Middle Ages Poll Tax

What Was the Poll Tax?

The poll tax of the Middle Ages was a "head tax" levied on individuals, distinct from other forms of lay subsidy that taxed movable property. The first English poll tax was introduced in 1377, with further poll taxes collected in 1379 and 1381. These taxes were used primarily to fund military campaigns during the Hundred Years' War with France.

Lay subsidies, by contrast, had existed since 1275 and operated on a different principle. Under the lay subsidy system, individuals were taxed on a fraction of the assessed value of their movable goods. The poll tax simplified this by requiring a flat payment from each person, though the 1379 and 1381 versions introduced graduated rates based on social status.

The poll taxes proved deeply unpopular. The 1381 poll tax, which set a minimum payment of one shilling per person, sparked the Peasants' Revolt. Rebels from Kent and Essex marched on London, and the violence that followed led to the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Treasurer. After 1381, no further poll taxes were attempted in medieval England.

For genealogists, these represent distinct record sets. The lay subsidy rolls span a much longer period and record property assessments, while the poll tax returns of 1377 to 1381 list individuals by name and sometimes record occupations and family relationships.

How Lay Subsidies Were Calculated

Under the lay subsidy system, the goods that could be assessed for tax differed depending on whether someone lived in a town or in the countryside. Urban and rural areas had different criteria for what counted as taxable property.

There was a minimum threshold for payment, typically around 6d (six pence). Anyone whose goods fell below this value was exempt from payment. This meant the very poorest members of society did not appear in the tax records at all.

The list of people who were exempt from paying included:

• Members of the clergy, who paid their own separate taxes to the Crown
• Workers employed at the Royal Mint
• Inhabitants of the Cinque Ports, the confederation of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex
• Residents of the Counties Palatine of Cheshire and Durham, which had special administrative status
• Tin workers in the stannaries of Cornwall and Devon

Each of these exemptions arose from specific historical circumstances. The Cinque Ports, for instance, provided ships and sailors for the Crown in exchange for various privileges. The Counties Palatine operated under their own administrative systems, with taxation controlled locally rather than by the royal exchequer.

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Using These Records for Family History

The usefulness of lay subsidy records depends very much on the time period you are researching. The earlier returns, particularly those from the late 13th and early 14th centuries, list individual names alongside the amounts paid.

From 1332 onwards, the method of recording changed significantly. Instead of listing each taxpayer by name, the lay subsidy records only show the total amount collected from each village or town. This makes them far less useful for tracing specific ancestors, since you cannot identify individuals within those totals.

The poll tax returns of 1377 to 1381 offer a different kind of evidence. Because they taxed individuals rather than property, they often list people who would not have appeared in lay subsidy records. The 1379 poll tax is particularly valuable because it recorded occupations, and some returns list entire households together, showing wives, children, and servants alongside the head of household.

If your research takes you into the period before 1332 for lay subsidies, or into the poll tax years of 1377 to 1381, you may find ancestors listed by name. The information typically includes the person's name, their place of residence, and the amount they paid. For poll tax returns, you might also find occupational descriptions and household structures.

The Tudor subsidies, introduced from 1524 onwards, operated on yet another basis. These assessed both goods and income, and the surviving records can be useful for the 16th and early 17th centuries, though they require separate study as a distinct record type.

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Where to Find These Records

The original lay subsidy rolls and poll tax returns are held at The National Archives in Kew. Many have been transcribed and published by local record societies and county history societies over the years, which can make them easier to access without visiting the archives in person.

The National Archives catalogue can be searched online to identify which records survive for particular areas and time periods. Coverage is uneven. Some counties have extensive surviving records while others have significant gaps where documents have been lost or damaged over the centuries.

Some county record offices hold copies of transcriptions relevant to their area, and local history libraries may also have published versions available. The quality and completeness of these transcriptions varies, so if you are conducting serious research, checking against the original documents may be worthwhile where possible.

Various family history websites have also digitised or indexed some of these records. Availability changes over time, so checking current offerings from major genealogy platforms is advisable.

Limitations and Considerations

Several factors affect the usefulness of medieval tax records for genealogical research.

Only people with taxable property appear in lay subsidy records. The poorest members of society, who fell below the minimum threshold, are not listed. The poll taxes cast a wider net, but even these missed some people, and widespread evasion of the 1381 poll tax was one of the triggers for the subsequent revolt.

The spelling of names in medieval documents can be inconsistent. The same person might appear with their name spelled differently in different records, or even within the same document. Flexibility and patience are needed when searching for particular surnames.

The administrative geography of medieval England did not always match modern boundaries. The areas covered by particular tax returns may not correspond neatly to current counties or parishes, which can make it harder to pinpoint exactly where an ancestor was living.

The lay subsidy records from 1332 onwards do not list individual names, which significantly limits their value for family history. They can still tell you something about the relative wealth or size of a community, but they will not help you identify specific ancestors.

Despite these limitations, medieval tax records remain a useful source for anyone researching English ancestors from this period. The poll tax returns of 1377 to 1381, though covering only a few years, can reveal ordinary people who left few other traces in the historical record. The earlier lay subsidies, where individual names survive, offer evidence of residence and give an indication of relative wealth. For the medieval period, when most surviving records concern the wealthy and powerful, these taxation documents provide rare glimpses of more ordinary lives.

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