Tithe commutation was the process by which the payment in kind
was substituted for a cash payment. The Tithe Commutation Act
was designed to ensure that this was achieved quickly throughout
the country. Tithes were still payable in almost all Welsh
parishes (and in a majority of English parishes too) in 1836.
The early 18th century had been an age of much political, social
and economic reform. There had been an increasing demand for the
Commutation of Tithe (some reformers campaigned for the
abolition of tithe) and in 1836 the government of the day
successfully steered the Tithe Commutation Bill through
Parliament. The Act received the Royal Assent on 13 August 1836.
The 1836 Act set up the Tithe Commission headed by 3
Commissioners sitting in London: William Balmire was the
chairman. A Cumberland farmer, he had to resign as MP on his
appointment to the Commission. The Rev. Richard Jones was the
Archbishop of Canterbury's nomination. The first tasks of the
Commissioners were to find out where commutation had