Dorset Lay Subsidy 1327

This detailed assessment of individual liability for taxation was carried out 16 years before the Black Death of 1348 caused the death of up to half the population in some areas. It was granted by Parliament to assist Henry III to deal with troubles in Ireland and Scotland. The basis of the tax was that the holder of property and "movables" would pay a tenth of its value in towns and a fifteenth in country areas. There were two Chief Tax Officers appointed for Dorset - Sir John Peverel of Bradford Peverell and Roger le Guldene Dorset's MP at the time.

Winterbourne Abbas paid a total of £2 with Stephen Jordan paying the largest amount at 3 shillings.

To be added

Steepleton : (Source : DCM Ref N3 Dorset Record Society Pub No 6 - RC 11/2002)