Badsey: Valuation Survey 1910

Go directly to the Valuation Survey records

Thanks to the dedicated work of a team of volunteers from The Badsey Society, a complete transcription of the Valuation Office Survey records for Badsey, Aldington, Blackminster and Wickhamford (undertaken as part of a national survey between 1910 and 1915), is now available giving detailed information about land ownership in these parishes. This under-utilised resource is a goldmine for local and family historians. It complements the 1911 census so, with both resources available, it helps us to have a better understanding of the living conditions of our ancestors in the years leading up to the First World War.

A century ago, many hours were spent by surveyors and administrators on the survey which ultimately proved to be a fiscal white elephant. Here are details about why the Valuation Survey was undertaken. A hundred years on, many more hours were spent by The Badsey Society team in decoding the forms, and making the information available in a readable format. With many thanks to the following people: Jane Croucher, Paul Green, Trevor Hockenhull, Tom Locke, Mike Lovatt, Valerie Magan, Ivor Martin, Jane Neill, Robin Neill, Lizzie Noyes, Virginia Pawlyn, Richard Phillips, Meryl Pratt, Pat Sparrow, Brian Smith, Hazel Smith, Maureen Spinks, Chris Winton, many of whom can be seen in the photograph of our trip to The National Archives in October 2010. Whether it was in taking digital images of the Field Books, transcribing the data on to an Excel spreadsheet, checking the information, or preparing for the website, all played their part.

The transcription details which follow have been taken from three series of records which were created for or by the Board of Inland Revenue Valuation Offices under the provisions of the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910 concerning duties on land values:

The first was the Valuation précis (also known as Domesday Books, but properly entitled "Duties on Land Values"), prepared by the Inspector of Taxes. The books contain entries for each hereditament in England and Wales, providing basic information relative to the valuation of the property, including the valuation assessment number, map reference, owner, occupier, situation, description and extent. The original documents may be viewed at Worcestershire Record Office: BA 8585, Parcel 1, Reference 009:5, No 6 (Aldington, Badsey, Wickhamford) and BA 8585, Reference 009:5, Parcel 1, No 22 (Offenham).
The Field Books, the next series in order of compilation, were prepared by the Valuation Office, and normally contain all the information about individual hereditaments to be found in the Domesday Books plus, in some instances, additional details descriptive of the premises. The original documents may be viewed at The National Archives in series IR58.
The Forms 37-Land contain information extracted from the Domesday Books, though in a different format. The original documents may be viewed at Worcestershire Record Office: BA 8585, 009:5, Parcel 4 (Aldington, Badsey, Wickhamford) and BA 8585, 009:5, Parcel 10 (Offenham).

Below is an explanation of what is contained in each of the columns, information which has been gleaned from the above three sources. In order to understand the data below more fully, click here to find out how the survey was carried out. Look at these case studies for the Hall brothers and Byrd family to see the sort of information which we can glean from the records.

Heading
1 Parish, ref no, map, TNA ref, date inspected	Line 1 gives the parish (Aldington, Badsey, Wickhamford, Offenham) - note that part of Aldington transferred to Badsey in 1921 and the land and properties listed for Offenham transferred to Badsey in 1949 Line 2 gives the reference number as recorded in the Field Books Line 3 gives the map on which the hereditament can be found - go to the relevant map and then look for the reference number (if the reference number is included with another number for valuation purposes, only the latter number is shown on the map) Line 4 gives The National Archives reference number (beginning IR58) required for ordering original documents Line 5 gives the date that the property/land was inspected by the Valuation Office inspector
2 Description, land area, interest of owner	Description of the hereditament (eg cottage, house, agricultural land) The estimated extent of this particular piece of land or property The interest of the owner (freehold, leasehold, etc)
3 Situation, present-day address	The situation of the property as listed in the Valuation and Field Books For buildings, the current-day address of the property is given (in italics and brackets) and a link to the 1911 census with the schedule number
4 Occupier	The name of the occupier (the Field Book often gave just an initial but the Valuation Book usually gave the full forename, so this has been given where known) Where there was more than one occupier, extra names have been added but are not indexed Where the name of the occupier has changed between Lady Day 1909 and the provisional valuation date, this has been noted
5 Owner	The name and address of the owner (the full address appears only on the Provisional Valuation form)
6 Particulars	Particulars (where an hereditament was valued with another, it is often necessary to go to that reference number to see details)
7 Rent details	Amount of rent payable If given, the terms of the rent, for how long and from what date If the rent is included in another hereditament, this is noted
8 Gross value, rateable value	Line 1 gives the Gross Value taken from the Poor Rate Line 2 gives the Rateable Value taken from the Poor Rate If the gross/rateable values are included in another hereditament, this is noted
9 Former sales, date, price	The date (if any) of any former sales of the hereditament prior to Lady Day 1909 The price paid Subsequent expenditure
10 Valuation details	If more than one property is being assessed together, this is noted, then four amounts are given: Gross Value - the amount which the land might be expected to make on the open market, free of any encumbrances Full Site Value - the amount which remained after deducting the value of the buildings, etc, from the gross value of the land Total Value - the gross value, with deductions made for fixed charges, rights of way and rights of common Assessable Value - the total value, with the same deduction made to arrive at the full site value from the gross value, but with additional deductions for work and expenditure made by the owner to improve the land
11 Deduction details	Details of deductions made when working out the Full Site Value: B = Buildings and structures M = Machinery T = Timber F = Fruit trees O = Other things growing on the land (fences also tended to be included) Details of deductions made for fixed charges, etc, when working out the Total Value R = Restrictions (eg easements, tithes, public rights of way)
12 Provisional Valuation Statement	The date when the provisional valuation was confirmed at Worcester Details (if any) of people who expressed an interest in the hereditament Details of the price if later sold or if passed for estate duty

The Maps

A series of eight maps covers Badsey, Aldington, Blackminster and Wickhamford, mainly located at The National Archives under series IR 129:

Map A – covers The Parks and Aldington north of Main Street. Worcestershire XL11 16. No copy of this map is known to be in existence.
Map B – covers Blackminster. Worcestershire XLIII 13. National Archives Reference: IR 129/3/924
Map C - covers Aldington south of Main Street, north Badsey and Bengeworth. Worcestershire XLIX 4. National Archives Reference: IR 129/3/972.
Map D – covers Badsey. Worcestershire L 1. No copy at The National Archives but The Badsey Society has a copy in its archives. (Note that this map has some hand amendments that date from after WW1.)
Map E - covers Wickhamford from Manor House west. Worcestershire XLIX 8. National Archives Reference: IR 129/3/976.
Map F - covers Bowers Hill and part of Wickhamford. Gloucestershire VII 5/Worcestershire L 5. National Archives Reference: IR 128/4/11.
Map G - Covers driveway to Whitfurrows and far end of Pitchers Hill. Gloucestershire VII 9. National Archives Reference: IR 128/4/15.
Map H – covers area south of Field Farm, Wickhamford. Gloucestershire VI 12. No copy of this map is known to be in existence

Click on this image to view the maps.

Help with searching

If you are searching for a person try the alphabetical name index. The index usually only includes the first reference to a person in the Land Valuation Survey - their name may occur more than once.

If you are searching for a place try either -

Find the entry in the 1911 census and click on the 'VS' link to the valuation records.
Try the place index, but note that this does not always include the modern place name.
Locate the place on one of the maps and note the reference number shown in red. In the records, this reference number appears in bold in the first column. If you are looking for a place in Blackminster, look at the Offenham reference numbers which are at the end of the records. Check the rows above and below to make sure you have found the precise place you are seeking.

The Valuation Survey records for Badsey, Aldington and Wickhamford

Why was the survey undertaken?

How the survey was carried out.

Case studies: Hall brothers & Byrd family

National Archives: Valuation Office Records

Badsey Society volunteers at The National Archives in October 2010.

Updated 25 March 2011. Contact email: history@badsey.net