Note on the Identification and Spelling of Townland Names in the Hearth Money Rolls

The 1669 Hearth Money Rolls, which is the only source before 1803 that lists names by townland, presents problems with the identification and spelling of townland names. Many of the spellings are very different from the modern-day equivalent. As with the surnames I have two columns in the database (table) relating to the spelling of townlands. One which gives the actual spelling recorded in the original document and one which gives the modern-day spelling. Again my interpretation may be wrong. Feel free to make up your own mind.

There is another problem associated with townlands in the Hearth Money Rolls - the actual identification of modern equivalents. For example, the townland of Tullaghgore, near Seacon, is listed in 1669 but there is no mention of the townlands of Forttown, Bootown, Newbuildings North or Heagles. This is because Tullaghgore, at that time, included these townlands which were created at a later date.  In some cases it is quite difficult to identify the modern-day equivalent of some of the townlands so I cannot guarantee that I am always correct.

In identifying townlands I have used my own local knowledge plus S. T. Carleton's book on The Hearth Money Rolls For County Antrim published by PRONI in 1991, plus the modern-day names in brackets on the transcripts of the Hearth Money Rolls. I have to say that I disagreed with some of the these townland names in brackets - see this example.