Poser 318 - Hearth tax roll for Abercorn parish, 1691
This poser is the hearth tax roll for Abercorn parish, 1691 (Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, E69/24/1). The hearth tax was raised between 1691 and 1695 and was payable by both landowners and tenants based on the number of hearths in their homes.
The writing contains quite a lot of secretary hand letters, but is mostly quite clear. Some capital letters might present a problem, especially in uncommon names. As in a lot of writing of any age, consecutive letters with minims can be tricky. To help the reader differentiate the letters u and n, clerks often made a curled tittle above the word to show the presence of the letter u. Ideally the tittle should be above the letter u, but the majority of 16th and 17th century handwriting gives one the impression that precise placement of tittles was something few clerks had time for.
Question: is the writer of the extract above consistent with his use of tittles?
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