Using the London land tax assessments for researching the London book trades

(Click here for background information concerning the land tax).

Annual land tax assessments for London survive from 1704 onwards, the majority of which are available on microfilm at the Guildhall Library, London. These records list the main occupier of all properties at the time the assessment was made. Hence, one can identify exactly when an individual took up occupancy of a property and when he or she left. However, the land tax records are a challenging source with which to work. Assesors listed occupiers but rarely named the street and never the 'number' of the property. One is confronted by long lists of names with no addresses. The approximate location of the named persons can be established because the assessments were divided into the wards of the city and then subdivided into precincts - a parish or, more usually, part of a parish. A further difficulty results from the decision of assessors to take the shortest geographical route around a precinct when compiling their list of occupiers. As a consequence, their lists of names may start with a few on a main thoroughfare, then a few on the other side of the road, a few names from a side lane or road before returning to the main street. The secret to using the London land tax assessments therefore lies in establishing the exact route which an assessor took. Once the route has been established, one can identify the particular property associated with a particular name in the assessment. This is a difficult and slow process and requires much cross-referencing with contemporary maps, trade directories, previous studies of the London book trades and other tax assessments.

An example of part of a London land tax assessment from 1790:

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