The Valuation Office Survey 1910-1915
The Finance Act of 1909-1910 provided for the levying of various duties on
land. Land ownership by a privileged few and their resultant power in Parliament
had led to a necessity to relieve social injustice and poverty. The result was
what has been called ‘The Domesday Census’. Every piece of property and land
throughout the whole country was inspected by the Board of Inland Revenue’s
Valuation Office. The chief duty to be levied was the Increment Value Duty.
House owners with land of less than 50 acres and worth less than £75 per
acre were exempt. The aim of such a tax was to plough back into the state
coffers a contribution from private landowners for appreciation of their
property by state expenditure in the form of improved roads, drainage etc. This
valuation was based on land values as of 30 April 1909 at a rate of 20% and this
sum was levied until either the property was sold or transferred or until the
owner died.
The valuation took five years to complete. By July 1914 the number
of permanent staff employees had risen from 61 to 600. Fourteen valuation
divisions were subdivided into 118 valuation districts. Failure by landowners to
fill in the relevant form incurred a penalty of £50 (c. £4,000 today!).
Three records of this survey are available for public viewing. For
each income tax parish they consist of a 1908 Record Ordnance Survey map, Field
Books and a Valuation Book, Each property or parcel of land is indicated on the
map by an assessment (or hereditament) number; boundaries of property are
indicated by some colour marking. These numbers reoccur in numerical order in
the Field Books which contain descriptions (and sometimes a detailed plan) of
each property plus its relevant valuation details. These two records can only be
inspected at the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office) Class IR
58. The Valuation Books, known as the Domesday Books, are fortunately available
for inspection at local Record Offices. As in the other two records they contain
the assessment number of the property. They can be particularly useful in a
search for its identification in cases where the map has not survived or the
assessment number on it appears not to have been inserted or to have
faded beyond recognition. They contain a brief description of the property, its
actual address and map reference, plus the names of the occupiers and the names
and addresses of the owners. Where land is involved its estimated extent is
mentioned.
The main purpose of this transcription has been to provide for the
local and family historian a slender supplement to the 1901 Census for the
Parish of Meopham, Kent. For that reason we have kept it as simple as possible
and concentrated on names and locations, leaving it to the individual researcher
to pursue financial details and fuller descriptions of properties via the
sources already indicated.
Two indices are included: - a surname index and a
property index.
The first relates to persons mentioned in the assessment and is
self-explanatory. The second lists properties under their original and/or
contemporary names. An example of this is in the entry ‘Gothic House’
(assessment no. 1) which is also listed as ‘The Chestnuts’. A single
assessment number following a reference identifies one specific property.
Additional numbers listed under a reference indicate several properties in the
same general location, e.g. ‘The Green’ which has 15 entries and ‘The
Village’ (now known and indexed as ‘The Street’) which has 6 entries.
These may include unnamed cottages, pieces of woodland, farmland, working
premises etc. Such numbers may not always be consecutive. Owners may possess
properties in differing locations.
Every attempt in this transcription has been made to provide a contemporary
version of each named property. We take full responsibility for omissions and
errors and welcome helpful comments. Unfortunately the occasional
inconsistencies or illegibility of assessment numbering on the original maps,
even with the help supplied by the Valuation Books, have made it impossible to
identify every single property accurately. This is particularly difficult in
example of unnamed properties in the more isolated areas of the parish. In cases
of uncertainty relevant comments have been added in the Notes Column.
J.O. Goodwins June 2004
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The photograph on the cover of the central section of Meopham
village is reproduced by kind permission of Gravesham Borough Council.
(contained in each of the transcription lodged in the Record Offices)
The project has involved nine people from Meopham Historical
Society and the North West Kent Family History Society (The Meopham House
Group), and warm acknowledgements go to Sheila Bodiam, Grace Crowhurst, Sheila
Farmer, Pamela Goodwin, Joan Goodwins, Nicholas Miskin (for all the computing),
Peter Read, Mary Sargeant and Ros Wakeman.
It is hoped that readers will find the publication a helpful guide
in their researches into the story of a small North Downs village.
Copyright: Meopham Historical Society & North West Kent Family
History Society June 2004
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Section of IR 1908 Record Ordnance Survey map showing original
handwritten
assessment numbers Scale: 1: 25000
Copy of two pages of Field Book No. 2 showing details of Assessment 198
(Reference: 1R58170917)
With transcription of description of the above house and outbuildings
Surname Index Alphabetical
list of names that appear in the Assessments
Property Address Index Alphabetical
list of Properties that appear in the Assessments