Assistant tithe commissioner Lieutenant R.K. Dawson was in charge of the maps produced to accompany the schedule. His vision was a full cadastral survey of Britain, of which the tithe survey could be a part.

The original map specification mirrored this vision. Dawson proposed a scale of three chains to an inch based upon strict triangulation. That scale is the equivalent of roughly a 1:1500 scale map, i.e. a very large-scale map. The maps were tested rigorously by Dawson and his assistants. The map could be either surveyed for the purpose or an updated existing map could be used, as long as it complied with the standards set out by Dawson. These specifications, however, proved too costly for the landowners to accept. Indeed, the need for the map was questioned and debated in Parliament and an amendment of the 1836 Act relieved the commissioners of the duty of sanctioning map accuracy. As a result a wide variety of scales and map accuracy can be found amongst the tithe maps.

The accuracy of these maps was assessed by Dawson's team and gave rise to first and second class maps. First class maps comply with the standards set out by Dawson and were considered to be accurate enough to be called upon to settle legal matters. Second class maps constituted all other maps. The range of the quality of second class maps is surprising, some are actually very accurate, but failed to provide the right scale.

Tithe Maps can be accessed in the PRO [external link] (PRO Ref. IR30). Some maps have been captured on microfilm, most maps can be accessed as original copies.