Hello Listers Those researchers who have got back to the early 1700s and beyond may find the Durham Hearth Tax Returns useful in locating ancestors in earlier times. Hearth Tax Online is a website providing data and analysis of the records of the hearth tax. The tax was introduced in England & Wales in 1662 to provide income for King Charles II and was a tax on dwellings according to the number of fireplaces in the dwelling. The site is a work in progress and there is limited information available at present however you can read about the history of the tax, and view some general information for Durham including a surname index. The material has been researched by staff and volunteers at Roehampton University. http://www.hearthtax.org.uk/index_files/Durham_online.htm Cheers Jill in Sydney