The establishment of the hearth tax 166266 book, 2008. Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 edited by david g. It was a new tax of 2 shillings yearly on every hearth or fireplace in a house. 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. Window tax was a tax on windows or similar openings, levied from 1696 until it was abolished in 1851. The tax was collected by petty constables, with supervision and administration. Ireland taxation cess and impact on irish people a brief. The hearth tax was levied on the population during the period 1662 1688. John webb was not able to complete his work, and copied the roll of 1662. Hearth tax and empty properties in london by andrew wareham. This novel tax was granted to charles ii in 1662 as a permanent form of revenue assessed only indirectly on wealth. The final version is available from bristol record society via the link in this record. This edition publishes three transcripts of hearth tax material for bristol. 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.
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. The hearth tax 1662 89 is the only national listing of people between the medieval poll taxes and the 19thcentury census returns. Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 1662 1670 edited by david g. The hearth money rolls are lists of persons paying the hearth tax. 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. Derbyshire hearth tax 1662 1670 taxpayers derbyshire hearth tax assessments 1662 70 edited by david g. The establishment of the hearth tax, 1662 66 by elizabeth parkinson list and index society kew, surrey england 2008. Hearth tax online includes the london and middlesex tax for 1666 and searchable lists and maps for various other counties. 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. The tax was introduced in england and wales by the government of charles ii. Hearth tax in england and wales genealogy familysearch wiki. 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. Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, parliament calculated that the royal household needed an annual income of.
It was a property tax, assumed to be approximate to the householders wealth, measured by the number of their fireplaces. 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 returns collected in 166274 provide a most useful census of heads of families in. Sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 by great britain. Sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 1980 edition open. The bill for laying an imposition upon chimney hearths was passed in parliament and received royal assent on 19 may 1662. 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.
This tax of a shilling for each fireplace or stove except those of paupers was collected twice a year from 1662 to 1689. The centre for hearth tax research is here at roehampton university london. Buy derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 derbyshire record society by david g. For the love of the hearth tax householders and conditions. Bristol hearth tax 1662 1673, edited by roger leech, jonathan barry, alison brown, catherine ferguson and elizabeth parkinson.
The documents recorded the head of household of each property and, of course, the number of hearths can lead to deductions about wealth. 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. Sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 1980 edition open library. Parliament had accepted in 1662 that the king required an annual income of. The data provides valuable insights into national wealth, population and social structure. The resulting records represent the nearest genealogists have to a kind of census of the period.
Hearth tax project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Commercial trade directories, hearth window tax, religious lists records, information, other records. Hearth tax the hearth tax, other later stuart tax lists, and the association oath rolls, r 929. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Dec 15, 2009 sussex hearth tax assessments, 1662 by great britain. 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 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. 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. The hearth tax was levied between 1662 and 1689 on each householder according to the number of hearths in the dwelling. 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. 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. A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern. Sussex hearth tax assessments 1662, edited by m j burchall.
Centre for hearth tax research the hearth tax university. Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 derbyshire. Hearth money rolls 1660s ulster genealogy and local history. No person who was exempt from church or poor rates by reason of poverty was required to pay the hearth tax. The transcript in this book, then, contains the names of rich and poor. One consists of a number oflists compiled by the petty and high constables of the various hundreds and townships and is dated 1662. The essex hearth tax of 1662 fists about 20,000 names ex paupers, while that.
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. 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 bristol hearth tax 16621673 open research exeter ore. The hearth tax was introduced in england and wales by the government of charles ii in 1662 at a time of serious fiscal emergency. Initiated in 1662, the hearth tax was collected and recorded on hearth money rolls within the court of the exchequer. Many places and buildings mentioned in the hearth tax of 1662 1689 had been in existence since medieval times. Hearth tax, in analytical index to the series of records known as the remembrancia 15791664, ed. 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. The hearth tax 166289 is the only national listing of people between the medieval poll taxes and the 19thcentury census returns. 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. In book 29 of the lady day 1666 hearth tax return, it was recorded that the.
Following the restoration of the stuart monarchy in 1660, the hearth tax was levied in england and wales from 1662 until. The names of those exempt poor people were included from 1663. 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. They were collected throughout the decade of the 1660s as a result of the hearth money act of 1662 and additional amending legislation. Sir william petty, financial guru, dismisses the idea of another poll tax, as heads or polls can move around and evade it.
The hearth tax was levied on householders between 1662 and 1689. England hearth tax 1662 to 1689 national institute genealogy. England hearth tax 1662 to 1689 national institute. 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 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. The bristol hearth tax 16621673 university of exeter. It was a property tax, measured by the number of fireplaces in the dwelling of each eligible household. The first national record since the 1086 domesday book. Using the hearth tax returns from the city of london and middlesex as a starting point, jane presents the story of one thomas elwood. 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.
It was a tax based on the number of hearths fireplaces. 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. Researching your ancestors from great britain and ireland. The london and middlesex hearth tax is a twopart publication, over 1800. 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. 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. The hearth tax a brief introduction to the hearth tax introduction. Derbyshire hearth tax assessments 166270 derbyshire record.
This book was first issued in 1982 and is one of only two record society volumes for which sales have warranted a reprint. Meekings this book was first issued in 1982 and is one of only two record society volumes for which sales have warranted a reprint. In its task of settling the national revenue the restor ation parliament was faced with the fact that the sour. Bristol hearth tax 16621673, edited by roger leech, jonathan barry, alison brown, catherine ferguson and elizabeth parkinson. The establishment of the hearth tax, 166266 by elizabeth. Databases compiled from seventeenthcentury census substitutes. 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. 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. Only 15% of householders in barwick were exempted from the hearth tax. The tax was a levied on hearths and stoves, payable twice yearly, introduced in 1662 and abolished in 1689. 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. 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.