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In practice, some features as portrayed on the map
can be rather confusing, particularly the relationship of field boundaries and the layout
of fields and tracks. If in doubt the reader should always refer to the relevant Ordnance
Survey 1:2500 map, which although of a later date will often help to confirm the presence
or shape of a feature. The apportionment is a roll of parchment sheets which are quite
large (approximately twenty-one inches by eighteen inches). Some readers may have come
across them in a microfilm form from which a reduced copy will fit nicely onto A3 size
paper. The apportionment forms were all printed in London by the same firm so that a
standard of uniformity is maintained throughout all of the surveys (perhaps as many as two
hundred and seventy thousand sheets!) dealing with England and Wales. The first section of the apportionment contains a statement of the
articles of agreement; unless the award was imposed. The articles are always worth reading
for they will usually contain some very useful information concerning the local
circumstances. The Swansea agreement gives place name information which is not referred to
on the tithe plans, nor indeed on subsequent Ordnance survey plans; perhaps the names fell
out of use in the years 1830-1870. The schedule is the second part of the apportionment
which lists the tithe parcels, owners and occupiers. This is by far the most important. As
with the maps, the schedule is divided into two sections, one dealing with the rural area
of the parish, and the second covering the town itself. The bulk of the interesting
information is contained in the first section (pages 1 to 70 of the schedule) in which
most parcel numbers are referred to by name giving a wealth of information on the
geography of nineteenth-century Swansea. In total there are over three thousand tithable
parcels of land in the Swansea schedule, illustrating the diligence, care and attention
needed by the Commissioners, surveyors, and valuers in the execution of their duty. The
value of an historical source is dependent in large part on its accessibility to the
public. The Public Record Office at Kew and the National Library of Wales both have a
considerable store of historical records relating to Swansea. however, the relative
remoteness of these repositories can be a bar to their consultation. Happily, the tithe
records can be easily consulted in microfilm form at Swansea Central Library and readers
can also obtain copies of both the apportionment and maps.
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