The survey took place as a result of the 1909-1910 Finance Act which provided for the levy and collection of a duty on land in the United Kingdom based on any increased value of the land as a result of public money spent on communal infrastructure – a so-called ‘increment value duty’.
A digital version of 45 field books detailing houses in Ramsbottom in 1910
The Valuation Office was set up by the Inland Revenue in 1910 for England and Wales (and in 1911 for Scotland) to make valuations of property for Estate Duty purposes, and was then set to carry out the work of the Survey. 118 valuation districts were established in England and Wales, each in the charge of a district valuer and each comprised a number of income tax parishes. It was through these valuation districts and income tax parishes that the work of the survey was organised and carried out.