The word 'tithe' means a tenth. In the Middle Ages farmers and landowners paid one tenth of their produce - it could be corn or carrots or whatever they grew - to the Church. Each parish stored the goods - usually in a tithe barn - and the profit made from the sale of them went to support the parish clergy.

By the 19th Century it was felt that this system was outdated, and Acts of Parliament were passed to allow the tithe to be changed (commuted) into an annual lump sum. This was the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836.

Across the country each parish had to calculate what these replacement money payments should be. New maps were drawn up to show who owned each field and property, along with a schedule (known as an apportionment), listing all the owners and tenants, and what each plot of land was worth. Some of these maps were huge. The tithe map for Handsworth parish (dated 1840) is over four metres long. But the map and apportionment give for the first time an accurate picture of land usage in the parish. It can tell us:

·  Who owned and who rented each piece of land.

·  What the land was used for.

·  What Handsworth looked like in 1840.