"significant proportion of householders were not liable to pay at all. The hearth tax was much resented because it often entailed inspection of the interior of dwellings by the sub-collectors and petty constables, who had legal authority to enter every property to check on the number of hearths. Some people stopped up their chimneys so that the tax was not due on them, but where this was discovered by the assessors the tax was doubled. On 31 July 1684, a fire in Churchill, Oxfordshire, destroyed 20 houses and many other buildings, and killed four people. It was apparently caused by"
"Hearth tax 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 each family unit. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area. Hearth tax was levied in the Byzantine Empire from the 9th century, France and England from the 14th century, and finally in England, Scotland and Ireland in the 17th century. In the Byzantine Empire a tax on hearths, known as kapnikon, was first explicitly mentioned for the reign of Nicephorus I (802–811), although its context"
"houses would have been 20 High Street, which was built around 1675. A survey of the parish in 1721 noted that the number of houses in Sutton Coldfield had increased to 360. In 1636, King Charles I imposed the ship money tax of £80 on the town, compared to £100 for Birmingham and Warwick, £266 for Coventry, and £50 for Stafford, reflecting the wealth of the town at the time. In 1663, an Act was passed to order and collect ""Hearth Duty"", which led to a subsequent survey of all houses in the country and the noting of all properties"
"launched a platform for the publication and dissemination of research and analysis on hearth tax records and other associated documents. Hearth tax 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 each family unit. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area. Hearth tax was levied in the Byzantine Empire from the 9th century, France and England from the 14th century, and finally in England, Scotland and Ireland in the 17th century. In the Byzantine Empire a"
"introduced, it consisted of two parts: a flat-rate house tax of 2 shillings per house (equivalent to £ in ), and a variable tax for the number of windows above ten windows in the house. Properties with between ten and twenty windows paid an extra four shillings (equivalent to £ in ), and those above twenty windows paid an extra eight shillings (equivalent to £ in ). In 1709 with the union of England and Scotland, taxes were harmonised and a new top rate of 20s total was introduced for houses with 30 or more windows. In 1747 the 2s"
"assessed at 11 hearths for Hearth Tax. A new main entrance was added to the north front of Cote House in about 1700, presumably for Thomas Horde (died 1715). The principal rooms were refurbished at the same time, including the present panelling of the drawing room. One set of iron gates is dated 1704 and bears the initials of Thomas Horde. Late in the 16th century Thomas Horde was convicted of recusancy and the Crown seized two-thirds of his manor for non-payment of fines. When he died in 1607 his remaining debts were pardoned and the seized part of his"
"House"" was completed, Sir Matthew Hale was granted the right of way from his new manor house into the churchyard. ""The Lower House"" was then to remain the Hale family home for the next 100 years. ""The Lower House"" was a substantial property: a nine-bay house with gables at either end and five small dormer windows in between. It was completed in the same year that Parliament introduced the Hearth Tax, and the surviving Hearth Tax Assessment records a house of 18 hearths. When ill-health forced him to relinquish his position as Lord Chief Justice in 1676, Sir Matthew Hale"
"wife-to-be who lived somewhere to the north of England. Earnstock kept the treasure hidden away until he had raised a small fortune, as he neared his goal Earnstock was caught and hanged for his offences. Earnstock's treasure was never found. The ""Unicorn's Head"" public house was built in 1717 and had its own brewhouse which can still be identified by its unusual three tier chimney to the south of the building. The public house was originally known as ""the Feathers"". The name was taken from the plume of feathers in the Howe family crest. The current name was adopted following"
"as 'hearth money'. In 1688, monthly assessment were introduced, followed by income tax, followed by twelve-monthly assessments in 1690 and 1691. The way was thus prepared for the property tax of 1692, imposing a rate of 4s. in the pound on real estate, offices and personal property. However, the old difficulties of collection turned it mainly into a land tax, by which name it became generally known. The 4s. rate brought in £1,922,712, a return which declined in later years. To meet the shortfall, therefore, a fixed quota of nearly half a million (a 1s. rate) was adopted in 1697,"
"house () and a variable tax for the number of windows above ten windows. Properties with between ten and twenty windows paid a total of four shillings (comparable to £ in ), and those above twenty windows paid eight shillings (£ as of ). Income tax was first implemented in Great Britain by William Pitt the Younger in his budget of December 1798 to pay for weapons and equipment in preparation for the Napoleonic Wars. Pitt's new graduated (progressive) income tax began at a levy of 2 old pence in the pound (1/120) on incomes over £60 (£ as of"
"property. For a period of over 150 years from 1695 the government of England levied a window tax, with the result that one can still see listed buildings with windows bricked up in order to save their owners money. A similar tax on hearths existed in France and elsewhere, with similar results. The two most common types of event-driven property taxes are stamp duty, charged upon change of ownership, and inheritance tax, which many countries impose on the estates of the deceased. In contrast with a tax on real estate (land and buildings), a land-value tax (or LVT) is levied"
"who failed to pay the hat tax. However, the death penalty was reserved for forgers of hat-tax revenue stamps. The hat tax was not the only duty raised by the government on household items. The best known such tax was the window tax, which was implemented in 1697, and was not repealed until 1851. Other similar taxes were the dice duty (1711–1862), almanac tax (1711–1834), wallpaper tax (1712–1836), brick tax (1784–1850), glove tax (1785–94), hair-powder tax (1786–1869) and perfume tax (1786–1800). Although, these twenty-seven years saw rapid inflation, a shilling of that period had the purchasing power of about £3.40"
"was of meadows and of woodland at Hamerton. The tax assessment in the Domesday Book was known as geld or danegeld and was a type of land-tax based on the hide or ploughland. It was originally a way of collecting a tribute to pay off the Danes when they attacked England, and was only levied when necessary. Following the Norman Conquest, the geld was used to raise money for the King and to pay for continental wars; by 1130, the geld was being collected annually. Having determined the value of a manor's land and other assets, a tax of so"
"collection of the special taxes was required; it became known as the Tax Office. Taxes administered by the Board of Taxes included the Land Tax, first levied in 1692, along with the Window Tax and House Tax, both of which dated from 1696. In 1785 a number of other miscellaneous taxes, administered by the Stamp Office and the Excise Office, were transferred to the Tax Office; these included taxes on carriages (dating from 1747), on waggons and carts, on male servants (1777) and on horses (1784). Together with the House Tax and the Window Tax, they came to be known"
"1793 whereby one-hearth households with less than £10 in personal property, or with houses and land worth £5 or less, were henceforth deemed exempt from the tax. The measure was apparently a consequence of parliamentary pressure in the previous session; the modification of the window tax in Britain giving total relief to poorer householders had led to calls in the Irish Parliament for similar ""liberality"" in the light of Ireland's healthy finances. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (William Pitt) had refused, but a parliamentary committee was established under the de facto chairmanship of Mr G.P. Bushe who successfully proposed that"
"as part of Ann's dowry, which would still have left him with the freeholds and rents. He bought the estate which was to become Foots Cray Place for £5450 in 1752. He built his grand new house, and after his death the estate was sold for £14500. He thought that his widow would easily find £5000 to add to his daughter's dowry. He specified that his art collection was not to be sold for less than £7350. As well as his main house at Foots Cray Place, he also owned Bourchier Cleeve Bourchier Cleeve (1715–1760) was an English pewterer and"
"addition to the arable land, there was of meadows, of woodland and two water mills at Hartford. The tax assessment in the Domesday Book was known as geld or danegeld and was a type of land-tax based on the hide or ploughland. It was originally a way of collecting a tribute to pay off the Danes when they attacked England, and was only levied when necessary. Following the Norman Conquest, the geld was used to raise money for the King and to pay for continental wars; by 1130, the geld was being collected annually. Having determined the value of a"
"part of England this was fixed at 1200 shillings, or six times that of the ceorl. He was the ""twelfhynde"" man of the laws, sharply divided from the ""twyhynde"" man or ceorl. In a document known as ""Geþyncðo"" we learn: ""And if a ceorl throve, so that he had fully five hides of his own land, church and kitchen, bellhouse and burh-gate-seat, and special duty in the king's hail, then was he thenceforth of thegn-right worthy."" A hide of land was considered sufficient to support a family. And again—""And if a merchant throve, so that he fared thrice over the"
"wattle frame forming a weatherproof surface. A rare surviving clock decorates the wall, a Tavern clock, also known as an Act of Parliament clock. In 1797, William Pitt the Younger introduced a tax on all clocks and watches and public clocks such as these became much more popular to check the time of day. The bar was installed by the Rothschild family who had acquired the property as a hotel in the 19th century. In the snug next to the bar is an example of Victorian era wallpaper that would once have covered the whole room. In the late 17th"
"designation as Common Land allowed all householders with the borough paying watch and ward to use the land for fuel, clay, and taking berries and other wild, natural food. The most important use was for grazing, however, and there was a cowherd who was paid to be responsible for the cattle on the common. As well as looking after the cattle it was the cowherd's job to perform maintenance on the gates fences and banks on the common. For this the cowheard was paid in the 17th century 2d per cow but was required to rent a house on the"
"lands. English Land Tax The English land tax was a national property tax introduced by Parliament in 1692. The tax was levied on rental values and applied both to rural and to urban land. No provision was made for re-assessing the 1692 valuations and consequently they remained in force well into the 18th century. In the 1690s, the tax raised around two million pounds, equating to roughly thirty five per cent of national revenue. Under what was to prove to be the last of the Penal Laws, Catholic landowners had to pay double the actual assessment of the value of"
"and in 1670. The tax was eventually repealed in 1889. In 1692, the Parliament of England introduced a national land tax. This tax was levied on rental values and applied both to rural and to urban land. No provision was made for re-assessing the 1692 valuations and consequently they remained in force well into the 18th century. When the United Kingdom of Great Britain came into being on May 1, 1707, the window tax, which had been introduced across England and Wales under the Act of Making Good the Deficiency of the Clipped Money in 1696, continued. It had been"
"and the more tax the occupants would pay. Nevertheless, the tax was unpopular, because it was seen by some as a tax on ""light and air"". In Scotland, a window tax was imposed after 1748. A house had to have at least seven windows or a rent of at least £5 to be taxed. A similar tax also existed in France from 1798 to 1926. There was a strong agitation in England in favour of the abolition of the tax during the winter of 1850–51, and it was accordingly repealed on 24 July 1851, and a tax on inhabited houses"
"recorded for all years of its operation, as they were not needed for audit purposes when the right to collect the tax was ""farmed"" for collection by contractors in return for their payment of a fixed premium. The arrangements for collecting the hearth tax varied during its lifetime: The tax fell most heavily on those who occupied the houses with the greatest number of hearths. For instance, in 1673-4 the Earl of Exeter had to pay for 70 hearths at Burghley House. In contrast, most householders who were liable to pay tax had only one or two hearths and a"
"an annual tribute of one penny from each householder owning a land of a certain value to the Pope and had been collected in England since the reign of King Alfred. In the twelfth century it was fixed at an annual sum of £200 for the whole realm. It was not the largest payment to Rome but it is argued by Stanford Lehmberg that it was deliberately mentioned in the Act because it was theoretically paid by laymen and thus might have seemed more intolerable than payments affecting clerics only. The Act abolished Peter's Pence and all other payments to"
"the Domesday Book was known as geld or danegeld and was a type of land-tax based on the hide or ploughland. It was originally a way of collecting a tribute to pay off the Danes when they attacked England, and was only levied when necessary. Following the Norman Conquest, the geld was used to raise money for the King and to pay for continental wars; by 1130, the geld was being collected annually. Having determined the value of a manor's land and other assets, a tax of so many shillings and pence per pound of value would be levied on"
"make up the shortfall. It was considered easier to establish the number of hearths than the number of heads, hearths forming a more stationary subject for taxation than people. This form of taxation was new to England, but had precedents abroad. It generated considerable debate, but was supported by the economist Sir William Petty. The bill received Royal Assent on 19 May 1662, with the first payment due on 29 September 1662, Michaelmas. One shilling was liable to be paid for every firehearth or stove, in all dwellings, houses, edifices or lodgings, and was payable at Michaelmas, 29 September and"
"once every three years to a maximum value of 10 shillings. Any remaining money was divided equally between the residents on a quarterly basis. This amounted to about £48 per year at first between the six residents, but the endowment was later increased to £96 when the six additional houses were built. The clothing allowance was also changed to provide two gowns and bonnets every year and a duffel cloak once every three years. The almshouses originally ""stood in open country"" opposite one corner of The Level, a large area of common land used for fairs and recreational activities. An"
"set at two shillings for small tenements, six shillings for buildings with up to ten windows and ten shillings for those with twenty windows. Cottages were exempt. To encourage the handing in of coins the authorities had decided to accept coins at their face value and not their weight. It was based on the number of windows in a house and large mansions often had many existing windows blocked up, such as a whole side of Loudoun Castle, in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was repealed in 1851 and replaced by a tax on inhabited houses. Minadab at Holcombe is another Strawberry"
"to the arable land, there was of meadows at Winwick. The tax assessment in the Domesday Book was known as geld or danegeld and was a type of land-tax based on the hide or ploughland. It was originally a way of collecting a tribute to pay off the Danes when they attacked England, and was only levied when necessary. Following the Norman Conquest, the geld was used to raise money for the King and to pay for continental wars; by 1130, the geld was being collected annually. Having determined the value of a manor's land and other assets, a tax"
"English Land Tax The English land tax was a national property tax introduced by Parliament in 1692. The tax was levied on rental values and applied both to rural and to urban land. No provision was made for re-assessing the 1692 valuations and consequently they remained in force well into the 18th century. In the 1690s, the tax raised around two million pounds, equating to roughly thirty five per cent of national revenue. Under what was to prove to be the last of the Penal Laws, Catholic landowners had to pay double the actual assessment of the value of their"
"introduced after the Civil War in 1662 to provide a regular source of income for the newly restored monarch, King Charles II. Sometimes referred to as ""chimney money"", the tax was essentially a property tax on households (rather than houses) graded according to the number of their fireplaces. The 1664 Hearth Tax returns show that Syerston had 21 chargeable hearths in 18 households and eight non-chargeable hearths in seven households. A multiplier, recommended by some authorities, is 4.3, which gives a population for Syerston at the end of the English Civil War of 108 in the 25 households. Village surnames"
"one-hearth householders should be divided into two groups: those above and those below £5 in annual valuation. Subsequently, in 1795, freedom from hearth tax was extended to ""all"" one-hearth householders, as the opposition had earlier demanded; at the same time the tax on multiple-hearth houses was raised. The number of persons exempted from the hearth tax was estimated at between a million and a half to two million. The original Hearth Money Rolls are not extant. The records were housed in the Four Courts in Dublin, the repository for the Public Records Office, but during the Irish Civil War in"