Name: Farmers Tontine Company of Ireland
Year: 1814
Type: Building Tontine
Amount Raised: £7,000
Status: Operational
The Farmer's Tontine was a scheme that raised £7,000, with each subscriber paying £100 per share. The money was used to buy a plot of land in the Summerhill area of Dublin, close to what is now Parnell Street, and for 'buildings and improvements' to the land. The rent charged on the plot was £560 per year, of which each subscriber was entitled to 1/70tgh. This equated to an initial annuity of £8, in return for the subscription cost of £100; this would of course increase in line with the tontine principle. When 20 members remained in the scheme, the plot could be sold and profits divided.
The pamphlet is dated 1816, but the scheme was certainly in operation earlier than this, with an 1814 newspaper advertisement stating that 61 subscriptions remained active. Most subscribers had only one subscription, with a small number having up to five each. The last of the subscriptions were sold by 1 November 1814. Further newspaper reports then confirm that yearly meetings of the company were held.
Source: Royal Irish Academy, HP 1101/11, The charter party, or articles of agreement of the Farmer's Tontine Company of Ireland, (Dublin, 1816). The first twelve pages are provided.
Reproduced with permission from the Royal Irish Academy. Please appropriately cite any sources used.
