Catalogue description Tithe Commission: Awards and Agreements: Sealed Originals

The initial process in the commutation of tithes in a parish was the making of an Agreement between the tithe-owners and landowners or, in default of agreement, an Award by the Tithe Commissioners: this series consists of the original documents signed and sealed by the parties. Normally, the next stage was apportionment of tithe rentcharge, and the text of the preceeding Agreement or Award is recited in the preamble to the instrument of Apportionment. Consequently, reference to the original Award or Agreement will provide little more information than can be found in the Apportionment. Such interest as these preliminary documents afford lies only in such points as whether the parties acted by themselves or by attorney and the signatures of the parties: the kind of material that may interest the family historian but has rarely any other significance. Where, for some reason, the commutation proceedings did not result in apportionment, these documents may be of greater interest, in conjunction with the correspondence on the relevant tithe file.

Tithe files are in IR 18

For files regarding the custody of tithe documents see also HMC 4

For apportionments under these awards and agreements see IR 29

Accompanying maps are in IR 30

For awards following which no apportionment took place - usually because the tithe rentcharge awarded was subsequently extinguished by merger or redemption - see IR 106