Tithe Maps for the Stansted area

A tithe is from the Old English ‘teogoþa’, meaning a ‘tenth’. Tithes were originally a tax which required one tenth of all agricultural produce to be paid annually to support the local church and clergy. After the Reformation significant areas of land passed from the Church to lay owners who inherited the entitlement to receive tithes.  The 1836 Tithe Commutation Act required tithes in kind to be converted to more convenient monetary payments called ‘tithe rentcharge’.  The Tithe Survey was established to find out which areas were subject to tithes, who owned them, how much was payable and to whom.  The 1936 Tithe Act abolished the tithe rent charge and made provision for it to be redeemed either in a single lump sum or by yearly payments, or annuities, to be redeemed by 1996. 

The following maps illustrate the tithes in the Stansted area and were originally researched and digitised by Frank Bamping and first published by the Kent Archaeological Society.  The first map highlights land ownership, the second map shows the tithes by crop type.

Note: Select the relevant link on the images below to access the full-size high-resolution versions.

The following links provide further information and details on the landholdings and homesteads in the Parish of Stansted.