Griffith's valuation
Encyclopedia
Griffith's Valuation was a survey of Ireland completed in 1868.
started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examination of its soils. He used 'the Scotch system of valuation' and it was a modified version of this which he was to introduce into Ireland when he assumed the Office of Commissioner of Valuation.
. He completed the boundary work in 1844.
He was also called upon to assist in the preparation of a parliamentary Bill to provide for the general valuation of Ireland. This Act was passed in 1826, and he was appointed Commissioner of Valuation in 1827, but did not start work until 1830 when the new 6" maps, became available from the Ordnance survey and which he was required to use as provided for by statute.
He served as Commissioner until 1868, when he was succeeded by Sir John Ball Greene CB, who then took charge of the ongoing revisions of the valuation on an annual basis. Griffith also served as Chairman of the Board of Works. He conducted two major valuation surveys. First, was the townland valuation, which was completed in the 1840s and which took the townland as the geographical unit of valuation. The second and more extensive, was the tenement survey which valued individual property separately for the first time and which also valued all buildings in the townland for the first time, whereas, heretofore only the larger houses, principally those of the gentry had been valued in the first valuation. The tenement valuations of County Dublin
were the first to be published on 5 May 1853 and the last were the valuations of County Armagh
on 1 June 1865.
Counties Date of completion of survey
Carlow 28 June 1853
Cork 20 July 1853
Dublin 9 July 1853
Kerry 19 July 1853
Kilkenny 8 July 1853
Kilkenny City 8 July 1853
Limerick 29 June 1853
Limerick City 29 June 1853
Queen's County 28 June 1853
Tipperary 29 June 1853
Waterford 5 July 1863
Waterford Borough 5 July 1863
Dublin City 31 Oct 1854
Kildare 18 July 1854
Wexford 7 July 1854
Wicklow 4 July 1854
King's County 2 July 1855
Longford 6 July 1855
Louth 5 July 1855
Drogheda Borough 6 July 1855
Meath 10 July 1855
Westmeath 5 July 1855
Clare 3 July 1856
Galway Town 14 July 1856
Cavan 25 June 1857
Galway 29 June 1857
Leitrim 6 July 1857
Mayo 13 July 1857
Donegal 6 July 1858
Roscommon 1 July 1858
Sligo 7 July 1858
Londonderry 16 July 1859
Tyrone 13 July 1860
Monaghan 1 July 1861
Antrim 10 July 1862
Carrickfergus 10 July 1862
Fermanagh 4 July 1864
Down 12 July 1864
Armagh 1 June 1865
Griffith's background
Richard John GriffithRichard John Griffith
Sir Richard John Griffith , was an Irish geologist, mining engineer and chairman of the Board of Works of Ireland, who completed the first complete geological map of Ireland and was author of the valuation of Ireland - known ever since as Griffith's Valuation.-Biography:Griffith was born in Hume...
started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examination of its soils. He used 'the Scotch system of valuation' and it was a modified version of this which he was to introduce into Ireland when he assumed the Office of Commissioner of Valuation.
Tasks in Ireland
In 1825 Griffith was appointed by the British Government to carry out a boundary survey of Ireland. He was to mark the boundaries of every county, barony, civil parish and townland in preparation for the first Ordnance SurveyOrdnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
. He completed the boundary work in 1844.
He was also called upon to assist in the preparation of a parliamentary Bill to provide for the general valuation of Ireland. This Act was passed in 1826, and he was appointed Commissioner of Valuation in 1827, but did not start work until 1830 when the new 6" maps, became available from the Ordnance survey and which he was required to use as provided for by statute.
He served as Commissioner until 1868, when he was succeeded by Sir John Ball Greene CB, who then took charge of the ongoing revisions of the valuation on an annual basis. Griffith also served as Chairman of the Board of Works. He conducted two major valuation surveys. First, was the townland valuation, which was completed in the 1840s and which took the townland as the geographical unit of valuation. The second and more extensive, was the tenement survey which valued individual property separately for the first time and which also valued all buildings in the townland for the first time, whereas, heretofore only the larger houses, principally those of the gentry had been valued in the first valuation. The tenement valuations of County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
were the first to be published on 5 May 1853 and the last were the valuations of County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
on 1 June 1865.
Contemporary use of and dates of valuation
The valuation is a vital document in genealogical research, since in the absence of census records in Ireland before 1901 the valuation records in many ways can act as a substitute. It is helpful in this to know the precise dates when the individual county components of the survey were completed, as follows:Counties Date of completion of survey
Carlow 28 June 1853
Cork 20 July 1853
Dublin 9 July 1853
Kerry 19 July 1853
Kilkenny 8 July 1853
Kilkenny City 8 July 1853
Limerick 29 June 1853
Limerick City 29 June 1853
Queen's County 28 June 1853
Tipperary 29 June 1853
Waterford 5 July 1863
Waterford Borough 5 July 1863
Dublin City 31 Oct 1854
Kildare 18 July 1854
Wexford 7 July 1854
Wicklow 4 July 1854
King's County 2 July 1855
Longford 6 July 1855
Louth 5 July 1855
Drogheda Borough 6 July 1855
Meath 10 July 1855
Westmeath 5 July 1855
Clare 3 July 1856
Galway Town 14 July 1856
Cavan 25 June 1857
Galway 29 June 1857
Leitrim 6 July 1857
Mayo 13 July 1857
Donegal 6 July 1858
Roscommon 1 July 1858
Sligo 7 July 1858
Londonderry 16 July 1859
Tyrone 13 July 1860
Monaghan 1 July 1861
Antrim 10 July 1862
Carrickfergus 10 July 1862
Fermanagh 4 July 1864
Down 12 July 1864
Armagh 1 June 1865