YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING AND HULL, 1672-3

edited by

David Neave, Susan Neave, Catherine Ferguson and Elizabeth Parkinson

This edition publishes the transcripts of the 1672 hearth tax return for the East Riding of Yorkshire and the 1673 return for Hull and Hullshire, together with 55 exemption certificates. It is the eleventh volume in the Hearth Tax Series produced on a county basis by the British Academy Hearth Tax Research Project based at the University of Roehampton and published by the British Record Society.

The hearth tax, introduced in 1662 and abolished in 1689, was a graduated tax based on the number of hearths within each household. Hearth tax documents provide considerable insight into the social and economic situation prevailing in the 1660s and 1670s, not only at county level, but also variations at regional and local level making the hearth tax a powerful tool for the study of communities. Moreover, because it coincided with a time of development of chimneys in houses, the hearth tax provides important evidence for house historians. For genealogists, the 22,000 heads of household named in the East Riding volume are a key attraction. These cover the full spectrum of society, from the Earl of Dunbar in his 40 hearth mansion to Widow Linwood whose son had erected a temporary chimney for her in his barn.

The hearth tax transcript lies at the heart of a detailed historical analysis of the East Riding in the 1670s. Two chapters have been written by Drs David and Susan Neave; the first on the social and economic history of the riding in that period, and the second on its housing. The chapter on the administration of the hearth tax has been written by Dr Elizabeth Parkinson. The book reveals and explores regional differences in the East Riding, ranging from deserted villages, coastal settlements and market towns, to a vibrant, wealthy and increasingly important entrepôt in Hull and its environs in the Humber estuary.

The book is illustrated with 28 coloured plates and 14 coloured maps. It provides aids to using the volume and understanding the documents, together with detailed list of hearth tax statistics by township and wapentake, full lists of surviving East Riding hearth tax documents, bibliography and detailed indexes by name, place and subject.

Dr David Neave is a Fellow of the University of Hull where he was Senior Lecturer in Regional and Local History and Dr Susan Neave is Hon. Research Fellow, Department of History, University of Hull. As well as their own individual publications they have collaborated on a number of books on the social and architectural history of East Yorkshire including a revised edition of Pevsner’s Buildings of England volume for the area, the Pevsner City Guide to Hull, and the Victoria County History, Yorkshire East Riding. 

Dr Elizabeth Parkinson is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Roehampton. She has been involved with the Hearth Tax Project at Roehampton. Her publications include The Establishment of the Hearth Tax 1662-1666.

Dr Catherine Ferguson is General Editor of the British Record Society Hearth Tax Series and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Roehampton. This is her fifth Hearth Tax Series volume.