Valuation Books are lists of people occupying lands and houses in Ireland and are available from 1830 onwards.

The valuation of 1830 is not likely to be much use to anyone interested in tracing their family trees because only a few householder's names are given.The 1830 valuation was primarily a valuation of land with the valuation of houses being normally only a few pages at the end.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Ref No VAL 1B. The maps which accompany this valuation are also available Ref No VAL 1A.

However, the 1848-1864 valuation gives a complete list of occupiers of land, tenements and houses. The Primary Valuation of Ireland, well known as the Griffith's Valuation, is arranged by counties and within counties by Poor Law Union Divisions and within Unions by parishes. This includes the following data: Townland address; householder's name; name of the person from whom the property was leased; description of the property; acreage; valuation. A real gold mine indeed for family tree research!

The Griffith's Valuation is of particular interest to anyone wishing to trace their family tree due to the fact that only fragments of the 1851 census has survived.

It is available in manuscript form, Ref No VAL 2B, however, bound and printed additions are available on the shelves of the Public Search Room, PRONI, Balmoral Avenue, Belfast. For family researchers passing through Belfast, a visit to PRONI should be a MUST.

The Householder's Index (which is also availableon the Search Room shelves) can be used as a guide to the surnames listed in the Griffith's Valuation. The maps which accompany this valuation are also available, Ref No VAL2A.

The First General Valuation was completed by 1863-4. Thereafter,
properties were valued annually from 1864 until the early 1930s. The annual revision lists are available in volumes, Ref No VAL 12B. There is an extensive catalogue list of the series on the shelves of the Public Search Room, PRONI, Balmoral Avenue, Belfast.