The Primary Valuation of Tenements, also known as Griffith’s Valuation, was undertaken in order to establish the value of land and buildings in Ireland as a basis for levying a local system of fair taxation under the Irish Poor Law Act of 1838.
The Valuation was compiled on a barony basis and further subdivided according to townlands, civil parishes and the electoral divisions of Poor Law Unions. The first column heading is number and letters of reference to map; the number given refers to the location of the tenement on the 6’’ to the mile townland maps. Under the description of tenement, land and buildings are included, and, under net annual value, the annual rent expected, including maintenance and taxes and excluding the tithe rent, is given.
Griffith’s Valuation provides detailed information about land tenure, names of lessors and occupiers, their land and buildings. It records the occupier’s name, the extent of his holding, and the immediate landlord who is not necessarily the owner. However, one must bear in mind that it does not carry names of married sons or daughters for example, who may also occupy the dwelling. The information on towns is equally important, as the individual tenements were arranged according to streets. It is the only general assessment of land values in Ireland.
An Index to the Surnames in both Griffith’s Valuation and the Tithe Applotment books has been compiled, showing the occurrence of surnames in each county, on a barony/townland basis. This can be a useful indicator of the possible location of a particular family, especially if the surname is an uncommon one. The Valuation manuscripts are held in the National Archives.
It is generally referred to as Griffith’s Valuation after Richard Griffith who directed its compilation.