1910 Land Value Survey

1. The Finance (1909-1910) Act

The Finance (1909-1910) Act (10 Edw. VII, c.8) provided for the levy and collection of a duty on the increment value of all land in the United Kingdom. The main object of the Act was to tax that part of the capital appreciation of real property which was attributable to the site itself, i.e. excluding that arising from crops, buildings and improvements paid for by the owners. In this way, private owners were required to surrender to the State part of the increase in the site value of their land which resulted from the expenditure of public money on communal developments such as roads or public services.

Increment value duty, as this levy was called, was based on the difference between the amount of two valuations. Section 26(1) of the Act required the Board of Inland Revenue to ascertain the site value of all land in the United Kingdom as on 30 April 1909. This value constituted the "datum line" for the purposes of increment value duty. Any subsequent sale or grant of a lease, or transfer of an interest in a piece of land, or the subsequent death of a land-owner, provided the occasion for a potential payment of increment value duty; the site value at that date had then to be determined.

2. Valuation Districts

The Valuation Office was set up for the purpose of making the valuations of property for Estate Duty purposes. In 1914 there were 118 valuation districts in England and Wales, each in the charge of a district valuer. Each district comprised a number of income tax divisions, which were considered to be the most convenient units for administrative purposes. It was in the valuation districts that the work of valuation was actually performed. The original valuation was completed, as far as was possible under the conditions then existing, in the autumn of 1915. The assessment of the site value on subsequent occasions was a recurring operation which formed part of the normal functions of the Valuation Office until increment value duty was repealed by the 1920 Finance Act (10 and 11 Geo. V, c.18).

The original valuation exercise resulted in the creation of several series of records which are described below.

3. Plans

Each unit of property was assigned an assessment number (sometimes also called a hereditament number) and plans based on the Ordnance Survey sheet maps were drawn up as the chief means of reference to the other records created in the course of valuation. Two sets of plans were created: the working plans used in the course of the original valuation and the record plans made after that valuation was completed. Those working plans which survive are in the custody of local record offices, to which enquiries about them should be directed. The record plans are now held at The National Archives.

Source of above: National Archives web site: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=102&j=1

Note:  As indicated above, there are Ordnance Survey maps which show the location of each property.  For Hanslope, these maps are held in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies in Aylesbury.  We have tried to make images of these maps, but have so far failed to achieve satisfactory images because the maps are in plastic covers which reflect the room lighting.  We have an offer of help from a photographer in the village who is going to try to photograph the maps using filters to exclude the reflection.

Until images of these maps are available, the best way to find a specific property is to select it from our 1900 maps of the parish.  In most cases the property record will provide a link to the relevant page of the survey.

Last updated 1 October 2010