on 3/5/01 2:30 pm, Sandra Davies at sandramdavies@btinternet.com wrote: > Could anyone explain what a 'hearth' is - apart from a fireplace that is? That is exactly what a hearth is - a fireplace. I presume you are referring to the Hearth Tax. The Hearth Tax of 1670 was just another means of extracting money from the populace - an early form of Rates or Community Charge as it is called nowadays. The bigger the house, the more fireplaces or hearths it would have, and so the more the householder was taxed. Some poor folk were excused the tax - they were called paupers in the Hearth Tax returns. They made about half of households. In Pembrokeshire (excluding Haverfordwest), of those paying the tax, 80.5% had one hearth, 12.0% had two and 7.5% had three or more. Picton Castle apparently had ten hearths. Gerry Lewis