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Follow on Google News | www.irishthatchowners.com Gives A Valuable Insight To How To Date A Thatched Cottage In Irelandwww.irishthatchowners.com is a new website for owners of thatched houses and cottages in Ireland
By: Anne Swanton When we bought our cottage in 1981 our solicitor handled all the paperwork and we were too busy to pay much attention to legal things – we were far more concerned with getting our hands on the house. So when I recently got interested in trying to date the house I went searching for any paperwork we had. It was only then I recalled that our solicitor had told us that there was no paperwork as such but that it was ”Folio No: ---“ should we ever need to establish our ownership. So that was it – all I had to go on was a four digit number. So my first port of call was the Land Registry Office website (www.landregistry.ie) It turns out that, like many another cottage in Ireland, it was a Land Commission purchase, which explained why there were no title deeds as such. The system at the time (early 1900s) seems to have been that the Land Commission bought out the landlords of large estates and then helped the existing tenants of the various plots to buy their own holdings by way of loans. I had hoped that the Land Commission would have details on the tenancy prior to 1911 but it turns out that their records would only show the original landlord’s title to the land. I was told that it was likely that the house was in the same family for generations and the helpful staff suggested I go to the Valuation Office which would have records going back to 1855 recording the rates charged and paid. So off I went to the Valuation Office, which is located in the Irish Life Centre, Dublin 1 (at the end of Abbey St, heading for the Busarus, facing the road that sweeps around the back of the Customs House). Again, more helpful staff who were more than willing to help me find my way round their system and hunt down my house. It’s helpful to know what Ordinance Survey map your house is located on for pinpointing the right books, but not essential. Other information that helps in searching is knowing the barony, electoral division, townland and civil parish in which your house is located. Each property has a “lot” number, which is used to identify the house and lands e.g. 11ABCA. The records cover the three periods: 1938 to present, 1883-1938 and 1855 – 1883. In each of the books amendments can have been made to reflect changes in the records e.g. change of occupier, acreage, and it’s easy to date these changes from the entries and colours of the entries in the “Observations” So now I could prove that the house existed in 1855, but wondered how I could check back further. I decided to contact Wexford County Library as, according to the website, they had an archive section. Unfortunately they had nothing going back to the period I wanted and suggested I contact the National Archives in Henrietta St. I contacted the National Archives and enquired if there were any state papers in the name of the original owner of the estate which the Land Commission had purchased. They checked, but could find nothing of relevance but told me I was more than welcome to come in any time and check out whether any of their maps would be of relevance. That’s one I have to go back to. Next stop was the Genealogy Advisory Service of the National Library on Kildare Street, (www.nil.ie) Next stop – The National Library. Again more really helpful staff. I had a look at the oldest 6” map dated 1847 and I established that the house was featured. The Library also has a wonderful book which contains the notes backing up the 6” maps. You could spend all day reading these as they are fascinating. (Check out the story of the holy well of St. Manen, where the author solemnly claims the bell stone eventually disappeared and it was assumed it was “taken up to heaven - or stolen by an antiquarian) Unfortunately Griffiths Valuation, while it had precise details on some areas/towns, had nothing specific on my area. I also checked “Lewis Topography” which was published in 1838 but had no luck there. The Tithe Applotment book (it’s on microfilm) however came up trumps and confirmed that the house existed in 1833 (the date of the record for our house’s area) and that the occupiers were the same family name as listed in the Valuation Office records, which backed up the Land Commission’s view that the house was probably in the same family for generations. Another possible source of information which I checked in the National Library was a microfiche of hand drawn outlines of “parrishes” (The Down Survey (Down Survey and Census of Ireland) was completed in 1654-1656 and was drawn up to prepare for the transfer of lands confiscated from Irish Catholics to Protestant soldiers following the 1641 rising. No copies of these are available in Ireland (some parts survive in the British Library in London) but the background information on the names of proprietors and their lands is contained in the “Books of Survey & Distribution” So that’s as far as I’ve got. I still have to check out:- Herald’s Visitation of 1618, which I was told was a long shot; Pender’s “Census” of 1659 in the Manuscripts Section; The Land Commission records in the Catalogue Room, Main Library The Registry of Deeds, in Henrietta St to get information of the deed showing when the lands were granted. Maybe a trip to the British Library? Have any of our readers, any other suggestions? # # # Anne Swanton is a founder of www.irishthatchowners.com the new website which creates an online forum for owners of thatched cottages in Ireland. Website: www.irishthatchowners.com End
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