| Administrative History | Land tax was levied from 1692 until 1961, and from 1780 until the introduction of electoral registration in 1832, the returns were used by the Clerk of the Peace as a means of establishing who had the right to vote.
From 1772-1909, 4 shillings per pound was paid. This fixed percentage allows comparisons to be made year on year. A note of caution when using the land tax: from 1798 landowners could redeem their land tax liability by paying a lump sum equivalent to 15 years of the tax, thus they may not appear again on the returns (though often they were recorded for voting purposes). |