This edition publishes three transcripts of hearth tax material for bristol. The hearth tax of 1662 in merioneth the hearth tax of 1662 foruns an interesting chapter in the chequored financial history of charles ils reign. Dec 15, 2009 sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 by great britain. The hearth tax returns collected in 166274 provide a most useful census of heads of families in. The bristol hearth tax 16621673 open research exeter ore. The resulting records represent the nearest genealogists have to a kind of census of the period. The establishment of the hearth tax 166266 book, 2008. Using the hearth tax returns from the city of london and middlesex as a starting point, jane presents the story of one thomas elwood. Hearth tax online is a web site dedicated to providing data and analysis of the records of the hearth tax introduced in england and wales in 1662. The bill for laying an imposition upon chimney hearths was passed in parliament and received royal assent on 19 may 1662.
The bristol hearth tax 16621673 university of exeter. Some contextual perspectives on the administration of the hearth tax, 1662 66 the legislative and administrative development of the tax the administrators and their practice the financial aspects of the administration wrestling with the not chargeable hearths the reluctant taxpayer conclusion. The hearth tax was introduced in england and wales in 1662 to provide a regular source of income for the newly restored monarch, king charles ii. Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 1662 1670 edited by david g. It was a new tax of 2 shillings yearly on every hearth or fireplace in a house. Meekings, an assistant keeper of public records and widely regarded as the leading authority of his generation on the hearth tax, has been widely recognised as an exemplary edition of this familiar. It was a property tax, measured by the number of fireplaces in the dwelling of each eligible household. Window tax was a tax on windows or similar openings, levied from 1696 until it was abolished in 1851. Mar 27, 2019 the shop tax rolls 178589, for example, contain the names of shopkeepers throughout scotland, and occasionally the names of the businesses are included as well as the annual value of the shops. It was a property tax, assumed to be approximate to the householders wealth, measured by the number of their fireplaces. Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, parliament calculated that the royal household needed an annual income of.
The hearth tax was levied on householders between 1662 and 1689. The centre for hearth tax research is here at roehampton university london. The data provides valuable insights into national wealth, population and social structure. Sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 1980 edition open library. Buy derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 derbyshire record society by david g. The documents recorded the head of household of each property and, of course, the number of hearths can lead to deductions about wealth.
Following the restoration of the stuart monarchy in 1660, the hearth tax was levied in england and wales from 1662 until. Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 edited by david g. Bristol hearth tax 1662 1673, edited by roger leech, jonathan barry, alison brown, catherine ferguson and elizabeth parkinson. Hearth money rolls 1660s ulster genealogy and local history. Hearth tax the hearth tax, other later stuart tax lists, and the association oath rolls, r 929. Hearth tax project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The essex hearth tax of 1662 fists about 20,000 names ex paupers, while that.
Many places and buildings mentioned in the hearth tax of 1662 1689 had been in existence since medieval times. Hearth tax online includes the london and middlesex tax for 1666 and searchable lists and maps for various other counties. It was assessed on occupiers, not landlords, and was based on the number of hearths including fires and stoves in the dwelling and thus gives the researcher an idea of the size of each household, and by inference the relative affluence. England hearth tax 1662 to 1689 national institute. Although a tax referred to in the domesday book as fumage provided a preconquest precedent for the bill, it is to be doubted whether there was any awareness of such a precedent. Derbyshire hearth tax 1662 1670 taxpayers derbyshire hearth tax assessments 1662 70 edited by david g. The names of those exempt poor people were included from 1663. They were collected throughout the decade of the 1660s as a result of the hearth money act of 1662 and additional amending legislation. The london and middlesex hearth tax is a twopart publication, over 1800. Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 derbyshire record. In england, hearth tax, also known as hearth money, chimney tax, or chimney money, was a tax imposed by parliament in 1662, 5 to support the royal household of king charles ii. Hearth tax and empty properties in london by andrew wareham. The hearth tax was levied between 1662 and 1689 on each householder according to the number of hearths in the dwelling. Records from 1662 to 1666 and 1669 to 1674 are in the national archives.
Not only is the book indispensable for family history in derbyshire but, thanks to the lengthy analytical introduction incorporating work by c. Commercial trade directories, hearth window tax, religious lists records, information, other records. The transcript in this book, then, contains the names of rich and poor. Researching your ancestors from great britain and ireland. In its task of settling the national revenue the restor ation parliament was faced with the fact that the sour. The tax was collected by petty constables, with supervision and administration. The first national record since the 1086 domesday book. The hearth tax 166289 is the only national listing of people between the medieval poll taxes and the 19thcentury census returns. Parliament had accepted in 1662 that the king required an annual income of. England hearth tax 1662 to 1689 national institute genealogy. The hearth tax a brief introduction to the hearth tax introduction.
In 1662, just before he sold off dunkirk englands last remaining possession in europe for half a million pounds, parliament approved a hearth tax often called by contemporaries the chimney tax which, in the event, was collected twice a year until lady day 1689, but usually provides names only in 1662 6 and 166974. In england, hearth tax, also known as hearth money, chimney tax, or chimney money, was a tax imposed by parliament in 1662, to support the royal household of king charles ii. Sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 1980 edition open. In the 1666 hearth tax returns for both lady day and michaelmas, thomas elwood, bricklayer, is recorded as living in stones court st botolph aldersgate with a modest 2 hearths. Hearth tax medieval documentation for salford hundred. So there are few areas of england for which the full 1662 hearth tax returns do not survive, either in the national archives or in the county record offices. Ireland taxation cess and impact on irish people a brief. The hearth tax was introduced in england and wales by the government of charles ii in 1662 at a time of serious fiscal emergency. About the hearth tax hearth taxes were levied in medieval and early modern europe, notably in france and the low countries, but were not levied in the british isles until the late seventeenth century. The original act of parliament was revised in 1663 and 1664, and collection continued until the tax was finally repealed by william and mary in 1689. One consists of a number oflists compiled by the petty and high constables of the various hundreds and townships and is dated 1662. The hearth money rolls are lists of persons paying the hearth tax. No person who was exempt from church or poor rates by reason of poverty was required to pay the hearth tax.
The hearth tax returns collected in 1662 74 provide a most useful census of heads of families in england and wales, having excellent coverage except only in the county of radnor. Meekings this book was first issued in 1982 and is one of only two record society volumes for which sales have warranted a reprint. Bristol hearth tax 16621673, edited by roger leech, jonathan barry, alison brown, catherine ferguson and elizabeth parkinson. In england, hearth tax, also known as hearth money, chimney tax, or chimney money, was a tax imposed by parliament in 1662, to support the royal household. Databases compiled from seventeenthcentury census substitutes. Hearth tax, in analytical index to the series of records known as the remembrancia 15791664, ed. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is considered among the first types of progressive tax. The hearth tax was the first of a new wave of taxes brought in shortly after the restoration of king charles ii in 1662 and continued for 27 years until 1689. The tax was introduced in england and wales by the government of charles ii.
Centre for hearth tax research the hearth tax university. The tax was a levied on hearths and stoves, payable twice yearly, introduced in 1662 and abolished in 1689. Sir william petty, financial guru, dismisses the idea of another poll tax, as heads or polls can move around and evade it. This book was first issued in 1982 and is one of only two record society volumes for which sales have warranted a reprint. Sussex hearth tax assessments 1662, edited by m j burchall. Arranged by county, parish and, usually, townland, the hearth money rolls list the names of householders who were liable to pay tax at the rate of two shillings on every hearth or fireplace they had. The hearth tax 1662 89 is the only national listing of people between the medieval poll taxes and the 19thcentury census returns. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
This tax of a shilling for each fireplace or stove except those of paupers was collected twice a year from 1662 to 1689. In book 29 of the lady day 1666 hearth tax return, it was recorded that the. The edition is fully indexed with colour illustrations and maps and contains information to guide readers through the edition, including a guide to using and interpreting the hearth tax documents. Collected twice yearly at michelmas 29th september and ladys day 25th march copies of the returns of payments were sent to the exchequer and to the local quarter sessions. A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern. The establishment of the hearth tax, 1662 66 by elizabeth parkinson list and index society kew, surrey england 2008.
The final version is available from bristol record society via the link in this record. Only 15% of householders in barwick were exempted from the hearth tax. Hearth tax 1662 1689 for the detail and quality of their contents, the hearth tax records in e 179 give an unparalleled insight into the composition and nature of 17th century communities, and are a useful supplement to other local records such as parish registers. It was a tax based on the number of hearths fireplaces. Each hearth was rated at two shillings per year and the payment was collected in two installments, lady day 25th march and at michaelmas 29th september. I have found some of my kent ancestors and families in the hearth tax records of the city of london, so it is alway worth a look. The establishment of the hearth tax, 166266 by elizabeth. For the love of the hearth tax householders and conditions. Sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 by great britain. The hearth tax was levied on the population during the period 1662 1688. The effect the tax had on the poorer elements in the community can be judged by comparing the 141 hearth tax payers in 1672 with the 40 householders who paid tax on their land and goods in the lay subsidy of 1627.
Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 derbyshire. This novel tax was granted to charles ii in 1662 as a permanent form of revenue assessed only indirectly on wealth. Initiated in 1662, the hearth tax was collected and recorded on hearth money rolls within the court of the exchequer. A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. The national archives has information about the hearth tax here, and you can search the records in a database here, but it is still being developed.
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