The Civil Survey was a
cadastral survey
Cadastral surveying is the sub-field of cadastre and surveying that specialises in the establishment and re-establishment of Real estate, real property boundaries. It involves the physical delineation of property boundaries and determination of dim ...
of landholdings in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
carried out in 1654–1656. It was separate from the
Down Survey, which began while the Civil Survey was in progress, and made use of Civil Survey data to guide its progress.
Whereas the Down Survey was a
cartographic survey based on measurements in the field, the Civil Survey was an
inquisition
The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
which visited each
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
and took depositions from landholders based on
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
and
townland
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
, with written descriptions of their boundaries. The Civil Survey covered 27 of
Ireland's 32 counties, excluding 5 counties in
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
which had been covered in the 1630s by the Strafford survey commissioned by
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (13 April 1593 (New Style, N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English people, English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament of England, Parliament ...
. The original Civil Survey records were destroyed by fire in 1711, but a set of copies for 10 counties was discovered in the 19th century.
References
Sources
*
Irish Manuscripts Commission
The Irish Manuscripts Commission was established in 1928 by the newly founded Irish Free State with the intention of furthering the study of Ireland's manuscript collections and archives. Its foundation was primarily motivated by the loss of many h ...
Digital Editions ''The Civil Survey AD 1654–56'' (10 vols, ed. Robert C. Simington, 1931–61)
1 Tipperary (eastern and southern baronies)2 Tipperary (western and northern baronies; crown and church lands)3 Donegal; Londonderry; Tyrone4 Limerick; Kerry (part of Clanmaurice)5 Meath6 Waterford; Cork (Muskerry); Kilkenny (City and liberties)7 Dublin8 Kildare
9 Wexford10 Miscellaneaincluding a map showing changes to the county and barony boundaries since the Civil Survey
Cromwellian Ireland
Historical geography of Ireland
{{Ireland-hist-stub