iWINDOW TAX	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
i2024-04-28	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
i...IN ENGLAND AND WALES	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iFrom 1696 until 1851 a "window tax" was imposed in England and Wales	null	(FALSE)	0
i(Following the Treaty of Union the window tax was also applied in Scotland,	null	(FALSE)	0
ibut Scotland's a whole other legal beast that I'm going to quietly ignore for	null	(FALSE)	0
inow because it doesn't really have any bearing on this story.). Sort-of a	null	(FALSE)	0
iprecursor to property taxes like council tax today, it used an estimate of the	null	(FALSE)	0
ivalue of a property as an indicator of the wealth of its occupants: counting	null	(FALSE)	0
ithe number of windows provided the mechanism for assessment.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IGraph showing the burden of window tax in 1696 and 1794. In the former year a flat rate of 1 shiling was charged, doubling for a property when it reached 10 and 20 windows respectively. In the latter year charging began at 10 windows and the price per-window jumped up at 15 at 20 windows. Both approaches result in a "stepped" increase.	/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-28-at-12.36.03.png	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
i(A particular problem with window tax as enacted is that its "stepping", which	null	(FALSE)	0
iwas designed to weigh particularly heavily on the rich with their large	null	(FALSE)	0
ihouses, was that it similarly weighed heavily on large multi-tenant buildings,	null	(FALSE)	0
iwhose landlord would pass on those disproportionate costs to their tenants!)	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
I1703 woodcut showing King William III and Queen Mary II.	/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-28-at-14.59.47.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iWhy a window tax? There's two ways to answer that:	null	(FALSE)	0
i* A window tax - and a hearth tax, for that matter - can be assessed without	null	(FALSE)	0
ithe necessity of the taxpayer to disclose their income. Income tax,	null	(FALSE)	0
hPie chart illustrating the sources of tax income in the UK in 2008.	URL:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/UK_taxes.svg	(FALSE)	0
i, was long considered to be too much of an invasion upon personal privacy	null	(FALSE)	0
i(Even relatively-recently, the argument that income tax might be repealed as	null	(FALSE)	0
iincompatible with British values shows up in political debate. Towards the end	null	(FALSE)	0
iof the 19th century, Prime Ministers Disraeli and Gladstone could be relied	null	(FALSE)	0
iupon to agree with one another on almost nothing, but both men spoke at length	null	(FALSE)	0
iabout their desire to abolish income tax, even setting out plans to phase it	null	(FALSE)	0
iout... before having to cancel those plans when some financial emergency	null	(FALSE)	0
ishowed up. Turns out it's hard to get rid of.).	null	(FALSE)	0
i* But compared to a hearth tax, it can be validated from outside the property.	null	(FALSE)	0
iCounting people in a property in an era before solid recordkeeping is hard.	null	(FALSE)	0
iCounting hearths is easier... so long as you can get inside the property.	null	(FALSE)	0
iCounting windows is easier still and can be done completely from the outside!	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IDan points to a bricked-up first storey window on a stone building used by a funeral services company.	/2024/04/wp-17143171961086700117649949321942.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
i...IN THE NETHERLANDS	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iI recently got back from a trip to Amsterdam to meet my new work team and get	null	(FALSE)	0
ito know them better.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IDan, by a game of table football, throws his arms into the air as if in self-celebration.	/2024/04/IMG_9444-scaled.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iOne of the things I learned while on this trip was that the Netherlands, too,	null	(FALSE)	0
ihad a window tax for a time. But there's an interesting difference.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iThe Dutch window tax was introduced during the French occupation, under	null	(FALSE)	0
iNapoleon, in 1810 - already much later than its equivalent in England - and	null	(FALSE)	0
icontinued even after he was ousted and well into the late 19th century. And	null	(FALSE)	0
ithat leads to a really interesting social side-effect.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IDan, with four other men, sit in the back of a covered boat on a canal.	/2024/04/IMG_20240425_144813-scaled.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iGlass manufacturing technique evolved rapidly during the 19th century. At the	null	(FALSE)	0
istart of the century, when England's window tax law was in full swing, glass	null	(FALSE)	0
ipanes were typically made using the crown glass process: a bauble of glass	null	(FALSE)	0
iwould be spun until centrifugal force stretched it out into a wide disk,	null	(FALSE)	0
igetting thinner towards its edge.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iThe very edge pieces of crown glass were cut into triangles for use in leaded	null	(FALSE)	0
iglass, with any useless offcuts recycled; the next-innermost pieces were the	null	(FALSE)	0
ithinnest and clearest, and fetched the highest price for use as windows. By	null	(FALSE)	0
ithe time you reached the centre you had a thick, often-swirly piece of glass	null	(FALSE)	0
ithat couldn't be sold for a high price: you still sometimes find this kind	null	(FALSE)	0
iamong the leaded glass in particularly old pub windows (You've probably heard	null	(FALSE)	0
iabout how glass remains partially-liquid forever and how this explains why old	null	(FALSE)	0
iwindows are often thicker at the bottom. You've probably also already had it	null	(FALSE)	0
iexplained to you that this is complete bullshit. I only mention it here to	null	(FALSE)	0
ipreempt any discussion in the comments.).	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IMulti-pane window with distinctive crown glass "circles".	/2024/04/crown-glass.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iAs the 19th century wore on, cylinder glass became the norm. This is produced	null	(FALSE)	0
iby making an iron cylinder as a mould, blowing glass into it, and then	null	(FALSE)	0
icarefully un-rolling the cylinder while the glass is still viscous to form a	null	(FALSE)	0
ireasonably-even and flat sheet. Compared to spun glass, this approach makes it	null	(FALSE)	0
ipossible to make larger window panes. Also: it scales more-easily to	null	(FALSE)	0
iindustrialisation, reducing the cost of glass.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iThe Dutch window tax survived into the era of large plate glass, and this lead	null	(FALSE)	0
ito an interesting phenomenon: rather than have lots of windows, which would be	null	(FALSE)	0
iexpensive, late-19th century buildings were constructed with windows that were	null	(FALSE)	0
ias large as possible to maximise the ratio of the amount of light they let in	null	(FALSE)	0
ito the amount of tax for which they were liable (This is even more-pronounced	null	(FALSE)	0
iin cities like Amsterdam where a width/frontage tax forced buildings to be as	null	(FALSE)	0
itall and narrow and as close to their neighbours as possible, further limiting	null	(FALSE)	0
iopportunities for access to natural light.).	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IHotel des Pays-Bas, Nieuwe Doelenstraat 11 (1910 photo), showing large windows.	/2024/04/Hotel_des_Pays-Bas._Nieuwe_Doelenstraat_11._Op_de_achtergrond_het_Rokin._Uitgave_Gebr._Douwes_Amsterdam_Afb_PBKD003430000011.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iThat's an architectural trend you can still see in Amsterdam (and elsewhere in	null	(FALSE)	0
iHolland) today. Even where buildings are renovated or newly-constructed, they	null	(FALSE)	0
itend - or are required by preservation orders - to mirror the buildings they	null	(FALSE)	0
ineighbour, which influences architectural decisions.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IPre-WWI Neighbourhood gathering in Amsterdam, with enormous windows (especially on the ground floor) visible.	/2024/04/Zandhoek_Amsterdam_1900-19141-scaled.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iIt's really interesting to see the different architectural choices produced in	null	(FALSE)	0
itwo different cities as a side-effect of fundamentally the same economic	null	(FALSE)	0
ichoice, resulting from slightly different starting conditions in each (a	null	(FALSE)	0
ihalf-century gap and a land shortage in one). While Britain got fewer windows,	null	(FALSE)	0
ithe Netherlands got bigger windows, and you can still see the effects today.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
i...AND SOCIAL STATUS	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iBut there's another interesting this about this relatively-recent window tax,	null	(FALSE)	0
iand that's about how people broadcast their social status.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
IModern photo, taken from the canal, showing a tall white building in Amsterdam with large windows on the ground floor and also basement level, and an ornamental window above the front door. Photo from Google Street View.	/2024/04/google-streetview-rich-house-amsterdam.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iIn some of the traditionally-wealthiest parts of Amsterdam, you'll find houses	null	(FALSE)	0
iwith more windows than you'd expect. In the photo above, notice:	null	(FALSE)	0
i* How the window density of the central white building is about twice that of	null	(FALSE)	0
ithe similar-width building on the left,	null	(FALSE)	0
i* That a mostly-decorative window has been installed above the front door,	null	(FALSE)	0
iadorned with a decorative leaded glass pattern, and	null	(FALSE)	0
i* At the bottom of the building, below the front door (up the stairs), that a	null	(FALSE)	0
ifull set of windows has been provided even for the below-ground servants	null	(FALSE)	0
iquarters!	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iWhen it was first constructed, this building may have been considered	null	(FALSE)	0
iespecially ostentatious. Its original owners deliberately requested that it be	null	(FALSE)	0
ibuilt in a way that would attract a higher tax bill than would generally have	null	(FALSE)	0
ibeen considered necessary in the city, at the time. The house stood out as a	null	(FALSE)	0
istatus symbol, like shiny jewellery, fashionable clothes, or a classy car	null	(FALSE)	0
imight today.	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
ICheerful white elderly man listening to music through headphones that are clearly too large for him.	/2024/04/pexels-olly-3831187-scaled.jpg	danq.me	70
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iCan we bring back 19th-century Dutch social status telegraphing, please? (But	null	(FALSE)	0
idefinitely not 17th-century Dutch social status telegraphing, please. That	null	(FALSE)	0
ishit was bonkers.)	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
iLINKS	null	(FALSE)	0
i	null	(FALSE)	0
hWindow Tax on Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies, as archived by archive.org.	URL:https://archive.ph/20061023054036/http://www.wolverhamptonarchives.dial.pipex.com/windowtax.htm	(FALSE)	0
hBBC News article about reasons for bricked-up windows.	URL:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-57349499	(FALSE)	0
hMy blog post about changing teams at work.	URL:https://danq.me/2024/04/19/automattic-switch/	(FALSE)	0
hMy blog post about coming up with icebreaker games and playing them with my new team.	URL:https://danq.me/2024/04/24/icebreakers-heraldry-and-compairs/	(FALSE)	0
hJacqueline Alders' blog post about window taxation in the Netherlands.	URL:https://ikgidsudoordenhaag.nl/en/window-tax-the-hague/	(FALSE)	0
hA series of photos demonstrating crown glass production.	URL:https://www.sugarhollowglass.com/process.html	(FALSE)	0
hArticle debunking the "glass is liquid" myth.	URL:https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/glass-viscosity-calculations-definitively-debunk-the-myth-of-observable-flow-in-medieval-windows/	(FALSE)	0
hPet Shop Boys - What Are We Going To Do About The Rich?	URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHMk9WdoFHg	(FALSE)	0
hWikipedia article about tulip mania, a 17th-century Dutch social status telegraphing phenomenon.	URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania	(FALSE)	0
.