Historical Facts Of The Introduction Of Window Tax In England And Scotland

In order to explore the historical facts about an old taxation system on windows in the United Kingdom, read on. The window tax was a tax which was introduced into the United Kingdom in the late 17th century by King William the third. He was finding it hard to find a way to tax people based on their income or wealth because many people refused to tell the king how much they earned. They felt it was a completely private matter and certainly no business of the King.

Of his subjects, the King decided that the most fair method of taxation would be by looking at the size of people’s houses. Each person who owned a house would have to pay a fixed fee of 2 shillings. This is about 10 pence in the new system. As well as this, if the house was large and contained more than 10 windows, there were extra taxes to pay.

If the house had between ten and twenty windows, then this extra tax was 4 shillings and anything over twenty windows had to pay eight shillings. Later, as the king wanted to increase the tax, he reduced the minimum number of windows to be taxed from ten to seven. This was further changed in 1825 to eight windows.

Poor subjects who were eligible for the church’s charity could claim an exemption. This was irrespective of the number of windows their dwelling contained.

In order to evade this tax, residents resorted to bricking up extra windows. This occurred mainly in the 17th and early 18th centuries. In Scotland, this tax was not introduced until the 1780s by William Pitt the Younger. Even here, residents painted over their windows black with white crosses. These became known as Pitt’s pictures. A visitor to Charlotte’s Square in Edinburgh can still see these windows on some of the houses.

It may be possible that in contrast to this, many of the richer families actually had extra windows designed into their houses. They commissioned properties with as many windows as possible. Even blank walls had window facades to create the look of more windows.

Learn more about the advantages of using a reliable window cleaning company today! When you need window cleaning services in West London, you will find it fast and easy!

Incoming search terms:

• window tax england
• king of england tax facts
• window tax in england
• history of window tax
• taxes on windows in england
• window tax facts

The Joy Of Owning Greek Vases

Greek vases are among the most famous museum replicas anywhere, and no wonder. The pottery of ancient Greece are not only amazing objects of art but bear witness to one of the most intellectually important civilizations of humankind. Acquiring a museum replica of Greek vases oneself is a way of connecting to a glorious golden age and lends a “blue-blooded” kind of elegance to any setting.

After all, it can be argued that the Greek vase has set the aesthetic standard for the Western Civilization for hundreds if not thousands of years. Having one on your desk, mantle, or shelf can produce the right atmosphere for oneself to be inspired! There’s something to be said about having a faithful reproduction of a museum masterpiece in your own home or office. Imagine the experience on your next trip to the museum as you walk through a collection, identifying those which you own a personal copy of!

Museum replicas let us all to play the part of a refined collector of antiques – not “antiques” in the now commonly debased sense of someone’s grandmother’s grandmother’s quilt abandoned at a yard sale, but treasures of the ancients now owns to enjoy thanks to the painstaking skills of replica sculptors who work in the traditional methods with traditional materials.

Nearly always handmade, such replicas of vases can be so faithfully reproduced as to fool even professional appraisers! Available in a wide variety of styles, these fine works are truly no less art objects in themselves, so exquisitely crafted as to warrant being their own museum pieces!

They also tend to be very affordable, too, allowing true connoisseurs the opportunity to own more than one. Finally, they make excellent gifts, too: thoughtful, and a little out of the ordinary, after all its not everyday you get a greek vase as a present.

To Learn more about an Greek Vases. Stop by www.articlegoround.com where you can find many different types of Articles for your many needs.

Incoming search terms:

• Greek vases reproduction