Brick tax
Encyclopedia
The brick tax was introduced in Great Britain in 1784, during the reign of King George III, to help pay for the wars in the American Colonies
. Bricks were initially taxed at 4s
per thousand. To mitigate the effect of the tax, manufacturers began to increase the size of their bricks, up to a maximum of 11 inches × 5 inches × inches (280 mm × 125 mm × 80 mm). In response, the government introduced a maximum volume for a brick, at 150 cubic inch (0.00246 m³). The level of taxation was increased in 1794, 1797, and 1805, peaking at 5s 10d per thousand bricks.
One of the far-reaching effects of the brick tax was that some minor brick producers went out of business, selling their stock in order to meet tax arrears. It also had an effect on architecture, with many areas returning to the use of timber and weatherboarding
in house construction. The tax was abolished in 1850, by which time it was considered to be a detriment to industrial development.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Bricks were initially taxed at 4s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
per thousand. To mitigate the effect of the tax, manufacturers began to increase the size of their bricks, up to a maximum of 11 inches × 5 inches × inches (280 mm × 125 mm × 80 mm). In response, the government introduced a maximum volume for a brick, at 150 cubic inch (0.00246 m³). The level of taxation was increased in 1794, 1797, and 1805, peaking at 5s 10d per thousand bricks.
One of the far-reaching effects of the brick tax was that some minor brick producers went out of business, selling their stock in order to meet tax arrears. It also had an effect on architecture, with many areas returning to the use of timber and weatherboarding
Weatherboarding
Weatherboarding is the cladding or ‘siding’ of a house consisting of long thin timber boards that overlap one another, either vertically or horizontally on the outside of the wall. They are usually of rectangular section with parallel sides...
in house construction. The tax was abolished in 1850, by which time it was considered to be a detriment to industrial development.