THE BRISTOL & GLOUCESTERSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Gloucestershire lay subsidies 1581-1595 (southwest division)

Download transcript of    Select Rolls 82-85 (1581-1595)       [1.07  MB  PDF]

Lay subsidies

These were taxes levied by parliament on the rental value of land and actual value of goods of the better off people among the civil population. These returns record who was taxed, the value of what they owned and how much they paid. For land the rate was 4 shillings in the pound and for goods the rate was 2s 8d in the pound except in 1592 which was taxed at half of the normal rate. Those with lands worth less than £1 pa or goods worth less than £3 were not taxed. The money due was collected in two instalments in consecutive years. These rolls record the first instalment only: for land 2s 8d in the pound and for goods 1s 8d.

By this period there was systematic evasion so the lists cannot be used to compare the wealth of one person or community with another, nor can they be used to assess economic activity. Their value lies in listing the most prominent inhabitants at a time when other nominal lists are relatively rare.

The documents

The returns are preserved at Berkeley Castle. They were acquired by Henry lord Berkeley, probably in 1603 when he became lord lieutenant. They cover the southwestern part of Gloucestershire for four assessments: Select Roll 82 for 1581, 83 for 1585, 84 for 1592 and 85 for 1595. The copies which should be preserved in the National Archives seem not to have survived. Gloucestershire Archives holds microfilms of the rolls on MF1279.

Places covered

Entries appear in all four rolls for the following places:- Acton Ilger,   Acton Turville,   Alderley,   Alkington,   Almondsbury,   Alveston,   Arlingham,   Ashleworth,   Aust,   Badminton,   Berkeley,   Beverstone,   Bitton and Hanham,   Boxwell and Leighterton,   Breadstone,   Cam,   Charfield,   Charlton,   Clifton,   Coaley,   Cold Ashton,   Compton Greenfield,   Coombe,   Cromhall,   Didmarton,   Dodington,   Doynton,   Dursley,   Dyrham,   Earthcott,   Easton,   Elberton,   Falfield,   Filton,   Frampton Cotterell,   Gaunt’s Earthcott,   Ham,   Hambrook,   Hamfallow,   Hawkesbury,   Hempton,   Henbury,   Hill,   Hinton,   Horfield,   ,   Horton,   Huntingford,   Iron Acton,   Itchington,   King’s Weston,   Kingscote,   Kington,   Lawrence Weston,   Littleton upon Severn,   Mangotsfield,   Marshfield,   Morton,   Newington Bagpath,   North Nibley,   Nympsfield,   Oldbury on the Hill,   Oldbury upon Severn,   Olveston,   Over,   Owlpen,   Ozleworth,   Patchway,   Pucklechurch,   Redwick and Northwick,   Rockhampton,   Shirehampton,   Sinwell,   Siston,   Slimbridge,   Sodbury, Chipping,   Sodbury, Little,   Sodbury, Old,   Stapleton,   Stinchcombe,   Stoke Bishop,   Stoke Gifford,   Stowick,   Symond’s Hall,   Thornbury,   Tockington,   Tormarton and West Littleton,   Tortworth,   Tytherington,   Uley,   Wapley and Codrington,   Westbury on Trym,   Westerleigh,   Wick,   Wickwar,   Wickwick,   Winterbourne,   Woodmancote,   Wortley,   Wotton-under-Edge,   Yate,  

Editorial method

Surnames appear exactly as written; forenames and place names have been modernized; for minor places the parish is added. Words supplied are in square brackets and deletions in pointed brackets. Numbers have been converted from roman numerals to modern usage. The entries are displayed in exactly the order in which they appear on the rolls as this may be significant.

Using this transcript

The transcript can be downloaded as a 1.07MB Portable Document Format(PDF) document which requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to be installed on your computer in order to view or print the document. The complete text of the document may be searched for any specified keywords using the powerful search facility provided by the Acrobat Reader software. More information about obtaining and using Adobe Reader software is available from the Adobe website. You may need to search for variant spellings as well as the one you normally use, eg search for Tounsend as well as Townsend.

Acknowledgements

This transcript was made by Meg Savage, Meg Kimmins and Jill Barlow as part of a Friends of Gloucestershire Archives project. It was converted for electronic display by Ray Wilson on behalf of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society.

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