The Hearth Tax Return of 1666
The Hearth Tax was levied on the population during the period 1662 - 1688. It was a tax based on the number of hearths. Each hearth was rated at two shillings per year and the payment was collected in two installments, Lady Day (25th March) and at Michaelmas (29th September). Persons who occupied premises that were worth less than 20 shillings a year or who owned property that was valued at less than £10.00 were exempt. The poor of the parish were also exempt. The tax was collected by the Constable who submitted his accounts to the Justices of the Peace. The listing begins with the village of Caverswall, the first property on the list is the Castle.
Caverswall Village
| Name : | Hearths Chargeable : |
| Mr William Jolly and his tenant
Thomas Harte |
20 |
| Mr Thomas Porter | 5 |
| William Heath | 1 |
| George Brassington | 3 |
| William Cooper | 1 |
| William Tooth | 5 |
| Joane Walter | 1 |
| Thomas Kilford | 3 |
| Anne Heath | 1 |
| William Tooth | 1 |
| Robert Sale | 1 |
| Mr Henery Haworth | 5 |
| Isabell Baddely | 1 |
| John Watson | 3 |
| Mr Raph Brown | 5 |
| John Limaxxe | 1 |
| William Walter | 1 |
| Thomas Cookes | 3 |
| Raph Fisher | 2 |
| Goodman Robinson | 1 |
| John Worriloe | 2 |
| Richard Wood | 2 |
| Mr James Cressall | 5 |
| Widow Hill | 1 |
| Roger Machin | 1 |
| Widow Honde | 1 |
| Thomas Beech | 1 |
| Mrs Eliz Worriloe | 2 |
Meare Hamlett
| Name : | Hearths Chargeable : |
| John Beech formerly Randle Meare | 4 |
| Widdow Willot | 2 |
| Roger Morrice | 1 |
| Thomas Andsill | 1 |
| Henry Wright | 2 |
| William Dawson | 1 |
Weston Coyney
| Name : | Hearths Chargeable : |
| John Coyney Esquire | 10 |
| Mr Edward Maxfeild | 5 |
| John Bushton | 2 |
| George Parker Esquire | 10 |
| George Wood | 7 |
| Henry Cooke | 1 |
| Thomas Cotten | 1 |
| Robert Hulme et filius | 2 |
| Joseph Wilson | 1 |
| Phill Fernyhough | 2 |
| John Adshed | 1 |
| Robert Steele | 1 |
| John Sikes | 1 |
| John Maiden | 1 |
| Ann Barloe | 1 |
| John Wells | 1 |
| Raph Spooner | 1 |
| John Candewell | 1 |
| Raph Lauton | 1 |
| Richard Cooper | 1 |
| William Chaterley | 1 |
| Mr Thomas Lees | 1 |
| William Hollins | 1 |
| William Caldon | 1 |
| John Lees | 1 |
| Raph Lees | 1 |
| Widdow Brassington | 1 |
| Thomas Ibbs | 1 |
| Francis Wilson | 1 |
Hulme Hamlett
| Name : | Hearths Chargeable : |
| John Wood | 4 |
| Raph Austen | 3 |
| Peter Shaw | 2 |
| Thomas Rowley | 5 |
| George Willot | 2 |
| John Shelly | 1 |
| John Wood | 3 |
| Thomas Allen | 2 |
| James Harvey | 1 |
| William Harvey | 3 |
| Thomas Ginder | 3 |
| John Vize | 2 |
| William Twyford | 1 |
| Thomas Shaw | 1 |
| William Tanuns | 1 |
`The following are certified for not to be Chargeable according to the Acte`
| Thomas Ibbs | John Locker |
| Thomas Meller | Raph Barloe |
| Thomas Cooper | William Fernihough |
| John Cooper | John Harrisson |
| Hugh Lees | Oliver Clarke Senier |
| William Tooth Jnr | Robert Steele |
| Mary Stailey | Ellen Lees |
| Thomas Coyney | William Dawson |
| Richard Cooper | William Tanuns |
| Richard Steele | Margret Browne |
| Nicolis Foxe | Luke Ashford |
| William Hollins | Georg Fernihough |
| Robert Cooper | John Boardman |
| Ellen Wall | John Evans |
| Richard Beech | Georg Horne |
| Margrett Nutt | Thomas Bloore |
| John Hulme | Thomas T`pper |
| Thomas Shaw | Raph Cooper |
| James Cooke | Thomas Torry |
| William Radlocke |
`By John Burtonshaw, Minister.
John Worriloe, Robert Mellor, Church Wardens.
Allowed by George Parker, Jonathon Woodenoth, John Whitehall,
Justices of the Peace.
By George Hulme, Constable.`
The principal families in the parish are easily identified : William Jolly (Joliffe) at the Castle, the Coyney`s at Weston Coyney Hall and the Parker`s at Park Hall. The return provides an insight to the number of people who were living in the area in 1666.
References : Collections for a History of Staffordshire edited by the William Salt Archaeological Society. Historical Collections 30 Staffordshire 1925 S-106. Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History 1997.