Over 185 subject index fields in the database enable researchers to identify relevant tithe files to consult at the Public Record Office. All report entries and tithe districts have been included for the sake of completeness, even when available data is limited. Each record has a field indicating the completeness of data to help researchers achieve a level playing field for comparative surveys and searches. The data is of particular importance because it was gathered in a period of great technical improvements in farm implements and machinery, changes in patterns of crop rotation, upgrading of livestock and wider use of fertilisers - but prior to the Victorian expansion of urban areas. Repeat for light soils and for other counties.
Display results, with mean and standard deviation, as a line graph.
Historical Background to the 1836 National Tithe Survey Between 1815 and 1837, Britain underwent rapid economic, social, scientific and intellectual change. Large sections of the populace, from all social classes, took part in marches, demonstrations, pamphleteering and petitioning. The Age of Reform, with its flagship Great Reform Bill of 1832, swept through every institution. The wealthy clergy of the Establishment, seen as corrupt abusers of privilege, became a popular target for Whig and Radical alike. This unpopularity came to a dramatic climax in 1831 when the Spiritual Peers in the House of Lords voted by 21 to 2 against the Reform Bill.