tithe
tithe. The payment, originally in kind, of a tenth of the produce of land was at first a voluntary religious duty for the benefit of the poor, pilgrims, and churches, but by the 10th cent. it was compulsory, replacing the old church-scot for the maintenance of the church and clergy, and enforceable with heavy penalties, perhaps the loss of nine-tenths of annual income and later even excommunication. When lords built private churches on their land, tithe, at first still payable to the original church, soon went to the lord's family with only a portion to the priest. Similarly in parishes appropriated to a monastery, tithe was paid to the monastery and after the dissolution to their lay successors. With the spread of protestant nonconformity in the 17th cent., the payment of tithe became extremely contentious, leading to innumerable lawsuits. Resentment of tithe was still a factor in the Swing riots of 1830 and the Rebecca riots in south Wales in 1842–3. By the Tithe Commutation Act (1836) all tithe was commuted to rent-charges. Acts of 1918 and 1925 led to full, compulsory redemption of rent charges, which through the 1936 Tithe Act were replaced by redemption annuities, the crown issuing redemption stock to tithe owners with final extinction after 60 years (1996). Capital loss to the church by this Act was c. £17.7 million. In Scotland, tithes were known as teinds.
Revd Dr William M. Marshall
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tithe