Valuation rolls can be difficult to search through. Often a particular address or building does not seem to appear where it should in the roll.
See below for details of common problems and what to do.
Odd and even street numbers
Valuations rolls almost always record the properties on one side of the road and then the other. In most cases, therefore, the odd numbers will be recorded then the even numbers. Before 1975 most valuation rolls record properties in each street by running up the odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7 etc) and, once the end of the street has been reached, running back down the even numbers (e.g. 36, 34, 32 . . . etc).
What to do: double-check the numbering to make sure you haven’t missed a street number.
Street intersections
In the 19th century and early 20th century, Assessors enumerated streets as far as an intersecting street, then enumerated the intersecting street before continuing with the first street. For example, if Main Street was intersected by Kirk Street, the relevant part of the valuation roll might look like this:
45 Main Street
47 Main Street
49 Main Street
1 Kirk Street
3 Kirk Street
5 Kirk Street
6 Kirk Street
4 Kirk Street
2 Kirk Street
51 Main Street
53 Main Street
55 Main Street
What to do: Double check the numbering, taking into account intersecting streets
Municipal boundaries
A street might start in a city, burgh, parish (or post 1975 local government unit) and continue in another. For example, in the 1890 valuation roll for Glasgow numbers 2-156 Argyle Street were in Glasgow City, while Argyle Street from number 158 onwards were in Barony Parish. Each part of the Street was in a different valuation roll. In some cases a whole town or village straddles a boundary. The town of Barrhead, for example, was partly in Neilston Parish and partly in Abbey Parish, in two separate divisions of the Renfrewshire valuation roll. The village of Busby was partly in East Kilbride Parish, Lanarkshire, and partly in the parishes of Mearns and Cathcart, Renfrewshire.
What to do: refer to a contemporary map or gazetteer to find out if a place was divided by a municipal boundary.
Ward boundaries splitting streets
Streets make ideal physical features for ward boundaries, so it is common to find a street where one side (the odd numbers) are in one ward, while the other side (the even numbers) are in another ward, in different parts of the valuation roll. In addition, a street might be bisected by a ward (or parish or burgh) boundary and appear in two or more parts of the valuation roll.
What to do: if there is no street index available, check if the valuation roll for the parish/burgh/city is divided into wards and check each ward for different parts of the street.
Boundary changes
The boundaries of cities, burghs and parishes change periodically, and this can affect valuation rolls, much as it affects other records such as census returns. A street or place might appear in the valuation rolls for a certain parish for several years, then apparently disappear. This may be because a boundary has changed and the street or place is now within a different parish, or been annexed by a burgh or city.
What to do: refer to contemporary maps and gazetteers to find if a place has been affected by a boundary change.
Local government reorganisation
The local authorities which were required to appoint assessors changed several times due to local government reorganisation. In 1889 there were boundary changes to the counties. From 1855 to 1930, royal burghs and parliamentary burghs had their own assessors who compiled separate valuation rolls while other burghs were included in county valuation rolls. From 1930 to 1975, a new system of cities, large burghs and small burghs was set up, and only cities and large burghs appointed their own assessors to compile valuation rolls, while all other burghs were included in county valuation rolls.
What to do: Check the history of a burgh to find out if it was a royal or parliamentary burgh before 1930 and if it was not, then look at the county valuation rolls. For burghs after 1930, look at the List of Counties, Cities, Large burghs, Small burghs to identify which burghs created valuation rolls and which were included in county valuation rolls. County and burgh boundaries can be seen on historic Ordnance Survey maps many of which can be accessed online through the National Library of Scotland website.
Street name changes
Sometimes the name of a street changes. This may reflect the way a street is commonly referred to, or else the change may be the decision of the municipal authority for the place concerned. Where city boundaries expand and bring in streets, whose name already occurs elsewhere in the city, one of the streets may be renamed in order to prevent confusion.
What to do: refer to contemporary maps and postal directories, or, where available, published guides to street names.
Multiple frontages
Where a large building (especially commercial and industrial properties) occupies a site which fronts onto two or more streets, the valuation roll may record the property under only one address (what the Assessor regards as the postal address). For example, a shop may have entrances at Main Street and Kirk Street, but may appear in the roll only under Main Street.
What to do: refer to contemporary maps.
Terraces and courts
The recording of terraces, courts and other minor streets may change over time in the rolls. A row of houses, or cluster of buildings, might begin life under one name, but eventually be classed as part of a longer street. For example, a row of five houses might originally be recorded as 1-5 Kirk Terrace, but these might be renumbered 54-62 Kirk Street, when the numbering of the street is simplified.
What to do: refer to published street name guides, where available, or else contemporary maps and postal directories. If the street involved appears in the valuation roll for one year, but not the next, check the names of the owners and occupants of the street in the first year, and try to find the matching names in the next year’s roll.
Building not rated
Only buildings over a certain value (originally an actual or theoretical value of £4 in annual rent) were liable for local rates. If the building was a comparatively modest one, therefore, it may not appear in the valuation roll. The building would have to be very modest indeed, however, since categories of buildings which were rated and do occur in valuation rolls include advertising hoardings and garages.
Unnumbered buildings
Sometimes buildings (particularly newly built buildings) are not given a street number in the rolls until the numbering of the street has been formally determined. The property may be known now as ‘175 Kirk Street’, but until fairly recently it may be referred to in the rolls as ‘cottage, Kirk Street’.
What to do: check the valuation roll carefully about the street number in question, looking for buildings without a number which might fit the description of your property.
Administrative time lag
New buildings take time to appear in the valuation roll. A building completed in November 1875, say, would not appear in the 1876 valuation roll (because the Assessor’s survey for that roll was carried out in the Autumn of 1875). It might make its first appearance in the valuation roll in 1877.
What to do: bear in mind the time lag for information reaching the valuation roll.
Subdivisions, e.g. railway, government property etc
Some valuation rolls have separate divisions for different types of property, for example, railway property, central government property, local authority housing and other buildings, and agricultural and sporting property.
What to do: check the valuation roll thoroughly, particularly the final pages of each parish, burgh, or ward.
The source of your information might be wrong
If you cannot find a property in a valuation roll, you should consider whether the information you have about the building is correct. For example, it is not uncommon to find erroneous information in published architectural guides (for example, giving erroneous dates for the construction of a buildings), or for someone to muddle a street number, street name or building name.
What to do: valuation rolls are difficult to search without accurate information about street names and numbers. Consider other sources of information, including postal directories.
Clerical Error
As with any official record, the possibility of clerical error cannot be ruled out. An error could be made at the point of survey, or while the roll was prepared for printing, or in the printing process.
What to do: check the valuation rolls for the following years to see if an error is rectified later.
