Tatham Parish Tithes, Tithe Commutation Act Survey & Agriculture 1810-1850 | |
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IntroductionHistorically, tithes were payments made to support church and clergy by parishioners, based on an agreed proportion of annual 'income', typically one-tenth. Several categories existed: (i) great tithes which were based on growth (predial tithes): grain, hay, wood; (ii) small tithes (mixed tithes) based on animal produce: young, wool, milk, eggs, or on the products of labour (personal tithes), e.g. mills, fishing. Commonly, the great tithes were payable to the rector and the small tithes to the vicar of a parish, where such a distinction existed. Also, after the reformation, great tithe ownership could pass into the ownership of lay persons (improprietors). By the 18th century, tithes in kind were gradually being replaced by equivalent monetary payments, i.e. compounded, by an agreed arrangement or modus. Eventually, in the 20th century, dislike of the complex tithe system led to the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act which resulted in a unified system over the country whereby all a parish tithes were replaced by a single annual lump sum or rent charge tied to grain values, which was subdivided between property owners according to the property's valuation.1 Tatham Parish Tithes 1810-1847Records of Parish tithe payments exist in the Lancashire Record Office in the form of account books kept by George Smith,2-4 who was clerk to George Wright, steward of Hornby Castle Estate, as well as in the former's Diary for 1819-1856.5 Apart from the stallinges (see below), only one account is signed Geo(rge) Smith, but the handwriting is consistent throughout. They indicate that several different tithes were collected every year: (i) Midsummer & Martinmas tithes; (ii) Easter Dues; and (iii) Corn tithes, although these were not straightforwardly related to the categories given above. In the case of Tatham Parish, they were collected for the benefit of the Rectors: firstly Reverend Anthony Lister (later known as Rev. A. Lister Marsden) (1809-1823), followed by Reverend John Marsden Wright (1823-1874), son of George Wright. Initially, their collection was organised by G. Wright & G. Smith but, after court cases resulted in a change of ownership of Hornby Castle Estate in 1838, the Rector was directly involved together with George Smith. In addition, it appears that the tithes were used to support the poor, constables and highways rather than these requiring separate levies, with George Smith paying out sums of money from them, e.g.5
The so-called Midsummer & Martinmas (11th November) tithes, also referred to as small tithes, were single levies made on wool, lamb, geese, calves and sometimes pigs, which were listed in the annual account books from 1810-1849 for each farm. Click here for an example of the transcribed record for 1810. (An earlier set for 1750-1764 are considered too fragile to be made available!). In practice, the wool was assessed on the basis of either sheep numbers or fleeces, the latter sometimes classified into fine, common & wethers. Wintering sheep were also counted since there was seemingly the practice of over-wintering fell sheep on non-fell farms, the payment for this apparently being their fleeces. In later years this was entered as a separate assessment without identifying the farm. Pigs were only infrequently tithed and not mentioned in the accounts at all in the earlier years, which seems inconsistent with many references to pig-keeping in Smith's Diary. However, it does have one reference to a 'tithe pig' in 1819, paid by the innkeeper of the Bridge Inn.2,5 The assessed tithe unit was one-tenth of the relevant 'crop', or approximately so, except for calves when every calf was assessed. A defined tithe rate was then applied to produce the tithe charge, although this was not always kept to, e.g.2 In the above example, the calf tithe is equivalent to a one-tenth rate of 25/0d, showing that a calf was nearly 4 times the value of a lamb and 10 times a goose, in tithe terms. The one-tenth pig rate was 5/- to 8/- in 1830. These values changed during the 30 years of the records, generally drifting down from early highs to later lows, e.g. fleeces (common) from 2/6d to 1/3d, lambs 7/6d to 4/6d, whilst calves & geese were relatively stable. However, even within years their was an unexplained variation. Although traditionally based on payments in kind, it is apparent that by the early 1800s the tithe was paid usually to the collector by the farmer in cash, although not always, e.g.2 Easter Dues comprised small levies on a variety of produce. Many were a standard amount per houshold levied for convenience on proxy items rather than the products theselves, others were a small charge per item. Click here for an example of the transcribed record for 1810. These are listed in account books for 1809-1830, in the Lancashire Record Office,3 and total Easter Dues for the next 20 years are often quoted at the end of the Midsummer and Martinmas tithe accounts. The individual levy rates can be worked out from the detailed accounts, together with the information on previous practices given in the Tithe Award of 1848,6 and records of the associated discussion meetings,7 e.g. Cows were differentiated as 1d per farrow cow (cow not in calf that year)6 and 2d per nuckled cow (newcal: calving that year).6 Hemp seems to have been widely grown in both divisions, at least between 1815-1829. The corn & hay tithe does not seem to have been levied after 1814 and this may be due to the existence of an agreement on a monetary payment, or modus, as claimed in the dicussion of the Tithe Award. Such a modus was accepted for the Higher Division (High End) with a value of £1 1s 4½d, as well as an individual modus for Robert Hall of £1 11s 6d. Interestingly, the total for corn & hay in the High End in 1810 was £1 7s 11d, indicating what the modus represented. The Easter dues also included two church dues: a charge per 'communicant' - a variable charge per household, possibly 1d per adult and ½d per younger person - and a fixed 'oblation' charge of 1d per houshold. In some cases these were the only payments made. However, no payment was made by paupers or by others who were presumably exempt on religious grounds, including Quakers and the Catholic families of Robert Hall and Clintsfield. Finally, the Lord's Rent was paid by some individuals: 3/3d by Rev'd George Holden of Horton (?) and William Burrows of Guy Hill, 5/- for Hunter's land. Although particular days were set at the beginning of the year for payment of both groups of tithes together, the Diary shows that indivduals could pay them at any time during the year, and even years after,5 e.g.
From at least 1811, there was an attempt at simpification by replacing both Midsummer & Martinmas tithes and Easter Dues with a single sum of money, agreed between an individual occupier and the Rector, lasting either for several years or open ended, and signed by both parties and witnessed by George Smith. Click here for an example for Greenhaw (Green Hall) for 1814. Several were signed with a cross as late as 1834. The farmer is then said to stallinge for the sum of money (stallinge: dialect word meaning to compound for anything by the year or number).6 The agreements for 1814-1838 exist in a separate account book and these together with the tithe payments show stallinged sums increasing in frequency from one in 1811 to all but one in 1849.8 These sums were included in the Midsummer & Martinmas accounts and, consequently, the amounts of Easter Dues decreased proportionally. Unfortunately, details of the corn tithes exist only in George Smith's Diary. These record the sowing, shearing (reaping) and thrashing (threshing) of wheat, oats and barley in the parishes around Hornby, although not specifically in Tatham. There is also a single reference to tithe beans. Nevertheless, Tatham Tithe Grain is mentioned every year in summer from 1821 to 1849 (and by inference in 1820), when last year's grain levy was collected , valued and then 'let' by George Smith, i.e. sold, often to the valuer who was commonly Thomas Barrett of Raw Ridding (Smith's father in law) or John Lambert, Barrett's son in law, both of whom had an interest in Wennington Mill. Its value, given for 1839 and 1841-49, varied from £62 to £100, averaging £78 10s 0d for the ten years, e.g.5
The general picture is of a locally adapted sytem of tithes comprising various levies on at least 16 entities. From 1810 to early 1820s the non-corn tithes were raising about £100 per year, about 5 % from Easter Dues and 95 % from Midsummer & Martinmas (see figure). Subsequently, the income from both declined considerably, mainly during the period 1826-1836, to an average £57 in 1840-1845. The drop in commodity values (fleeces & lambs) must have been a major factor in this but, interestingly, there was also a decrease in the numbers of people paying tithes, although this recovered somewhat (based only on 5 yearly figures as yet). The corn tithes, averaging £82 for 1839-1846, are likely to have been the second major component of the tithes throughout the whole period being discussed. The only figure for the total tithes are the estimate for the seven year average of £171, produced in 1844 for the discussions related to the Tithe Commutation Act.8 Whilst this could well have been appropriate for the early period, the sum of the three tithe components is only £139, i.e. an average shortfall of £32, for which the source is unknown. Regardless of its basis or validity, this total was about to be dramatically increased! The Tithe Commutation Act and Tatham Tithes from 1850The work engendered by the 1836 Act was carried out by appointed Commissioners who established, by local consultation, the previous tithe procedures and amounts for a parish. From this was determined the Rent Charge Award, the single sum to be paid annually to replace the tithes. This was then distributed by the Valuer between all the individual land holdings, i.e. every house or cottage and yard, field, wood, mill etc., according to their area and use. This was listed alphabetically by owner in the Tithe Apportionment document (Schedule) and, secondly, by occupier, giving plot name, use, acreage and rent charge. The individual rent charges were totalled for each occupier, and these again again totalled for each owner in a final Summary. Tithe owners were exempt from tithes, as were roads and rivers. The location of each of these numbered land holdings was shown on the Tithe Map. For Tatham Parish, the Assistant Commissioner was John Job Rawlinson, Barrister of Greythwaite, Lancashire, replaced later by Townsend, and the Valuer, who was more in evidence, was James Birrell of Gretna. Four meetings were held at Tatham Bridge Inn or Hornby Castle Inn, from Dec. 14th 1844 to Aug. 22nd 1848, between the Assistant Commissioner and interested local landowners and the rector, or their representatives including George Smith. Some detail of these negotiations are contained in the (incomplete) Tithe File of the Record Office and in Smith's Diary. The average sum previously paid over the last 7 years was put at £171 including 10s Highway Rate, with two thirds coming from the lower division and one third from the upper. The average contribution to this from the corn tithe was £82 8s 7d.5 To this total was added £3 for unpaid tithes on coppice woods and £102 12s 7d for agistment (pasturage) and green crops. It was also proposed to add a tithe of 2d/acre for lower division hay but this was resisted on the grounds that a previous modus covered this. This was partially accepted by the Commissioner and, after a further compromise by Smith on behalf of the Rector, £23 7s 5d was added for lower division hay, giving a final figure for the Rent Charge of £300.5,8 The award is given as a preamble to the Tithe Apportionment,7 i.e.
Agreement on the Apportionment eventually followed on Sept 17th 1849. It included 1144 valued and numbered properties (some numbers supplemented with letters).7 In addition 12 properties belonging to tithe owners were exempted as well as all woods, commons, moors and fells, church and chapel. So too were roads and rivers. The basis for the individual property valuation by Birrell is not clear but seems to have included use, size and quality. For example,values in d/acre for a farm at Lowgill were: meadows 6.3 to 8.7; pasture 6.7 to 14.2; rough pasture 3.5; arable 9.5 and house and yard 12.1. Comparison of the list of occupiers given in the Apportionment with the 1841 and 1851 censuses indicates that the original data for Tatham Fells derives from the period between the censuses, whereas that for Lower Tatham clearly predates 1841 (15 cases with same occupier in both censuses but different in the tithe survey). The first payments under the new scheme were made in 1850. The actual tithe paid on each tithe area, defined by the par values in the Apportionment, varied each year in proportion to the corn price adjusted Rent Charge. The Tithe Map has a large scale (1:4733) but otherwise compares closely with the contemporary smaller scale Ordnance Survey map (1:10 560).9 Interestingly, George Smith assisted the OS surveyors in the production of that map, defining for them the parish boundaries in 1841 & 1842. The OS map were published in December 1847 (Tatham) and 1848 (Tatham Fells) and they claim to have been surveyed in 1844-45. Despite this, the Tithe Commission meetings decided that a suitable OS map could not be supplied (perhaps because of the scale) and, after Smith obtained tenders, Mr Scully of Huddersfield was appointed to produce a new map, on Nov 17th 1847. The finished map, inscribed James Scully L (Land) Surveyor, was sent to the Tithe Office for approval on April 14th 1848, for which Scully was paid £73 6s 6d, divided between the Lord of the Manor (Pudsey Dawson) and the Rector (JM Wright). Since the OS map was in fact available, although at a reduced scale, it is tempting to think that it was used as a basis for the Tithe Map, by simple enlargement. Details could then be quickly checked and amended where necessary. Smith actually records his use of such a device, a pantograph (given as pentagraph), for enlarging estate plans in 1842 and 1845. Like the tithe map, the earliest version of this OS map does not show the NW Railway's Wennington-Lancaster branch, opened in 1849 (Smith's Diary), although it is present on a later version with the same publication date. Using the OS map in conjunction with Tithe Map allows the names of houses and farms to be identified.The Tithe Act Survey maps presented here are based on information from the Tithe Apportionments and Tithe Maps, compiled on base maps derived from the 1847-48 OS maps: (see Tatham Fells or Lower Tatham). Tithe commutation obviously had the effect for Tatham Parish of greatly increasing the Rector's income at the expense of the landowner. It is perhaps surprising that it was not opposed more strongly - maybe they were all too conscious of having underpaid in the past? It also clearly made the owner liable for the tithe, although of course the occupier paid in the end, overtly or otherwise (the owner's liability was removed by the Tithe Act 1891), e.g.5
The re-valuation of tithes for the township of Wray and Botton was also completed by J. J. Rawlinson in 1848, with J. H. Atkinson as valuer, with the awards in this case being divided between the Vicar of Melling (£9) and the improprietor Pudsey Dawson of Hornby Castle (£134). Tatham: Physical Character and Agriculture 1810-1850The documents associated with the revision of tithes - the Tithe Commutation Act as applied to Tatham in 1848 - define its physical characteristics and land use: a total of 8501 acres (3440 ha), of which 60 % were meadow and pasture, 28 % unenclosed land (fells & moors), 11 % arable and 2 % woodland.7 Set in this landscape were 106 houses or cottages with their gardens and yards,of which threequarters (81) had additional 'cultivated 'land, i.e. were farms. Fifteen of these comprised more than one holding (land from more than one owner) and in one case 2 farms had the same occupier (Brackenbottom and Rantree Fold). They were again separately farmed by 1861 and have been counted separately in the statistics below. This is also the case for the 13 holdings of fields and woods not identifiable with a farm in the Parish. The area was traditionally divided for management purposes, including tithes and censuses, into a High End or Tatham Fells and a Low End, and these names are used in the following text. The Tithe Map9 shows that the majority of the boundaries of the fields, woods, and fell areas were substantially those of today, following a long history of enclosure, the latest at that time being in 1812 (?). Some small areas of common land remained, which were to be subsequently enclosed in 1858 (Tatham Moor, Thwaite Moss & Oakbank Common). Thus, the subdivided aspect of the landscape of today was largely in place, with probably the same stone walls and the ancestors of the hedges. At the time of the 1841 census, the Parish population was 677, with 69 % of it directly supported by agriculture and most of the remainder secondarily dependent on it.10 Unsurprisingly, in the censuses of 1841 & 1851, most heads of households described themselves as Farmers or Yeomen whilst the so-named 'Persons of Independent Means' and 'Landed Proprietors' (landowners) would have included some who themselves farmed in a small way. The farms in 1848 varied widely in size, from 1.2 to 347.6 acres but the majority were of modest size. The median was 51 acres, with 86 % in number and 29 % in area between 5 - 100 acres; 12 % in number and 62 % in area between 100 - 300 acres; and 3 % in number and 9 % in area greater than 300 acres. National figures for these size classes in 1851 are: 63, 30, 8 for numbers and 22, 45, 34 for areas,11 i.e. there were a greater proportion of small farms in Tatham Parish. The three largest were Robert Hall (318 ac), Tatham Hall (327 ac) and Ivah (348 ac) (excluding Whitray - see below). The parish land holdings in 1848 were predominantly occupied by tenants (80 %), both farmers (60 out of 81) and non-farmers (16 of 17). Notably, however, the ownership was not in the hands of a few traditional landowners but was distributed over a large number of people, 83 in all. Although the largest was the Lord of the Manor, Pudsey Dawson of Hornby Castle, he held only 8 holdings totalling 544 acres (excluding fells and commons) in Tatham, dominated by one farm (Hall Barns, later Tatham Hall). As the land use figures indicate, as today, the dominant farming practice was animal husbandry and some details about this can be gleaned from the tithe payment records.2,3 Unfortunately, these become increasingly less informative after 1810, as payments in kind became replaced by a single cash payment, i.e. stallinges.4 In 1810, 55 farms paid the main animal husbandry tithes (Midsummer and Martinmas). The majority were divided between those paying for sheep only (45 %) and those for sheep and calves (40 %) (but see below). The remaining few reared only calves (9 %) or only geese (5 %). The economic purpose of sheep rearing was the production of wool and mutton. In 1795,12 the main sheep breed in upland Lancashire was the Scottish Blackface (still one of the local breeds), with sheep being sold at 4 years old to Lancashire graziers in the lowlands, for fattening and slaughter. That is, there was no fat lamb market, unlike today. Other breeds were later introduced in upland areas, e.g. Lonks and Woodlands at Roeburndale and South Downs and Leicesters in the lower parts.15 In 1810, the total flock for 47 farms in the parish was given as 2141 with 86 % from Tatham Fells. The largest flock was 433 at Whitray and several others had over a 100: Bank End, Crossdale Grains and Ivah at Tatham Fells, and Hall Barns (now Tatham Hall farm) in the Low End. Excluding Whitray, the average flock for the other 45 sheep farms was 32. The total lamb crop from all farms for that year was 915. 
The sheep crop figures for Hall Barns give some insight into sheep management then: 85 lambs and 164 fleeces made up of 80 wether, 30 fine and 54 common. These suggest 84 ewes of 2 breeds for a lambing ratio of ~1, assuming no gelt (barren) ewes or lamb deaths. The ~40 wethers arising from this lambing would be kept for 2 years before sale for fattening, as 2-shear, at a rate of about 40 / year. In addition, the ~40 gimmer lambs would be partly kept as ewe replacements, e.g 20 for a 4 year turnover and the remainder sold as gimmer hoggs for breeding. The flock would also include several tups, at least one a Blackface to maintain that breeding flock, bought in from elsewhere (here not allowed for in the fleece analysis). The fine fleeces are likely to have been South Downs since the latter were kept by Hornby Castle Estate prior to 1815.14 That this pattern of sheep management was largely typical of the parish as a whole is suggested by the ratio of lambs to fleeces. However, a small number of farms apparently only over-wintered (fell) sheep, e.g, just 3 in 1810 but 16 in 1820 involving 271 sheep, with the sheep kept on pastures vacated by the cattle being wintered indoors. This utilised grazing whilst avoiding poaching the wet soils of these fields. The practice was apparently paid for by giving the grazier the fleece of the sheep, on which they paid a tithe. The farms involved were typically small farms in both halves of the parish. Cattle were another important part of the local farming economy, with a number of possible aims. Firstly, for milk, butter and cheese production which, so far as milk was concerned , could only be on a small local scale. Alternatively, there was a larger market for in-calf cows or heifers, to be used for milk supplies in large Lancashire towns.12 There was also the sale of cattle for slaughter as fat cattle or as store cattle for fattening and, finally, sale of calves and heifers for breeding. Although all of these strands can be identified in the evidence below, it is not sufficient to quantify their relative importance. In 1810, 54 people paid dues for 287 calves whilst the tithes show only 145 calves from 27 farms, with no agreement between the same farms! Whether this was due to the difference in the charges, 2/6d for the tithe and 1d for the due, and a reluctance to pay tithes, or some other factor is not known. The number of calving cows kept was small, with calf numbers ranging from 2-12 and a mean of 1.7. Only 9 farms paid dues for milk from 15 cows, presumably for local sale. The diary of George Smith, clerk to the steward of Hornby Castle Estate and the Rectors of Tatham Parish, deals with the estate's farms including some in Tatham Parish.5 Amongst the many references to cows (110), 9 are specifically to milk or milch cows, including his own. Butter and cheese are also mentioned but there is only one record of cheese production, at a rate of 2 cwt (102 kg) cheese from 20 weeks milk from a cow (4 quarts/day) (total of 636 l).13 Smith also refers to cows being sent to Liverpool but whether for milk or meat is not said. Finally, fat cows were sold, including to local butchers, obviously for slaughter, and other cows sold and bought as replacements. Another minor detail is provided by a record of bulling of cows apparently written by Christopher Langstroth of Knott Hill around 1820-1823.15 It shows a total of 61 cattle being served, comprising both heifers and cows, with 4-8 for 6 owners and only one each for 21 others. At this time Langstroth was paying tithes on 6 calves.  The traditional cattle of the area had been the Lancashire Longhorn,12 but by the time of Smith's Diary the cattle of the local area were much more varied, with 'Scotch' cattle particularly favoured, with Galloways and Highland cattle, both then typically black breeds, specifically mentioned as being bought at Penrith and Askrigg / Austwick Fairs (Fig. 3). Some of the individual purchases were relatively large, e.g. 30 Galloways and 20 Highland from Penrith. Less favoured were 'English' and 'Irish' cattle. As to other breeds, Longhorn (Lancashire?) and Shorthorn have single mentions. Although Shorthorns (or Durhams) were eventually to become the dominant breed, this area was obviously slow to recognise their value, since they had been at Quernmore Park since 1805.15 One interesting point about the movement of large numbers of cattle along the local roads was the necessity of paying tolls on them and Smith's Diary records how herds of 50-70 were charged 4/- to 5/- at the Farleton Toll Gate, and impounded when not doing so! Foals are only recorded by the Easter Dues, with only 7 farms producing 1 foal each in 1810, although most farms would keep a horse for field work, several in the case of significant arable crop production. Geese, however, were a surprisingly widespread part of the rural economy, being kept by two thirds of farms, especially in Tatham Fells. In 1810, flocks varied from 5-44 and totalled 499 (84 % High End). Hens were also kept on most farms and by many non-farmers, with 85 persons recorded by the Easter Dues. In additon, bees were kept by 13 persons, with 40 swarms. Pigs are frequently referred to in George Smith's Diary, although infrequent in tithe records, and may have been widely kept in small numbers. The relative values of animals for tithe purposes in 1810 for goose to sheep (fleece+lamb) to calf was 1 : 3.5 : 10, but how that related to market values is not known.The tithe apportionment distinguishes between meadow and pasture, i.e. between fields shut off from grazing for 3 months for the production of a hay crop for winter fodder, and pasture potentially available all year. Typically, meadow areas on a farm were half to a third of pasture.This ratio was often affected where large areas of rough pasture existed, an extreme case being Crossdale Grains where a single large field of enclosed fell (Master Close) distorted the ratio to 1:24, reflecting the farm's concentration on sheep farming. Another sheep farm is the special case of Whitray, where 490 acres of unenclosed Fell (Whitray Fell) are included in the farm holding, and, unusually, is assessed for tithe. The other fell areas were not tithed although they will have been allocated to Tatham farms as stints for grazing. One difference from today is that most farms had at least one arable field, probably producing crops for their own use. More surprising is that several farms had an important arable component, e.g. Robert Hall: 58 % of land area plus a half acre stackyard; Tatham Hall: c. 47 % (uncertainty due to several fields being described as arable and pasture or meadow). Information on crops is given by the pre-1848 tithe accounts going back to 1809, from George Smith's Diary and from field names. Wheat, barley and oats were all grown. The first probably concentrated on by the large Low End farms, whereas oats was probably the main grain crop for local consumption in both divisions. Barley was certainly grown at Hornby, and possibly also at Tatham, and local grain might have been used by the maltster employed at Guy Hill. Another widespread but minor crop was hemp, which the majority of farms grew, again presumably for local domestic use. It was also frequently mentioned as yarn over a long period in inventories from this general area.16 Turnips, swedes and potatoes were grown as fodder for stock and human consumption The practices involved in improving land fertility that developed in the eighteenth century were continued in this period, at least by the larger landowners. Smith's Diary records large quantities of lime being applied to the fields of Hornby Castle Estate farms, although it was more generally restricted to use as an inital treatment when breaking up rough pastures or moorland. As well as the universal use of farmyard manure, imported guano was sometimes used as a fertiliser.14 New or improved subsoil drainage schemes were undertaken by Hornby Catle Estate in this period, initally using stone drains and latterly tile drains.13,14 For most farms, however, repair of old drains was probably the limit of activity.
1 National Archives Research Guide 41. MK with MW & EH 2010 |
MK, with MW & EH 2010 |
