Rylstone Project
The loan book lists assessments on both lands and goods
Lay Subsidies were individually assessed taxes granted by parliament
This was a lay subsidy standardised at one fifteenth of the value of moveable, personal goods for rural inhabitants
The tax was based on the number of fire places and stoves at the rate of two shillings a year
Only freeholders with land value 40 shillings or more were eligible to vote. There was no-one eligible to vote in Rylstone
These returns gave a list of all occupiers of land in each parish. In 1782 it also showed the proprietor. In 1826 the tax was abolished in 1832
Only freeholders with land value 40 shillings or more were eligible to vote
These arose from the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 which allowed tithes (tenths) to be converted into cash payments. These payments were known as Tithe Awards and were based on land values and the price of corn. Tithe Commissioners administered and collected the payments. Tithes had been levied on people from Anglo-Saxon times and entitled the church to one tenth of their annual revenue or produce. By the early 19th century the tithe system had become unwieldy and unpopular, so the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 converted tithes into cash payments.
Under the Great Reform Act of 1832 the franchise was extended to all men who owned property worth £10.
Census Returns for Rylstone
Electoral Registers for Rylstone
Provided by S. Merridew of Airedale and Wharfedale Family History Society