Reference
DBV2
Title
1910 Finance Act Valuation Records: Luton Valuation Area
Date free text
1910 - 1915
Production date
From: 1910 To: 1915
Admin/biog history
1. 1910 Finance Act or 'Domesday' Survey
Rates have been levied from at least the fifteenth century onwards, both locally and nationally. Examples include the poor rate, hearth tax and land tax. The 1910 Finance Act was a further mechanism devised for the levying of rates, through the assessment of land value. Under the provisions of Part I of the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910, the first full and detailed survey of landownership in the United Kingdom as of April 1909 was mounted. This became known as the Lloyd George 'Domesday' Survey, forming one element of his famous 'People's Budget' of 1909. The Act met with opposition from landowners who formed organisations such as the Land Union to combat the valuation and duties. In the years following 1910 the original Act was modified and after the First World War a Select Committee was appointed to investigate the 1910 duties. Although their report was inconclusive, the majority of the land clauses and land duties of the Act were repealed in 1920.
To implement Lloyd George's new duties a sophisticated valuation was necessary. This arose principally for the proposed collection of 'Incremental Duty', being a 20% tax for central government levied on any increase in value of land sold or transferred after 1909. The idea was to tax the intrinsic capital appreciation of the land - by a complex calculation involving four separate values. Owners were seen to be surrendering part of the enhanced value of the site of their land, when they sold, to fund public expenditure developments.
For the purposes of making the original valuation District Valuation Offices were created, and England and Wales divided into valuation districts; Scotland was separately organised. Each district comprised a number of Income Tax divisions, but the actual valuation was done on a district level. The original valuation was completed in the autumn of 1915, however the assessment of the valuation of site value on subsequent occasions was a recurring operation which formed part of the normal functions of the Valuation Office until 1920.
The information found in the valuation records present numerous possibilities for research into the twentieth century, including demography, society and economy. The main use of the records is in providing a vital link in the chain of ownership and occupation of property for house historians. As such they provide the earliest piece of evidence as to title, linked with a map. The records cover the whole county and can help fix ownership of a piece of land just before the grand land sale that followed the First World War, and also present a snapshot of land ownership and occupation at the time. The records provide information for the study of tenure, the extent of freehold ownership, leasehold and copyhold details and rents. In more general terms the Domesday Survey helps the economic historian to determine the size of estates and their relative value. Also the nature of land use is reflected in the records, for example by providing evidence for researching contaminated land, rights of way, etc.
2.2 Maps: DBV3
When the valuation was made two sets of large scale 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps (usually scale 1:2500, although 1:1250 and 1:500 plans were used for built-up areas) were used. One set was used as a working copy and the other as a permanent record, now held at the PRO. The working copies are those held by the record office. These vary in completeness and precision in comparison to the permanent records but are no the less valuable sources.
2. Records of the 1910 Finance Act
The original valuation resulted in the creation of various classes of records, some of which are held centrally at the Public Record Office (PRO), while others were distributed to county record offices. The main classes are reference books and maps, as detailed in sections 2.1 and 2.2.
2.1 Domesday Books: DBV1 & 2
Two sets of books were created: Valuation Books (also known as 'Domesday Books') and Field Books. The Field Books are the final record of the valuation and held in the PRO. The Domesday Books, distributed to county record offices, were the first step towards systematic valuation and copied the information found in the Income Tax Rate Books. Any unrated properties were added and each property within the division was given an identification number.
Scope and Content
Please note Income Tax Parish does not necessarily coincide with ecclesiastical or civil parish
Level of description
sub-fonds