The Burgh Hearth Tax roll made in 1694.                      National Archives of Scotland ref E69/10/1

The Hearth Tax was introduced in England and Wales by the government of Charles II in 1662 at a time of serious fiscal emergency. The original Act of Parliament was revised in 1663 and 1664, and collection continued until the tax was finally repealed by William and Mary in 1689. Under the terms of the grant, each liable householder was to pay one shilling for each hearth within their property for each collection of the tax. Payments were due twice annually, at Michaelmas (29 September) and Lady Day (25 March), starting at Michaelmas 1662.

It was introduced in Scotland in 1690 by the Scottish Parliament in a one-off attempt to pay off its debts to the Shires and Burghs and reduce the arrears of army pay. It was payable at Candlemas (February 2nd) 1691 by both landowners and tenants, and the rate was 14s per hearth. Only hospitals (almshouses) and the poor living on charity from the parish were exempt. The principal collector for Scotland was James Melville of Cassingray and sub-collectors were responsible to him for compiling lists in their areas.

There were huge difficulties in collecting the tax, particularly in highland or remote areas. Collection dragged on for several years until August 1694 when a proclamation called for all hearth lists to be sent to the treasury before 1 October. Some lists give the names of the exempt poor, but unfortunately Dunfermline's is not among them.

Dunfernline's list is arranged under the names of the heritors of property, some of whom owned several tenements. The names of their tenants are listed with the numbers of hearths in each 'house'. A dwelling house for most people at that time consisted of just one or two rooms, so tenants with more than two hearths were doing well for themselves. Not all rooms were heated, so a tenant with only one hearth may have been living in more than one room. The rate of 14s per hearth was a lot of money for some people to find and in some cases they would not tell the collector how many hearths they had. The number was only obtained 'after search', as is noted in the list.

The names have been modernised and the information tabulated.