Bradford Family History Society has handed over a cheque for £1,000 to West Yorkshire Archives.

The money is the first instalment for the digitisation of maps of Bradford (Allerton to Wyke) which is expected to cost around £2,500 and which BFHS will fund. This follows on from the digitisation of the Leeds Tithe Maps which was partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Teresa Nixon, Head Archivist at West Yorkshire Archice, accepted the cheque from BFHS chairman Kath Alred.

Tithe Maps are of great interest to local historians and people researching family history. They identify people of wealth or lack of it in the Bradford area.

Tithes were a form of rates to support work done by churches. The right to collect them was later sold on to wealthy land owners. The maps can help sort out rights of way and land usage even though the last tithe payments were discontinued in the 1930’s.