Some of the extremes of the window tax effect can be seen in these wonderful photos by photographer Andy Billman (you can buy prints of these from his “Daylight Robbery” collection – I couldn’t resist getting one of the first photo!)
Although it’s hard to know for certain which were the result of window tax or other reasons, it’s likely many of these windows were bricked-in to reduce their tax bill – see my previous post about Window Tax.
Legend has it that in 1850 when the first motion was put before parliament to repeal this unpopular tax, MPs cried “daylight robbery!” when the matter was debated, which is supposedly where the saying originated.
The tax wasn’t as unpopular as its predecessor though: “hearth tax”, where wealth was measured by the number of fireplaces in a house. For all the ill effects of blocking in windows, it’s perhaps not so bad as demolishing chimneys – especially at this time of year! And one upside of blocking in windows, which people soon realised, is that blocking superfluous windows in the rear of the house next to hearths could cut down on heat-loss!
Though strangely the hearth tax was particularly unpopular due to it being an invasion of privacy – exposing your home to be entered and searched by a total stranger. Similarly to how income tax was unthinkable at the time, because these private matters weren’t considered the business of government!