Window Tax

Ever Wondered why there are windows that are not windows, just painted to look like windows??

Well from 1696 until 1851 in England and Wales there was a "window tax". Yep as simple as that a tax on having windows.

The tax was based on the number of windows in a house. It was a banded tax, e.g. in 1747 for a house with ten to fourteen windows, the tax stood at 6d. per window, fifteen to nineteen windows, 9d., and exceeding twenty or more, 1s.. The tax was raised six times between 1747 and 1808. By then the lowest band started at six windows. This was raised in 1825 to eight windows.

1d is one old penny (pre 1974), there were 12 1d in the Shilling and 20 Shillings to the pound. A shilling converted to 5p (5 new pence as it was called in '74)

[Lynne Hart]

Sounds like day light robbery to me! Good shot and brilliantly informative commentary. Fav

[Anita Campbell]

This window surely looks real, however, a bit dirty!! Fascinating information.. Have heard that some places used to have taxes on closets in a home, so families just hung their clothes elsewhere, on rods, etc.