Hearth Tax

The Hearth Tax was collected from households across England between 1662 and 1689 at a rate of one shilling per hearth. It was paid twice yearly at Lady Day (25 March) and Michaelmas (29 September). Occupiers of property were liable for the tax, or owners of property if the property was unoccupied. There were exemptions for those not paying church/poor rates or in properties worth less than 20 shillings rent yearly with possessions worth less than £10. This required the occupier to acquire a certificate of exemption. There were also exemptions for hospitals, almshouses, ‘blowing house/stamp furnace or kiln’ and private ovens in houses already charged.

The tax was introduced in the Summer of 1662 to make up a shortfall in royal income of £200,000 per annum. Initially from 1662-1664, the money was collected by constables from self assessment lists by householders liable for tax, and then returned to the Exchequer by sheriff. From 1664 to 1684 the monies were collected by a mixture of either professional receivers appointed by the Exchequer or by individuals appointed by farmers of the tax, paying a rent to the Exchequer and retaining any profits. Collection was taken back by the Exchequer under a commission they appointed between 1684 and 1689.  The tax was abolished by William and Mary in 1689.

Records of the Hearth Tax are held within the Exchequer records at The National Archives, with some records held locally.  The returns from these have been published by the Hearth Tax Digital Project. These include records for Westmorland, the Furness area of Lancashire (part of Lonsdale hundred) and the area of the West Riding of Yorkshire which came into Cumbria in 1974 (part of Staincliffe and Ewcross wapentake). Data for the county of Cumberland will be added to the Hearth Tax Digital website in early 2027.