Lay Subsidies 1583-1649
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About Lay Subsidies
Lay Subsidies were a tax on a person's movable items in the 12th to 17th centuries. It was payable by lay people only (i.e. clergy were exempt). The tax was set at a tenth of the value for town residents and a fifteenth for country dwellers
Although nominally a tax on movables, it was assessed sometimes on goods and sometimes on land. Only the more prosperous people in each parish would have paid it.
1588 - 1595
There are several rolls which cover the combined hundreds of Farnham, Guildford, Godalming, Blackheath, Woking and Wotton for the period 1588-1595.
Roll A - E179 185/336, dated 31 Eliz I (1588-1589)
Roll B - E179 186/351, dated 20 Oct 1593
Roll C - E179 186/361, dated 20 oct 1594
Roll D - E179 186/357, dated 28 Oct 1595
Roll A gives the amount of tax assessed, If a name appears in Roll A only, this is the amount given below. Rolls B-D give the value of Land or Goods on which the tax was assessed.
| Name | Rolls | Land/Goods | Amount |
| John Atfelde | A, B, C, D | Goods | £5 |
| William Banyster | B, C, D | Goods | £3 |
| Thomas Barnard | A | | 5s 4d |
| Edmund Bonsey | D | Goods | £4 |
| John Cobbett, jnr. | A | | 5s |
| John Cobbett, snr. | B, C | Goods | £3 |
| John Cobbett | D | Goods | £3 |
| Robert Cobbett | A, B, C, D | Land | £1 |
| Robert Cobbett, snr | B, C, D | Goods | £3 |
| Thomas Cobbett | A | | 5s |
| John Hone snr. | A, B | Land | £1 |
| John Hone, jnr. | A, B, C, D | Land | £2 |
| Hugh Lockwood | A, B, C, D | Land | £1 |
| Matthew Snellinge | A, B, C, D | Goods | £3 |
| John Thetcher | A, B, C, D | Land | £1 |
| Chris Underwood | A | | 5s |
Total tax for each roll: B - £3 9s 4d; C - £3 14s 8d; D - £2 7s 4d
James I, 1622-1624
There are two rolls which cover this period.
Roll A - E179 186/388, dated 20 Mar 1622
Roll B - E179 186/419, dated 8 Oct 1624
| Name | Rolls | Land/Goods | Amount |
| Henry Cobbett | A, B | Land | £1 |
| John Cobbett | A, B | Land | £1 |
| John Hone | A, B | Land | £1 |
| Joseph Hone | A, B | Land | £1 |
| Robert Lee | A, B | Land | £1 |
| Henry Rutter | A, B | Land | £1 |
Total tax: 8s
Charles I, 1628
There are two rolls which cover this period.
Roll C - E179 186/439, dated 3 Oct 1628
Roll D - E179 186/440, dated 20 Dec 1628
| Name | Rolls | Land/Goods | Amount |
| Mr Brittaine | C, D | Land | £1 |
| Henry Cobbett | C, D | Land | £1 |
| John Hoan | C, D | Land | £1 |
| Joseph Hoan | C, D | Land | £1 |
| Robert Lee | C, D | Land | £1 |
Total tax: £1
Charles I, 1640-1642
There are two rolls which cover this period.
Roll F - E179 186/451
Roll G - E179 186/456
Roll H - E179 186/461
These give the amount of tax assessed.
| Name | Rolls | Amount |
| Henry Cobbett | F, G, H | 8s |
| John Fernehedd | F, G, H | 8s |
| John Hone | F, G, H | 16s |
| Robert Lee | F, G, H | 8s |
| Robert Ockley | F, G, H | 16s |
| John Ruttar | F, G, H | 8s |
Total tax: £3 4s