The 1839 Tithe Map
The 1839 Tithe Map of Abbots Langley and its accompanying “Award” is the result of a historical survey following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836, which replaced the tradition of paying “tithes” (10% of agricultural produce) with fixed monetary payments.
Every field and plot of land is assigned a unique number on the map and the accompanying reference schedule called an “Award” lists the landowners and occupiers of every numbered plot, as well as identifying the plot size and use.
The map measures approximately 12 x 7 feet. Copies are held at the National Archives in Kew, Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS) and by the Parish Council here in Abbots Langley.
In 2009, a group of Society members led by Lesley Brooks arranged for the Abbots Langley tithe map to be scanned professionally, from which high-quality digital images are now available. They also photographed each page of the Award document and set about the painstaking task of transcribing the Award into a searchable spreadsheet, currently available as a download.
Please note: the spreadsheet contains two worksheets. When you open the spreadsheet, there are two tabs at the bottom – it opens with “TitheLands”. If you click on the other one – “Occupiers_pp19-57” – you will see a column “Numbers referring to the plan”. These are the field numbers accompanied by the name of the field in the next column.
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