Re: Baronies, PLU's, Parrishes & Townlands
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In reply to:
Baronies, PLU's, Parrishes & Townlands
6/13/01
I don't blame you for being confused.A townland was/is the smallest administrative unit, varying from less than ten to upwards of a thousand acres, say an average of three hundred acres. In the 19th century it would have had a few large farms and /or an estate and a few small farms and some families with an acre or no land at all.
The Parish usually refers to the Protestant (Church of Ireland) parish which also was used for some civil purposes and/or tithe collection up to about 1840.There were also the Roman Catholic parishes similar to the present ones. Most Roman Catholic births.deaths and marriages were recorded in these. Both types of parishes had a variable size of say ten thousand acres.
The Poor Law Unions contained a number of Parishes, say between ten and twenty.Each had a workhouse (as in Oliver Twist) and a Committee in charge of relieving "distress" in the area which of course entailed levying tax on the local property owners.This is why Griffits poor Law Valuation was compiled. It gave the occupier's and owner's name and annual rental value of each property. A percentage of the rental value could then be levied.It started at something small (two and a half percent I think) and was later expanded for all sorts of purposes and still exists for commercial property in revised form. It is now about three thousand per cent.
Baronies were an earlier invention and often corresponded with the territories of the ancient Irish Clans and Norman Lords. Very handy for confiscating large amounts at the one go! Each contained about a hundred and fifty to two hundred square miles.They are still mentioned in land title deeds.