1915 Valuation Rolls Now Available on Scotland's People

A few days ago, I mentioned that the Valuation Rolls for 1915 had been digitized and were being uploaded to the Scotlands People website. These are now available and searchable. According to Scotlands People:

"...the Valuation Rolls provide a fascinating snapshot of Scotland during the First World War, and will be a valuable resource for family history researchers.

What Do the Rolls Contain?

The rolls record the names of owners, tenants and occupiers of each property, unlike the full lists of family members to be found in the censuses. Usually the named person is the head of the household, but sometimes a husband and wife might be listed. Frequently, the wife is the named tenant of rented property. 

Why Were the Valuation Rolls Set Up?

The Valuation Rolls were created so that the authorities could set local rates. The purpose was to assess property by its annual rental value. This was either the value of the rent paid by the tenant, or a notional rental value if the owner occupied their own property. The burgh and county assessors did not list properties individually that were worth below £4 annual rental value."

As a special introductory offer, Scotlands People is allowing these records to be viewed for just 2 credits instead of the usual 5. You still need to use a credit to view the index after the search and before viewing the actual record. No word on how long this introductory offer will last.

Here is an example of the 1915 Valuation Roll for Shotts, Lanarkshire, showing my grandfather as proprietor of a house and shed, valued at £4.10. He very nearly didn't make it into the Valuation Rolls! I guess that shed helped put him on the registers and has helped me to track him  after the 1911 census!