Tracing Your Ancestors from 1066 to 1837 Page 12
Other Records
Don’t forget that poll books (see Chapter 7), hearth tax records and rate books (see Chapter 10) are also useful sources for the history of property. However, these rarely mention the exact address, as they are primarily concerned with listing individuals, whether voters or taxpayers. Wills and administrations are another good source for identifying property, but this was only what was held in later life, and were often vague.
Property records can tell a lot about an individual or family. First, they can indicate what they owned or held at a certain point in time, whether they were buyer, seller or tenant. This is often indicative of wealth. But they can also provide information about family relationships and others known to them. They can help pin down where someone lived at a precise moment in time.
Chapter 10
TAXATION
Benjamin Franklin once famously observed that there is nothing certain in life except for ‘death and taxes’. This is just as well for family historians, and this chapter will concentrate on taxes, the less well-known genealogical source. Governments at both local and national level always need sources of revenue in order to pay for their policies and, in the process of their administration, records of taxpayers are made and often retained to be used by researchers. Yet in the Middle Ages only a small proportion of royal revenue came from taxation (15% in the twelfth century, for instance). This chapter looks at financial levies imposed by national and local government since the seventeenth century. It was in this century that taxation became permanent; hitherto, the monarchs only asked money from their subjects when they needed to go to war. How accurate the records are is another question, for it was in the taxpayers’ interests to try to reduce their liability by evasion or avoidance. There are a number of different types of tax; those on property, those on wealth, those on income and those on expenditure. The last type (indirect taxes, such as customs and excise) can be disregarded because they are not taxes on individuals, but on spending and therefore lead to no records of individuals. Most of the tax records will list the taxpayer and the amount they paid or/and were assessed at, and most are organized by county then manor/parish, and there should be a date of assessment.
Readers should recall that in the currency of England from Saxon times until decimalization of 1971 twelve pence equalled one shilling and that twenty shillings made one pound.
Poll Tax
Although there were no regularly imposed taxes or rates in the Middle Ages, monarchs did need their subjects’ money from time to time, especially to fight wars against the French and Scots. Occasional taxes, or subsidies or levies, were imposed from the thirteenth century onwards. The most well-known were the poll taxes of the early years of the reign of Richard II (1377–81) which helped lead to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. These were taxes, usually set at a flat rate, on all adult men, with a few exceptions, such as servants. Women did not pay. There was no variation for income or wealth. Apart from creating outrage amongst many, they also resulted in lists of most of England’s male population being created, organized by county. Relationships in families and occupations are sometimes given. What is even better is that these lists have been transcribed and published in three volumes (by Dr Carolyn Fenwick) so should be available at the British Library and Guildhall Library, inter alia. The originals are at TNA, while some county record offices, such as Essex, have microfilm copies. We should note that returns do not exist for every village, but when they do, they list men, their wives and children aged above 14.
List of Brading ratepayers in Isle of Wight 1765. Author’s collection.
It is often forgotten that the poll tax made a reappearance in the seventeenth century. Seven were raised in all: in 1660, 1667, 1678, 1689, 1691, 1694 and 1697. Records survive for the last four assessments. As ever, it was a tax on people, including both householders and lodgers, and sometimes children, but exempting paupers. The records are to be found at TNA, in class E182, arranged by county, then by hundred, then by parish. The amount levied depended on the social status and occupation. The LMA has a transcribed copy of the assessment for the City for 1692.
Subsidies
There were other taxes levied in the Middle Ages, of course, and some of these records survive. They were known as ‘Lay Subsidies’; these were not paid by the church (though clergymen owning land in their own right were liable). These were usually levied because the monarch needed money in wartime and were paid at a fraction of the individual’s moveable goods. They were levied for a particular stated purpose. Those which survive exist at TNA and date from 1275–1525, though not every year by any means; there were none in the fifteenth century, for example. For many of these levies, only total sums owed by place are noted. Yet there are names given for some of the levies in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, and also in 1524, when land was taxed at 20% and moveable goods at 28% and, because payment thresholds were low, most adult men were assessed and so named in these records. Because there was widespread evasion, very full lists were compiled for both 1523 and 1543, both of which are at TNA. Tax records can be found at TNA in E179, but also at county record offices. For example, Essex Record Office holds transcripts of three lay subsidy returns for the fourteenth century and one for 1524–5. Two of these have been indexed and one has been translated. Some have been published, including those for Devonshire for 1323 and for Gloucestershire for 1327.
The fruits of taxation: coins from the time of Henry VIII. Paul Lang’s collection.
Foreign merchants were taxed on numerous occasions in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries; the sums levied were known as Alien Subsidies. TNA, E179 contains lists of taxpayers, especially for 1440 and 1483–4, but there were numerous exemptions and evasions; the Irish were not liable after 1442, for instance. Taxes levied were a tax on alien householders (16d p.a.) and on non-householders (6d p.a.). Returns for Southwark have been calendared by J L Bolton, The Alien Communities of London in the Fifteenth Century (1998), and the same historian has also calendared the Alien Subsidy Roll for London for 1483 (E179/242/25) and for Middlesex for 1484 (E179/141/94–5). TNA also holds records of taxation paid by the medieval Jewish community prior to their expulsion in 1290, but no one has been able to trace a line of descent from these people.
Rates
The longest running of all levies in England, lasting from 1601 to 1990, were the rates. These were first imposed periodically in the later sixteenth century, but as a result of the Elizabethan (Old) Poor Law Act of 1601 usually became a regular annual fixture, though not always – the parish of Lee in Kent had so few poor that an annual rate was unnecessary. There could also be additional temporary rates levied on parishes, for example to finance a county prison or asylum. Normally, though, rates were levied in order that the parish could relieve the local poor in cash or in goods. The vestry would set the annual rate at a certain level at so many shillings in the pound and the overseers of the parish would assess the value of each property in the parish. These assessments would then be listed in the rate book, with the figure payable next to the ratepayer’s name. Each rate book usually covers several years’ assessments, depending on the size of the parish’s population, at least until the early nineteenth century. We are thus presented with a list of householders for each year, in a series of books, potentially from the early seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century. Furthermore, it is possible to see how valuable that ancestor’s property was compared to others in the parish. There were also separate rates levied for the upkeep of the church fabric, known as the church rate, and the highway rate, to pay for men to repair roads and bridges in the parish. Every property was assessed, except of those who were too poor to pay and who were in receipt of poor relief (their names are usually featured in books of overseers’ disbursement, as noted in Chapter 4). There is usually a note to state whether the rates were paid.
Defaulters are also listed in a separate section at the end of a particular year or half year’s rates, w
ith the amount that was still outstanding.
However, there are two caveats. The first is that the survival of a large run of rate books is very rare. For example, those for Hampstead parish only cover the years 1774, 1777, 1779–1826, 1829–55, but those for Holborn exist from 1729–1900, with very few gaps. One example of a run beginning in the seventeenth century is those for Ealing, 1673–1834, and even then, the first rate book is titled ‘volume 37’ – the preceding thirty-six having not survived. The sheer bulk and number of rate books for each year for the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries have led many rate books to be destroyed (because of storage restrictions) and so often only rate books for every other year, or every third or fourth year have survived. During the Second World War, the beaming mayor of Croydon gave an early Victorian rate book to the salvage drive to be pulped for the war effort!
Secondly, the rate books usually do not give any clue to the precise whereabouts of the property or give addresses or name the property, in the parish. That said, some rate books, from the eighteenth century, do sometimes break the parish down into different sections. That for Ealing groups ratepayers as to whether they lived around Haven Green, Little Ealing, Castlebar, Gunnersbury, Ealing Common, Church Ealing and so forth, and using the 1777 parish map we can see where these places were. In the assessments for 1753 and 1754 we see the author Henry Fielding’s name and in those for 1808–12 there is the Right Honourable Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister. Those for Deptford after 1730 give full addresses, as do those in the City and Westminster.
The Norwood rate book beginning the year of 1653 uses the following preamble, ‘An Assessment made the 23rd day of May 1653 for the relief of the aged and impotent poor people of the parish of Norwood for the whole year aforesaid’. There then is a list of names and sums assessed. Most of those listed are men, but there are a few widows, such as ‘Elizabeth Child, wid., 0-7-3.’ Ranks of some male ratepayers are given, such as ‘Robert Awsiter, gent, 1-0-0’. Occasionally the addition ‘and sonnes’ might appear, too.
Rate books, where they survive, tend to be found in local authority record offices with the parish archives, and at the county record offices. Few have been transcribed, indexed or digitalized. However it is important to note that these rate books were maintained each year, so enable researchers to pinpoint householders during years in which they otherwise could not be traced.
Hearth Tax
Another useful source for the later seventeenth century are the records of the hearth tax. This was a tax imposed on householders from 1662 until 1689. It was payable twice a year in two instalments. Taxpayers had to pay one shilling per hearth, i.e. fireplace, in their property. As with the rates, owners with larger properties had to pay more and the poorest were exempt, as were buildings which were for charitable uses. Constables and overseers had to collect the tax, and there is a high survival rate of hearth tax returns for 1662–6 and for 1669–72. The assessments for the other years do not exist because the tax collection was farmed out to private individuals who did not have to send their returns to the Exchequer.
These assessments are to be found at the TNA in class E179, though some are held locally as parish officials retained a copy for their own use. They are arranged by parish, then present a list of taxpayers and the number of hearths that they are liable to pay for. As with the rates, there is no indication where in the parish the property is, nor are the poorest householders listed as they were not liable to pay. That said, Essex Record Office have a list of returns for 1671 which include the names of those who were too poor to be chargeable. But they do give an accurate list of most of the householders in the parish and their approximate relative wealth. We can learn that Dr Brabourne had, in 1664–72 a house with nine hearths in Northolt, whereas a neighbour, John Winch had a house with only one chimney.
A source of seventeenth-century taxation: hearth at the Old House, Hertford. Paul Lang’s collection.
The number of names in these assessments varies enormously with the number of households in the parish. Greenwich parish assessments (available at Greenwich Local History Library) for 1662–4 include about 6,000 names, whereas those for Isleworth from 1664–74 number 960 and can be found at the Society of Genealogists’ Library.
Some hearth tax assessments have been transcribed and so are easily available; but only for a few parishes. If your ancestors lived in Surrey, these have been transcribed and published; likewise those for a number of Middlesex parishes, including Acton, Ealing, Harrow, Hanwell, Perivale, Staines and Northolt, as well as for a number of City parishes and the Kent parishes for 1662 have also been transcribed and indexed.
Information given is the name of the property owner and the number of hearths, which indicates the size of the house. If it was empty, the owner’s name is still given, and the fact that the house is empty is noted.
A useful list of what survives, and its whereabouts, can be found in J S Gibson, The Hearth Tax and Other Later Stuart Tax Lists.
Tithes
Since the Middle Ages, landowners and householders were obliged to pay tithes to the rector or vicar. These were goods; when the Revd Gold found himself in difficulties with his parishioners in Hayes in the early 1530s, it was over their presenting him with a tenth of the harvest crop. In 1836 the Tithe Commutation Act decreed that this payment should be in cash, and so each parish was assessed. Lists, known as apportionments, detailing landowners and tenants, with acreage, usage (arable, pasture, etc.) and value, were listed. What was even more valuable is that maps of each parish were made and so it is possible to locate where land was owned/rented. Three copies were made; one copy can be found at TNA (IR29 is the series for apportionments, IR30 for the maps), one at the LMA (in its role as diocesan record office) and one may be found at the local authority record office and sometimes parish churches retain them.
The Ship Tax
This was a form of taxation levied on several occasions during 1634–40 and is sometimes cited as a tax which was so unpopular that it led to the outbreak of hostilities between King and Parliament in 1642. It was raised to pay for naval defence. Records are held at TNA, SP16 and 17. Essex Record Office has a transcript for the 1637 return, which has been indexed and lists 15,000 names. However, few assessments survive (there are none for Middlesex) and those which do are organized by county.
The Free and Voluntary Present
This was not ‘what it says on the tin’, but actually a list of about 130,000 people, with occupations, who gave money to the restored King Charles II in 1661. It is to be found in TNA, E179.
Window Tax
This was assessed from 1696 to 1851 on properties with six or more windows, being charged at two shillings per window. Collectors’ assessment books exist for Finsbury and part of Clerkenwell for 1797–8 and 1807–8 at the LMA (TC). These list inhabitants and sums due. There are window tax assessments for Dagenham at Essex Record Office for 1785. Their existence is very partial indeed.
Game Duty
In 1784 and 1785, each person qualified to kill, hunt and sell game, such as gentlemen and gamekeepers, had to register with the clerk of the peace, who would issue a certificate in return for a fee. The clerk had then to transmit an annual account of certificates issued to the Commissioners of Stamp Duty. There are registers at the LMA for those in Middlesex for 1784–1808 and Westminster 1799–1803. There is an alphabetical list for 1784–1807. Essex Record Office has registers for 1784–1806.
The Land Tax
With the abolition of the hearth tax, the government, needing money to fight the war against France, imposed another tax. This commenced from 1692 and was maintained until 1963. As the name suggests, it was a tax on land and so, as with the rates, difficult to evade or avoid. It was levied at a certain number of shillings per £1 of the land’s value. In wartime, it could rise to four shillings, but in peacetime was usually one or two shillings (often for political reasons). Surviving assessment lists for Middlesex, covering 1767 and 1780–1832 and for West
minster for 1767, 1781, 1797–1832 are at the LMA. For the City of London, their survival is even better – there are 522 volumes covering 1692–4 and 1703–1949, also at the LMA. Essex Record Office has assessments from 1780–1832, and those for 1782 have been indexed (there are 20,000 names). They also have lists of land tax payers for the Havering Hundred in 1692. Kent lists survive at the county record office from the 1720s. Some, however, exist at local authority record offices, with assessments for Hackney existing for 1727–1824 (with gaps). There are also some for Edmonton (1750) at Enfield Archives and for St George in the East (1801) at Tower Hamlets Archives. The reason why some land tax records do not survive is because, until 1780, land tax records did not have to be returned to the clerk of the peace; afterwards they had to because they were needed for electoral purposes.