This guide will explore and explain the records of the Inland Revenue (Scotland) (IRS) survey of land values and ownership, which took place during the years 1910-1915. This massive survey, implemented by the newly-formed Valuation Office, recorded information on 99.7% of all land in Scotland. These records have been reasonably underused by researchers until now, but have the potential to offer excellent insight into the Scottish rural and urban landscapes at that time.
The two main series of archival records that relate to the survey are a set of specially-annotated Ordnance Survey maps of all valued land portions, termed 'hereditaments'. These provide a graphic-index to an accompanying collection of field books in which surveyors recorded values, particulars, and comments on land portions and properties. All of these records are arranged within the large IRS series. The maps and field books have all been digitised, allowing for swifter, easier access for readers to the Historical Search Room. This guide will also define how to successfully search these records for the purposes of historical enquiry.
Images below illustrate how the IRS Maps and Field Books compliment one another. On the left is a magnified image of Iverpolly Lodge and Gamekeeper's House, Ross and Cromarty, as defined on a specially annotated 6 inch OS map (National Records of Scotland, IRS126/3). On the right is a sketched plan of this property, extracted from a corresponding surveyor field book (National Records of Scotland, IRS80/93 entry 242).
