I don't think this has ever been transcribed before into text (Currently a work in progress).
The Book of Survey and Distribution for Arra
https://virtualtreasury.ie/item/NAI-QRO-1-1-3-19-10-1
Why Transcribing the Civil Survey of the half-barony of Arra into a Spreadsheet Matters
The Civil Survey of the 1650s is one of the most valuable
historical sources for understanding land ownership in Ireland before the
Cromwellian confiscations. For the half-baronies of Arra, it records
who owned land, where that land was located, and how much was held.
However, in its original manuscript form, the survey is
difficult to analyse. Transcribing it into an Excel spreadsheet transforms the
document from a static historical text into a powerful research tool.
Turning Historical Records into Usable Data
The Civil Survey was written as a series of descriptive
entries. Each entry usually includes:
The landowner’s name
The townland
The type of land
The acreage
When this information is transferred into a spreadsheet,
each detail can be placed into its own column. This allows the data to be
sorted, filtered, and analysed in ways that are not possible when working
directly from the manuscript.
Calculating Land Ownership Accurately
Many landowners appear multiple times throughout the survey,
often holding land in several townlands. Without transcription, it is very
difficult to work out:
How much land an individual actually owned in total
Whether their land was concentrated in one area or scattered
How their holdings compared with others in the barony
Using an Excel spreadsheet, land can be filtered by owner
name and total acreage calculated instantly. This reveals the true scale of
ownership that is otherwise hidden within the text.
Revealing Patterns Across the Half-Barony
Once the survey data is organised, wider patterns become
visible, such as:
Which families held the largest estates
How land was distributed among different social groups
The balance between arable land, pasture, and other land
types
These patterns help explain how wealth and influence were
structured in Arra in the mid-seventeenth century.
Supporting Local History and Genealogy
A searchable spreadsheet is also invaluable for:
Local historians researching specific townlands
Genealogists tracing family landholdings
Identifying families who disappear from the record after the
1650s
By making the data easier to access, the Civil Survey
becomes useful not only to historians, but also to the wider public.
Preserving the Record for the Future
Digitally transcribing the Civil Survey helps preserve its
information for future generations. A well-checked spreadsheet:
Reduces the need to handle fragile original documents
Allows errors to be corrected and notes to be added
Makes the data easy to share and build upon
In this way, the survey is protected while also becoming
more useful.
Conclusion
Transcribing the Civil Survey of the half-barony of Arra into an Excel spreadsheet is not just about copying text. It allows land ownership to be measured accurately, patterns to be identified, and history to be explored in new ways. By turning a seventeenth-century manuscript into structured data, we gain a clearer picture of land, power, and society on the eve of dramatic change in Irish history.
