1910 District Valuation Survey

The District Valuation survey, sometimes called the Domesday survey, was carried out between 1910-1915 across England and Wales. The survey was overseen by the Valuation Office as result of the Finance Act 1910, which provided for the levy and collection of duties across the whole country.

Oxfordshire History Centre holds District Valuation (DV) records for the whole of the historic county of Oxfordshire. For similar records covering the Vale of White Horse area you will need to contact Berkshire Record Office.

Accessing the records

Oxfordshire History Centre has digitised its holding of DV records. To access, select 'District valuation records' as a feature layer on our Heritage Search mapping platform. Once zoomed into the right area, click on the map to bring up a popup window with links to the DV records for that point.

Search for DV records

The records

There are two of the main types of District Valuation records available here; the valuation books and the working copy maps. These documents work together so both are necessary to fully understand the records. The maps show the boundaries of the different parcels of land, each marked with a plot number whilst the valuation books are arranged by plot number and provide details of the owner, occupier and the valuation.

Each District Valuation map is based on large-scale Ordnance Survey maps - usually 1:2500 (25 inches to the mile) or 1:1250 (50 inches). One copy of the map, called the Record Plan, was kept as a permanent record from the date of valuation and is now held at The National Archives. The other was used as a working copy and it is this copy you will find here.

If you are viewing this in Oxfordshire History Centre or an Oxfordshire Libary, you also have access to the provisional valuation forms (Forms 37) which provide details of the valuation, including its date, plus owner and occupier.

These records are an excellent source for people researching the history of their house or other properties and can be used with the 1911 census as well as earlier ordnance survey maps to build up an overall picture.

Further DV records including field books and Record Plans can be found at The National Archives and they have produced a research guide which provides further information. Digitised copies of the records can be viewed via The Genealogist website.

Copying and copyright

The District Valuation map, book and form images held by Oxfordshire History Centre are available for use under the Open Government Licence. Please cite Oxfordshire History Centre and the document reference numbers in your work and, where possible, provide a link to the Open Government Licence.