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Lay Subsidies
Historical information
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Subsidy Rolls are
records of taxation in England made
between the 12th and 17th centuries. They are often valuable sources of
historical information.
The lists are arranged by
county, and the description of each document indicates the area covered,
usually by hundred or wapentake.
The 1332 subsidy was the first for which many assessments survive. It was
primarily confined to prosperous householders. The poll tax returns of 1378-80,
which in theory covered all male adults except the itinerant and the very poor,
give occupations and the relationships between members of the household. The
subsidies of 1532-1535 again covered extensively the householders of middling
and higher status.
The best known surviving
assessments are probably the hearth tax returns
from 1662-1674, which give the names of householders and number of hearths for
which they were responsible. County volumes of liable householders have been
published by the British Record Society.
Records of many other taxes
are listed in M
Jurkowski, C Smith and D Crook, Lay
Taxes in England and Wales, 1188-1688.
The subsidy was imposed
upon persons according to the reputed value (moderate estimate) of their
estates. The rate at one time was fixed as 4s for land and
2s 8d for goods. The word subsidy is used to define a
specific set of records as well as an umbrella name for a group of records.
Lay Subsidy Rolls included the taxes assessed against the laity ("common"
people). Clerical Subsidies were similarly collected at the rate of
4s assessed on ecclesiastical preferments, and made by the clergy in
Convocation and afterwards confirmed by Parliament.
Records
Subsidies consist of rolls
of accounts, assessments, inquisitions, certificates and other documents
bearing on the assessment and collection of the following items.
·
Hidage and carucage, on lands not held by military service.
·
Tallage, paid by the King's ancient demesnes, and by
cities and towns.
·
Scutages, in lieu of military service.
·
Subsidies, of a percentage (tenth, fifteenth, etc.) on moveables.
·
Poll taxes, per head on all types of land.
·
Hearth tax, 2s per year for each hearth, with some
exceptions.
Information in the
records
Between the years 1290-1334,
the names of the people paying the tax, usually the freeholder, were entered on
a roll. The rate of the tax was given at the head of the roll. The amount
assessed depended on how much money the Crown needed for various military
campaigns in France, Scotland and Wales. Rolls were arranged village by village
and listed the names of the individuals responsible to pay the tax. From 1334
to about 1542, the total quotas were listed along with place names; no
individuals were recorded. The Great Subsidy of 1524-5 lists all people over
the age of 16 years with income from land or with taxable goods worth £2 per
annum, or with annual wages of £1 or more.
Value of the Records
The value of these records
is in the evidence they provide, to place an individual in a specific parish at
a given time. There are instances where escaped the assessment. There is
evidence that some rolls appeared to contain only a fraction of the population.
Combined with other lists and returns, the local historian can study:
·
Changes in medieval population and wealth.
·
Development of place-names and surnames
·
Development of crafts and trades.
Finding the records
Many printed editions of the
original subsidy rolls exist, leaving little need for a person to go to the
originals. Subsidy Rolls are housed at The National Archives, Kew, in class E 179. Extant items cover the time period for approximately 1154 to
1700. They are sub-divided into two series: Lay and Clerical.
For additional information,
read Tax Records in England.
