surrender to the State part of the increase in the site value of their land which resulted from the expenditure of public money on communal developments such as roads or public services

Increment value duty, as this levy was called, was based on the difference between the amount of two valuations. Section 26(1) of the Act required the Board of Inland Revenue to ascertain the site value of all land in the United Kingdom as on 30 April 1909. The value so ascertained constituted the "datum line" for the purposes of increment value duty. Any subsequent sale or grant of a lease, or transfer of an interest in a piece of land, or any subsequent death of a land-owner, provided the occasion for a potential payment of increment value duty. The site value as on the date of such occasion had then to be determined

It was for the purpose of making the original valuation of all land in the United Kingdom that the Valuation Office was set up. England and Wales were divided into a number of valuation districts; Scotland was separately organised. In 1914 there were 118 valuation districts in England and Wales, each in the charge of a district valuer. Each district comprised a number of income tax divisions, which were considered to be the most convenient units for administrative purposes. It was in the valuation districts that the work of valuation was actually performed. The original valuation was completed, as far as was possible under the conditions then existing, in the autumn of 1915. The assessment of the site value on subsequent occasions was a recurring operation which formed part of the normal functions of the Valuation Office until increment value duty was repealed by the 1920 Finance Act (10 and 11 Geo. V, c.18)

The original valuation exercise resulted in the creation of several classes of records which are described below

PLANS

Each unit of property was assigned an assessment number (sometimes also called a hereditament number) and plans based on the Ordnance Survey sheet maps were drawn up as the chief means of reference to the other records created in the course of valuation. Two sets of plans were created: the working plans used in the course of the original valuation and the record plans made after that valuation was completed. Those working plans which survive are in the custody of local record offices, to which enquiries about them should be made direct. The record set of plans is due for eventual transfer to the Public Record Office, but this transfer has not yet taken place. In the meantime, the record plans remain in the appropriate district valuation offices

BOOKS

Two sets of books were created: the so-called Domesday Books and the Field Books. As a first step towards the systematic valuation required by the 1910 Act, copies of the Income Tax Schedule A Registers kept by inspectors of taxes were made available to district valuers (income tax schedule A being payable on income from the ownership of lands, tenements, hereditaments or heritages in the United Kingdom). These copies were produced in the form of bound volumes which became known as Domesday Books. Those which survive are in the custody of local record offices, with the exception of a number for the City of London and City of Westminster which are held in the PRO in the record class IR/91

The final record, compiled after the survey was completed, was written up in small bound volumes called Field Books. These are now in the Public Record Office and form the class Valuation Office: Field Books (IR/58). The amount of information entered in the Field Books varies considerably, but usually includes the names of owner and occupier; the owner's interest (freehold, copyhold, etc); details of tenancy (term and rent); and the area covered by the property. Other details recorded may include the date of erection, number of rooms, state of repair, liability for rates, insurance and repairs, date(s) of previous sale(s) and, sometimes, a sketch-plan of the property. Figures entered for the purpose of valuation normally include the market value of fee simple of the whole property and the market value of the site divested of structures, timber and plants

The Field Books are arranged alphabetically by valuation district and, within districts, by area and assessment number. There is no cumulative index to the names of streets or places. In order to use the Field Books, it is first necessary to know the valuation district, area and assessment number of the property in question. To obtain these particulars, the plans must be consulted. The information should be sought in the first instance from the appropriate county record office and, failing this, from the district valuation office. The assessment number must then be keyed up with the IR/58 class list in the Search Department

The Public Record Office cannot undertake to search for any entry in a Field Book unless the names of the district and area and the assessment number of the property are first supplied. Searches relating to more than one property cannot be undertaken by the staff of the Public Record Office

FORMS

Some forty forms were created by the Valuation Office in the course of this operation. A set of these forms is preserved in the class Various Specimen Forms (IR/9/62-64). 'Only Form 37 has been retained. This was a form on which were entered certain details extracted from the Field Books and of which a copy was given to the owner of the property to which it related. Those sets of Form 37 which survive are in the custody of local record offices or remain in district valuation offices

Sometimes an entry in the Field Books contains no particulars, but simply the note "See Form 4". Form 4 was the form originally filled in by the owners. Details of large properties were sometimes too extensive to be entered fully in the Field Books and Form 4 appears to have been retained for reference. It is believed that no sets of Form 4 have survived

© Crown Copyright, February 1987

This material may be freely reproduced except for sale or advertising purposes

The Inland Revenue Field Books may be seen only at the PRO, Kew

Records are open for consultation unless otherwise indicated