Valuation Rolls 1915 - Press Release
From Crofts to Castles: Valuation Rolls in Scotland Go Online for the First Time
A fascinating snapshot of Scotland during the First World War
and a major new family history resource
A detailed picture of wartime Scotland is revealed today with the release of details from the Valuation Rolls for the year 1915-16, via the ScotlandsPeople website.
The rolls have been made searchable online for the first time, allowing genealogists, local historians and other researchers to view images of entries in the rolls, fully searchable by name or address.
The rolls record the names of owners, tenants and occupiers of each property, unlike the full lists of family members to be found in the censuses. Usually the named person is the head of the household, but sometimes a husband and wife might be listed. Frequently, the wife is the named tenant of rented property.
The Valuation Rolls were created so that the authorities could set local rates. The purpose was to assess property by its annual rental value. This was either the value of the rent paid by the tenant, or a notional rental value if the owner occupied their own property. The burgh and county assessors did not list properties individually that were worth below £4 annual rental value.
Registrar General and Keeper of the Records, George MacKenzie, said:
"These new details about property owners and tenants will be invaluable for people researching the history of their family, their house, or their local area. The rolls are most useful alongside other records, especially the census and statutory registers that are also on ScotlandsPeople."
Chris van der Kuyl, the CEO of brightsolid, the company that enables ScotlandsPeople for the National Records of Scotland, said:
"The publication of the Valuation Rolls on the ScotlandsPeople website is another piece in the jigsaw for helping people to trace their Scottish ancestry. Everyone at brightsolid is very excited by the launch of these new records, which will complement the 1911 Census records that we published on the ScotlandsPeople site just last year."
The 1911 Census records provide a snapshot of Scotland on the brink of the First World War. The Valuation Rolls allow researchers to carry the story of their ancestors forward into a time of upheaval and change brought about by war.
Every kind of dwelling can be found in the rolls, from crofts to castles, and they reflect the drift of people from rural areas into our towns and cities, as well as the continuing industrialisation of Scotland.
Working premises include shops, offices, factories, football stadiums, churches, cinemas, swimming baths, railways and even lighthouses. This is a fascinating insight into where and how our ancestors lived.
The Valuation Rolls will be available on the ScotlandsPeople website (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk), and at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh. These new online records will be interesting both to people in Scotland and to the Scottish diaspora across the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
General background
The Valuation Rolls 1915-16 were compiled by local assessors in the autumn and winter of 1914 and published in May 1915.
They were created by each of the 90 royal burgh and the county authorities of the 35 Scottish counties.
The main objective was to create the basis for consistent charging of rates, or local taxation, to pay for services such as education, drainage and street lighting.
Assessors identified the names of the owners, occupiers and tenants of properties, but did not work with future genealogists in mind. They generally only record the head of the household, so unlike the census, there is no information about other members of a family, unless they occur in their own right as owners, occupiers or tenants.
Each index entry lists the surname, forename, designation (address), parish, county and valuation roll reference number of individuals who owned or rented a property in Scotland and who paid over £4 yearly in rent.
For properties that are owned or rented by companies, public authorities, societies, multiple people (e.g. Mr and Mrs Smith) the index entry lists the group name (name of company, public authority, society etc..), designation (address), parish, county and valuation roll reference number of the owners or tenants who owned or rented a property in Scotland who paid over £4 yearly in rent.
Not all information found in the rolls has been captured in the index. We have not included any occupations or the rateable value of a property. We also have not indexed all names of people classed as a 'group'; a group is classed as more than two people listed under the same property as the owner, occupier or tenant. All of this information will be visible on the digital image of the valuation roll.
Statistics
Total numbers of names: around 2.6 million
The real figure is lower than this total suggests, because the names of many individuals recur. For example landlords are entered against each property they owned. The total compares with the 1911 Census, showing the population of Scotland in April 1911 was 4.7 million.
Unlike the census there was no general report or tables covering all the rolls, but some facts and figures can be discovered from the rolls:
- Number of indexed names: around 2.6 million
- Number of burghs: 88 royal and parliamentary burghs
- Largest burgh: Glasgow Burgh, 550,637 entries
- Smallest burgh: Earlsferry Burgh, Fife, only 267 entries
- Number of counties: 33 counties
- Largest county: Lanark County, 157,659 entries
- Smallest county Peebles County, 6,590 entries