Hearth Tax: 1672

The Hearth Tax was introduced in England and Wales by the government of Charles II in 1662 at a time of serious fiscal emergency. The original Act of Parliament was revised in 1663 and 1664, and collection continued until the tax was finally repealed by William and Mary in 1689. Under the terms of the grant, each liable householder was to pay one shilling for each hearth within their property for each collection of the tax. Payments were due twice annually, at Michaelmas (29 September) and Lady Day (25 March), starting at Michaelmas 1662. However, the administration of the tax was extremely complex, and assessment and collection methods changed radically over time. As a result, the majority of the surviving documents relate to the periods when the tax was administered directly by royal officials, who returned their records to the Exchequer, namely the periods 1662-1666 and 1669-1674. Outside these periods, the collection of the tax was 'farmed out' to private tax collectors, who paid a fixed sum to the government in return for the privilege of collecting the tax. These farmers were not required to send their assessments into the Exchequer, although a few returns from these periods do survive.

By the terms of the 1662 Act, the hearth tax was payable by people whose house was worth more than 20s a year, and who contributed to local church and poor rates. As a result, the hearth tax assessments cannot be considered to provide anything approaching a comprehensive census of the population. Large numbers of people were exempt from payment, such as people who paid neither church nor poor rate (paupers) and people inhabiting houses worth less than 20s a year who did not have any other property over that value, nor an income of over £100 a year. Also exempt were charitable institutions with an annual income of less than £100, and industrial hearths such as kilns and furnaces (but not smithies and bakeries). However, although these groups were not charged (and in some places at some times, the very poor were perhaps not assessed or listed at all), in most cases the tax officials were required to provide exemption certificates for those not eligible to pay, and these documents have also survived in large numbers. The rules for exemption have caused confusion both to contemporaries and to modern historians, and seem to have been applied differently according to the local officials concerned.

Most individuals who were not liable to pay the hearth tax for reasons of poverty were required to obtain a certificate of exemption from the parish clergyman, churchwardens and overseers of the poor, countersigned by two Justices of the Peace. After the revising Act of 1663, hearth tax officials were to include in their assessments lists of those chargeable and not chargeable (exempt). However, the methods of recording those not chargeable tended to vary, with some assessments containing the names of exempt individuals, and others simply a record of the total number. From 1670, printed exemption forms were introduced, replacing earlier manuscript certificates; these were filled in as necessary by the local officials to record the names and assessments of the exempt in a given area. This important source may be used to supplement those assessment rolls which only show numerical totals of individuals not chargeable.

Most of the surviving certificates of exemption may be found in series E 179 , mainly in large collections arranged by county. However, since many are not yet listed in detail and may be fragile, readers should ensure that they preserve the current arrangement and take particular care when handling these documents.

The following returns are from E179/205/504 in The National Archives, and are based on the transcript published in 1996 by the Ripon Historical Society, to whom due acknowledgement is given, but with some corrections. Entries with an 'X' in the  'Hearths' column denote residents who were discharged by legal certificate from paying the tax.

Bubwith
Surname
Forename
Hearths
Avary
Mr
1, empty
Allan
Thomas
2
Araser
Robert
1
Barker
Andrew
2
Barton
Ellin
2
Bird
James
1
Blanshard
Paull
1
Blanshard
Widow
1
Brab
Henry
2
Brab
Thomas, jun
1
Brab
James
1
Brab
Widow
1
Briggs
William
1
Bulles
Mr
2
Burnatt
Mr Edward
3
Clarke
Robert
1
Coney
Thomas
1
Corke
Roger
1X
Corney
Richard
2
Coulam
Richard
1
Coulam
Mary
1X
Coverdale
Peter
1
Crake
John
2
Custance
John
2
Dixon
Francis
1
Grasby
Peter
1
Grindall
Mary
3
Gunby
Mr Christopher
1
Haley
George
1
Hallays
John
1
Haward
Michael
1X
Hebden
John
1
Hodd
Joell
1X
Horne
Robert
1
Hotham
Henry
1
Hotham
Henry
1,empty
Idle
Henry
1
Idle
Peter
1
Jackson
John
2
Kirke
John
1
Lavericke
Thomas
1
Longebottom
Richard
1X
Marries
William
1
Mitchell
William
1X
Parkin
Richard
1
Richardson
William
1
Robinson
Richard, esq.
2
Savedge
Edward
1
Skelton
Christopher
2
Smith
Thomas, sen
1
Smith
George, sen
1
Smith
George, jun
1
Smith
Widow
1
Smith
George
4
Smith
John
1
Smith
George
1
Smith
Elizabeth
1X
Smith
Robert
1X
Westoby
Mr William
2
Wilson
Peter
3
Peter Grasby - Constable

Breighton
Arratt
Alice
2
Aske
William
1
Balls
Widow
2
Binks
William
1
Boma
John
3
Bond
Judith
2
Cotton
George
1
Deighton
Joseph
2
Dunnington
Edward
3
Fotherstone
Phillip
2
Gill
Thomas
3
Hebdin
Robert
1
Hebdin
Widow
1
Jackson
Edward
1
Marshall
Ann
4
Nicholson
John
1
Parish
--
6
Preston
Henry
1
Ramsey
James
2
Ramsey
John
2
Sutton
Thomas
2
Wright
Robert
1
William Aske - Constable        

Spaldington
Akas
Christopher
1
Allan
William
1
Athrope
Thomas
1
Battby
John
2
Battell
George
1
Battle
Valentyne
2
Battley
Robert
2
Bealby
James
1
Belley
Robert
1
Blackburne
Richard
1
Brigham
John
1
Browne
John
1
Byllyard
Robert
1
Clarke
Thomas
2
Clarke
Robert
1
Collam
Thomas
1X
Dudeing
Francis
1
Earrott
Edmond
1
Ellis
Charles
1
Henington
Thomas
1
Heslewood
Richard
1
Houfe
Thomas
1
Howe
Thomas
1
Ingatt
William
1
Jarrett
Michael
1
Jarrett
Thomas
1
Kempe
Thomas
2
Kirkeby
Edmond
1
Kirton
Richard
4
Lenge
Luke
1
Lownsdall
John
1
John Vavisour - Constable

Laytham cum Foggathorpe
Abride
Mr John
11
Arroatt
George
1
Boward
Richard
1
Burton
Grace
1
Coates
Timothy
1
Fawcett
Mr Hugh
6
Fawcett
John
1
Gardam
John
1
Gundby
George
1
Harrison
William
2
Hurley
Richard
2
Johnson
Robert
1
Meadley
James
1
Michell
Robert
4
Newton
William
1
Stell
Thomas
1
Stell
Thomas
1
West
Peter
2
Young
Peter
1
George Harratt - Constable

Willitoft cum Gribthorpe
Allan
Widow
1
Blanshard
George
1
Bradley
John
1
Madsons
Henry
2
Scott
George
3
Skipwith
John
2
Skipwith
George
1
Story
Isabel
1
Vavisor
Mr
8
Westoby
Phillip
2
Westoby
Thomas
2
Phillip Westoby - Constable