ABSTRACT
At the end of the seventeenth century, the principle of summary jurisdiction was introduced in tithe disputes, probably as part of a Whig reaction against the pretensions of the church courts. Temporal determination of tithe disputes was largely the prerogative of the equity courts of chancery and exchequer. Tithe disputes were endemic in British society, and litigation was instituted by all manner of tithe owners. Tithe owners were determined to assert their rights. Most tithe suits revolved around attempts to break moduses, or assumed exemptions from tithe. Tithe disputes involving new claims or modus disputes were especially prone to occur after a change of incumbency, or when a new tithe lease was taken out. When a tithe action was under way, the collection and production of accurate documentary and verbal evidence assumed paramount importance. Courts could only be guided on the validity or otherwise of a modus by the strength of the evidence which could be mounted.
