Counting Chimneys - the Hearth Tax in Lincolnshire

Counting Chimneys: The Hearth Tax in Lincolnshire

With the upheaval during the Commonwealth and the subsequent restoration of the Monarchy the government coffers were empty. The Hearth Tax, also known as hearth money, chimney tax, or chimney money was imposed by Parliament in 1662, to provide a regular source of income for the newly restored monarch, King Charles II, and the exchequer.

The Hearth Tax returns list each property in a village or town where tax was collected as well as a named person responsible for paying the tax. The surviving lists provide insights into life in later 17th-century England and are a valuable resource for social, family and architectural historians alike. The difficulties associated with collecting this hugely unpopular tax, which had high levels of avoidance and lower than expected levels of revenue, resulted in its abolition in 1689 at the start of William and Mary's reign.

The British Record Society (BRS) began publishing its series on Hearth Tax records in 1995. The Lincolnshire volume in the series is being prepared in conjunction with the Lincoln Record Society and the SLHA Building Recording Group (RUBL). This day conference will provide a background to the importance of the Hearth Tax along with the latest research for the Lincolnshire volume.

Welcome by Chairman of the SLHA Building Recording Group David Stocker

Introduction: by Adrian Green, Editor of the BRS Series

Talk presented by Catherine Ferguson, Former Editor of the BRS Hearth Tax Seies 2008-2024

The Hearth Tax Restoration Norfolk/East Anglia. Presented by Andrew Wareham, Academy Hearth Tax Project

The East Riding of Yorkshire Hearth Tax 1672-3: Houses and Communities. Presented by David Neave:

Lincolnshire and the Hearth Tax in the 1660’s. Presented by Nicholas Bennet

Hearth Tax Statistics: what they can tell us about economy and Society. Presented by Rob Wheeler

No Smoke without Fire: No Hearths without Buildings. Presented by Jenne Pape and Naomi Field

Chimneys at Brocklesby Station.

Image courtesy of David Stocker

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