Catalogue description St Olave's Rating and Valuation

The St Olave's Rating and Valuation records include Poor Rates 1707-1899; Scavengers Rates 1730-1740; Land Tax 1737; Militia Rate 1805; Constable's Rate 1797; Church Rate 1814, 1824, 1864; Rector's Rate 1817-1852, 1890; Police Rate 1830; Main Drainage Rate 1864; Sewers Rate 1891-1899; General Rate 1891-1900; Distress warrants for the Poor Rate 1838-1839; Valuation lists 1863-1894; Minutes of the Assessment Committee 1863-1884, 1895-1896; Collector's monthly statement 1890-1900; Collector's list of unpaid rates 1894-1900; Rate collection and deposit book 1899-1901; Occupiers' returns (for valuation) 1895; Minutes of the churchwardens and overseers 1884-1900. The Poor Rates show the house number, the occupier or landlords name, the rental value of the property and the amount paid.

Parish of St Olave

Rates were local taxes, like our current council tax, payable by individuals according to the value of their property. The Poor Relief Act of 1601 tasked parish vestries with setting a tax rate to support poor parishioners, and with appointing a parish overseer to collect this money. The poor rate creation and collection system was the basis for other vestry rates, used to fund other functions (such as street upkeep, rubbish removal, or payment of the vicar’s wages); eventually, these were merged into consolidated rates. After 1834, responsibility for poor rate collection fell on the guardians of the poor, although vestries still set them. In 1855 the Metropolis Management Act created the Metropolitan Board of Works, which also had the power to set and collect rates; the Metropolitan Poor Act of 1867 created a single metropolitan poor rate for the whole MBW area. On the abolition of the parish vestries in 1900, the metropolitan boroughs gained the ability to set and collect borough consolidated rates; however, the poor rate was separately collected until 1925, when it became part the consolidated rate. In 1930, on the abolition of the poor law, the metropolitan boroughs took over rate setting and collecting functions. In 1990, the Community Charge (poll tax) – a flat-rate, locally-set tax levied on all adults – replaced rates. Faced with massive opposition to the new tax, council tax – a tax on based on the estimated market value of housing – replaced the poll tax in 1993. The volumes of vestry rating records in our collection give details of addresses, owners of property, persons who paid, and the amount they paid. We hold metropolitan borough rating records for selected years between 1900 – 1965 on microfilm; please contact us before you visit for more information. A flood in the 1920s destroyed most Camberwell vestry rating records after 1830; the London Metropolitan Archives holds most records of St Saviour’s vestry, including rating records.