II.   Instruments & Transactions

A Tithe is a system first instituted by King Henry VIII in 1534 (26Hen8. c.3) with his Pisan and Venetian advisors whereby people subject to the jurisdiction of the Crown were obliged to “donate” each year one tenth of their profits to the benefit of the local parish. The Tithe system was gradually replaced by the introduction of the Duty System from the end of the 17th Century onwards and finally abolished in the 19th Century.

Similar to the system of Annates or “First Fruits” as instituted by the Roman Death Cult in the 13th Century (but falsely claimed of much older provenance), Tithes always concerned profit derived from use and usually excluded clergy from obligation and considered payment “technically” as an ecclesiastical donation, rather than a forced seizure.

In terms of structure, Tithes were divided into Estate, Land and Personal:

(i) Estate Tithes, also known as Praedial Tithes were claimed from the profits attributed to a large franchise and estate and were the Tithes owed by the nobility, who then frequently looked for ways to avoid payment by claiming themselves as “clergy”; and

(ii) Land Tithes, also known as Mixed Tithes were those arising from animals deriving their nutriment from the soil; and

(iii) Personal Tithes were those arising entirely from the personal industry of men and women.

Similar to Annates, bona fide clergy and religious were always considered exempt from paying Tithes by law:

(i) In 1535, the year after the invention of Tithes and Tenths, King Henry VIII through (27Hen8. c.8) ensured that spiritual persons were exempt from paying tenths when paying first fruits or charges associated with commission to office, providing they forward the payment of first fruits to them; and

(ii) The exemption of clergy and religious was reinforced in 1703 under (2&3Ann. c.11) with the creation of “Queen Anne’s Bounty” as to the pensions of clergy and as part of the gradual shift away from tithes towards duties; and

(iii) The condition of exemption from the payment of Tithes and now Duties was further refined in 1714 under (1Geo1. S2.c.10) with the requirement of bishops and senior clergy providing a valuation of benefices of clergy as well as certificates of exemption.