The rating lists format used on this website has a standard numbering system to provide a framework for the identification of records. The reference numbers of records begin with 23, 38 or 51 according to whether the record is in R1823, R1838 or R1851. For example, the Rising Sun public house is listed in the three rating list databases as 231576, 382131 and 512727 respectively.
The table below shows the fields in the databases, R1838 being taken as an example.11. More details about the printed rating lists are given in supplementary note 1. They show the substance of the printed versions in a standardised form. The sequence of columns has been changed from the printed versions.
| COLUMN/FIELD | NOTES |
| REF38 | Each of the records in the original has been assigned by sequence a unique reference number; numbers run from 380001 to 382424. Some single records cover more than one property |
| STREET | Reproduction of the street headings on the printed pages with the addition of any yards, passages etc referred to. (NB the street headings normally relate to where the occupier lived, which for many records was not where the building or piece of land referred to was situated.) |
| OCCUP38 | Reproduction of the printed “Occupier” column. Square brackets show information added from other sources. |
| DESCRIPTION | Reproduction of the printed “Description” column. |
| PROP38 | Reproduction of the printed “Proprietor” column. |
| VAL38 | Value to the second decimal place of a pound calculated from the printed columns that show the new valuation in pounds, shillings and pence. A zero indicates that the record has no separate value but is included in the value given in the previous record for the same occupier. |
| OLD38 | Value to the second decimal place of a pound calculated from the printed columns that show the old valuation in pounds, shillings and pence. A zero indicates that the record has no separate value but is included in the value given in the previous record for the same occupier. A blank shows that no old value was given; this could eg arise for new buildings or for small pieces of land that had previously formed part of larger fields. |
| ACR38 | Acreage calculated from the printed columns that show acreage in acres, roods and perches. A zero indicates that the record has no separate value but is included in the value given in the previous record for the same occupier. (For most records of buildings and for some records of open land this field is blank.) |
| TYPE | This field has been inserted in R1838 only. It is designed to assist analysis of the records. “H” = house; “HC” = building with mixed residential and commercial use; “L” = land; “C” = commercial building; “D” = minor domestic building; “P” = public house or inn; “BH” = beerhouse; “-B” = occupier believed to be in business on own account; “-R” = occupier believe to be independent or employee; “-U” = occupier’s status unknown. For further details see supplementary note 3. |
| PG/LN | Page number as printed and record number allocated according to the sequence of records on each printed page. |
In the printed originals one of the words most frequently found is “ditto”. In all cases this has been expanded to repeat the line above. However in the proprietor field the printed “self” has been left unchanged. So anyone researching land ownership may need to download the database and alter it eg by running an appropriate query to replace “self” with the name of the occupier.
Reducing pounds, shillings and pence to the second decimal place of a pound can produce inaccuracies, but these are few in number and small in aggregate. Moreover they can generally be identified and, if necessary, corrected easily after allowance is made for rounding; for example £1.38 really means £1 7s 6d, not the more precise equivalent, £1 7s 7¼d. The same principle applies to acreage. The original lists expressed areas as acres, roods and perches and these have been changed to show acres to the second decimal place. Later the normal Ordnance Survey convention was to take acreage to the third decimal place, but their measurements were more accurate. For the rating lists the lowest unit, one perch (an area of land 5.5 yards square, or approximately 5 metres square), was probably often below the limit of accurate measurement at the time.