Poor Rate Books (also Vestry Rate)

Many Archive collections for England and Wales have Parish Poor Rate or Vestry Rate Books compiled annually which may date from the c18th and continue into the c20th. They usually give:
the address
the rateable value of a property based on an estimated yearly rental
the tenant's name
the owner's name
the type of property
the amount due and the amount actually paid
the start or end date of an occupancy
Where they exist they can helpful for finding ancestors before the 1841 census, but particularly for filling the gap between censuses. They can give a clue as to the economic rise or fall of an individual. If one wishes to know a very little, perhaps the details for a year or two, kindly archivists may do a look up without charge.
It is the luck of the draw whether they survive e.g Manchesters' are vitrtually complete from 1793, Stockport has 2. Southwark Archives have them for Bermondsey, but many of Camberwell's before 1913 (ish) were destroyed.

 

Hi Jacqueline, do you know where some of these might be found? Some web addresses?

 

Well, it is like others in individual Local Archives Tim. I have used Manchester ones extensively in researching industrial housing - so I know they are in the Central Library, same for Stockport's pathetic 2 when I attempted to find late c18th and early c19th surviving industrial housing. I emailed Southwark to see what they had for my 2 x gt g.father's pubs, told them when I was coming and went there. They told me that the odd side of another road I hoped they'd had was in Lewisham, so I went there too. Unless they go in the County Resources pages. I thought it better to post for people to find out for themselves as I did for my London ones. If I am now/ going to be (?) the London Moderator, It would take me years to find out because they go Parish by Parish. NB Each one weighs a ton. Southwark has a printed or emailable list of what they have. Presumably, County, City, Borough, Unitary authority repositaries will go on County Resources Pages. If I get clever enough, (or your helpful advice) I could put an image of a page on as a specimen- with permission from the Borough of course