Bedfordshire Land and Window Tax Assessments

BEDFORDSHIRE:
Bedfordshire Land and Window Tax Assessments

Land Tax

The Land Tax was introduced in the late 17th century and was abolished in the mid-20th century. Its value to family historians is that it lists, year by year, the names of proprietors of land in each parish and also the names of the occupiers. It can also reveal the economic status of those named. For further reading details of the tax can be found in Land and Window Tax Assessments by Jeremey Gibson, Mervyn Medlycott and Dennis Mills, published by the Federation of Family History Societies ISBN 1 86006 054 4.

Bedfordshire Archives & Records Service, Bedford

1) Pre-1780 : Manshead Hundred, 1750, complete [F89];
a few Land tax Assessments as below:
2) 1780-1832 : 1783 complete (except Bedford) [HA 14/5];
1782-83 Bedford (town) [BOR B F/16/1-2];
1797-1832 [QDL], near complete
3) Post-1832: variable coverage according to Hundred, arranged by place [LX series for long runs; isolated returns have refrences as below].

Land Tax Assessments are arranged by place.

Hundreds (for 1783, 1797-1832, as above)
Barford 1) Great Barford, 1720, 1740, 1750, 1753, 1758 [FN 1253-4]; Renhold 1697, 1706,1717 [PO 14];
2) Renhold 1782 [PO 14]
3) 1930-49 some years, many parishes; Great Barford 1901 [X 290/338]; Ravensden 1841, 1865-6 [X 65/140-2]; Wilden 1838 [P 106/28/2]
Biggleswade 1) Biggleswade parish, 1765 [RI 1/3]; Old Warden 1770 [PE 195];
3) 1915-49 many years, many parishes; Biggleswade parish 1841 [X 440/7/18]; Potton 1899 [LX 83]; Sandy 1891 [LX 91a]; Tempsford 1869, 1874, 1884-5 [WY 911].
Clifton : 3) 1915-49 some years, many parishes
Flitt : 1) Silsoe 1750 [L 28/35]
3) 1857-1946 many years, many parishes
Manshead : 1) 1750 near complete [F 89]
3) 1834-1946 many years, many parishes
Redbornstoke : 1) Ampthill 1725, 1739-41 [R 4/319-20, Duke of Bedford estates]; Houghton Conquest 1725 [R 4/318]; Maulden 1765-6 [P 31/28/4]
3) 1842-1849 many years, many parishes.
Stodden : 1) Bolnhurst 1750 [Fac 17/2]; Keysoe 1765, 1767 [C 1722-3]
3) 1842-49 Many years, many parishes
Willey : 1) Felmersham 1757 [V 292]; Radwell in Felmersham 1764 [V 293]; Podington 1737, 1739, 1748, 1763 [OR 1752-7]; Thurleigh 1765, 1767 [C 1722-3]
2) Podington 1784-5 [OR 1760-1], 1787 [OR 949]; 1789 [OR 1764]
3) 1930-49 many years, many parishes; Farndish 1883-87 some years [OR 950]; Podington 1882-93 some years [OR 950];
Wixamtree : 3) 1917-49 many years, many parishes; Northill 1902 [LX 77]
Bedford (town) : 2) 1782-3, 1797-1832.
3) 1930-49 some years, some parishes,

Window Tax

The Window Tax was introduced in 1696 and was reshaped under further acts in 1747 and 1797, it was finally repealed in 1851. It was two taxes in one: the house tax, assessed on the ctual occupiers of inhabited dwellings which were liable to church and poor rates, on which a flat rate was charged, this was further supplimented in 1778 with an additional charge based upon rateable values; and the window tax, another additional charge for which there was a graduated scale of bands on houses with more than a certain number of windows, being ten or more between 1696 and 1766, seven or more 1766-1825, and eight or more 1825-1851. Oddly the house tax was repealed in 1834 but the window tax on dwellings with eight or more windows remained on the statute books until 1851.

Bedfordshire Archives & Records Service, Bedford

Keysoe, 1731 [P 48/28/1]
Great Barford 1750-67 [FN 1253, 1255]
Old Warden 1770 [PE 196]