The following details are based on the National Archives website:
Information from landowners and surveyors was written up into small printed bound volumes called Field Books. Each book contained space to record 100 plots.
The Inland Revenue Valuation Office called these plots hereditaments.
The 4,581 properties in Ramsbottom Income Tax Parish (ie the Urban District of Ramsbottom) were therefore recorded in 46 Field Books.
The amount of information entered in the Field Books varied considerably. For each property, the survey usually included:
- the names of owner and occupier
- the owner’s interest (freehold, copyhold, etc.)
- details of tenancy (term and rent)
- the area (in acres, roods and perches) of each property – not for ordinary houses
- figures entered for the purpose of valuation (i.e. market value)
The Field Books sometimes included:
- the date of erection of buildings – this can be assumed from the date of the original lease, where given
- number of rooms
- state of repair
- liability for rates, insurance and repairs
- date(s) of previous sale(s)
- a sketch-plan of the property. These are rare, but are especially valuable as all mills and churches have plans
We have copied only first two pages for each hereditament, reproducing other pages only if they carry additional information such as plans of a property.