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Chapter 8 Land Records

In a primarily agricultural country, ownership or use of land was highly important. In addition, it was a major political issue as dispossession of land, and on occasion its planting with settlers, had widely occurred. Various land records exist. To understand these records, it is useful to know that land could be owned outright, leased on a long-term basis (for a period of years or for the duration of the lives of specified persons), or rented on a short- term basis (very often at the whim of the landlord or his agent). During the 18th and early 19th century, the occupiers of the land were generally not its owners. They were small farmers and cottiers who rented or leased the land from large estates. The major land records and their significance is described below

Tithe Applotment Survey

Tithes were taxes levied on arable land for the upkeep of the Col. Prior to 1832 they were paid 'in kind' in the form of farm produce etc. From that year a Commissioner was appointed for each parish to oversee valuation of properties and 'applotment' of tithes based on that valuation. The Tithe Applotment (or Composition) Books produced show: townland, name of occupier, area and tithe payable. A surname index is combined with the Griffith's Valuation Surname index (see below). Copies are in the NAI (NAI), the NLI and the Gilbert Library. See Parish List (p. 21) for dates.

Griffith's Primary Valuation

Griffith's Primary Valuation was carried out in Mayo between 1855 & 1857. Its purpose was to calculate a relative 'valuation' of each holding. A tax, commonly called 'rates', was levied based on this valuation. The resulting records show, for each landholding, the following: Parish and Townland; Map reference; Name of occupier; Description of the holding (or 'tenement'); Area; Rateable value of property. An index has been compiled by the NLI, and is available in many archives. It is particularly useful in locating a person within Mayo. Many Irish names are associated with one area, and a search of the index may reveal an area in which the name of interest is particularly common.

Further valuations of properties were conducted up to modem times. These can be inspected in "Cancellation Books" at the Valuation Office in Dublin. Copies of the primary valuations are in the Mayo County Library, NAI, National Library, Gilbert Library and most of the larger libraries. (See p. 58). A 'Full Name' index to Griffiths Valuations of Mayo has been published by Andrew J. Morris (U.S.). (See p. 86)

Registry of Deeds

A deed is a written witnessed agreement or undertaking by one or more parties. The vast majority deal with property transactions, e.g. leases, mortgages and conveyances. Business partnerships and marriage settlements were also registered. The Registry of Deeds was established in 1708 as a repository where deeds could be officially registered, but registration was not compulsory. The complete set of registered deeds is in the Registry of Deeds, Henrietta Street, Dublin. There are two sets of indexes which can be used to locate a deed, a Grantors Index and a Land Index.

Grantors Index: These are bound in volumes by initial letter of surname and a time-frame. e.g.: A 1708-1729.

The Grantor's name can be found alphabetically within each volume. The Grantor Index Books for the years 1708-1832 are arranged as follows: Surname and forename of grantor; surname (only) of grantee; & volume, page and number of the transcript. From 1833, the arrangement is as follows: Surname and forename of grantor; surname and forename of grantee; Location of land (not always stated); year of registration; & transcript volume and number.

Land Index: As there is no grantee index, and the researcher may not know the name of the grantor, the land indexes may be used. The Land Index Books are arranged by time frame for each county. The Land Index Books for Co. Mayo are as follows:

If the approximate date of a transaction is known, the relevant land index may be consulted. The Index is divided by barony. Within each barony the townlands are alphabetically arranged by first letter only. If the townland of interest is listed, the index will provide reference for all deeds which mention that townland or place. This is in the format 'Curhawnagh 1708 -1832 Lyons to Waldron 23.345.178034' (ie names of parties involved, and volume, page and transcript number). The details given from 1833 on are: land name, parish, name of grantor, name of grantee, year of registration, and volume, page and transcript numbers.

Some deeds were registered giving no indication of barony, so the 'no barony' books for the relative time-frame should be checked also.

Transcript Books: These contain verbatim transcripts of the original deeds. They are highly complex documents, hand-written and often difficult to read although the biographical information can usually be extracted without understanding the legal jargon.

Memorial: A memorial is the copy of the deed registered by the parties to the agreement or transaction. It is from this deed that the transcription is made. Photocopies of these can be obtained.

Abstract Books: These give details about the parties involved in agreements and transactions. There are no abstracts for the period 1708-1832.

Pre 1708 Deeds: A small collection of pre 1708 deeds for Mayo are held at the NAI. A card index is available, arranged by barony, giving the following details: Place, date, parties, nature of deed and reference number. The reference number may be used to obtain the deed required.

Encumbered Estates

Under the Encumbered Estates Act of 1849 the Encumbered Estates Court (later the Landed Estates Court) was established and empowered to sell or transfer the estates of insolvent or 'encumbered' owners.

Documents relating to the estates auctioned by the Encumbered Estates Court are held in the NAI, and the NLI. The O'Brien Rental Index, the Encumbered Estates Court Index to Conveyances, the Landed Estates Court Records of Conveyances and the Landed Estates Court Index can be consulted to obtain references for these records.

The Land Commission

The Land Commission was established in 1881, initially to arbitrate in claims of unfair rents made by tenants against their landlords. It also had the power to provide loans to tenants who wished to buy their land. Two card indexes (1) by estate (2) by vendor are available in the NLI. The Land Commission holds a much larger collection of land records, but these are not directly accessible for research. The Land Commission is housed in the same building as the NAI. A third card index to wills held by the Land Commission can also be consulted at the NLI.

Congested Districts Board

The Congested Districts Board was established in 1891. A congested district had a specific and complex definition, but was effectively a poor area with a high population which could not be economically sustained. The Board had responsibility for providing assistance to these districts, and to persons seeking relocation from these districts. They encouraged local industry and modernisation of farming. While the NAI hold some administration records, (reports were published) but the major records of transactions are held by the Land Commission (see above).

The Land Registry

In 1892 the Land registry was established to provide a system of compulsory registration t of title of land bought under various land purchase acts. When title is registered all the f relevant details are entered into numbered folios. The details in each folio are divided under [ the following headings: (i) Property location & barony (ii) Ownership (iii)Burdens.

Maps relating to all registrations are also held by the Land Registry. A folio can be located by a name index search (when the registered owner is known) or a map search (when the address is known). All title registrations for Mayo are held by the Land Registry, Setanta Centre, Dublin 2 and can be accessed by personal callers.

Estate Records

Estate records can sometimes provide the researcher with information about an ancestor who rented land from, or worked on, an estate. However, estate records are private and there is no central repository for those which are now on public access. They are in various national and local archives, and many still remain in private hands.

Estate records generally consist of any or all of the following: rentals, maps, deeds, wage books. To locate estate records, it is necessary to know the owner of the estate. This can be established by consulting one of the following:

(i) The lessor column of the Griffiths Valuations, although in many cases the lessor named is subletting from the estate owner.

(ii) The Land Owners of Ireland by U.H. Hussey deBurgh (1878).

(iii) The 'Persons' or 'Places' volume of Hayes' index to 'Manuscript Sources for the History of Irish Civilisation'. This gives a brief description of the type of records available within many major archives.

(iv) OS Fieldname books (see p.18 and 19)

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