Starling family in the East Anglia Hearth Tax

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Norfolk, England
Surname/tag: Starling

The Starling family lived in the East Anglian counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire at the time of the 17th century Hearth Tax and feature in a number of these returns. This information assists in the Starling Name Study to see a picture of the name distribution centuries before the start of the national census in 1841.

Contents 1 Starling family 2 The Hearth Tax 3 Entries 3.1 Norfolk 3.2 Suffolk 3.3 Cambridgeshire 4 Sources

Starling family

See also Space:History of the Starling Name

In the 1891 census, there were 2,322 Starling people recorded throughout England and Wales, of whom 75% lived in East Anglia, Essex or the nearest conurbation - London. The counties with the highest number were Norfolk (540); London (448); Essex (287); Cambridgeshire (206) and Suffolk (151).^[1]

The surname is thought to have derived from the bird of the same name, as a form of a nickname.^[2] The first recorded use of the name in East Anglia is for a Starling who held land in three nearby places in Suffolk before the Norman Conquest.^[3] In 1166, Jordon Starling was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire.^[2]

The earliest person on WikiTree is Edward Starling, born 1550 in Balsham, Cambridgeshire. The earliest record on FreeREG is of the burial of Ciceley Starling in Norwich in 1543.^[4] and the earliest on FamilySearch is Annis [Agnes?] Sterling, christened 1540 in Fulbourne, Cambridgeshire.^[5] The descendants of John Starling, born ca. 1515 in Briston, Norfolk, is given here.

The "Sterling Genealogy" asserts that certain Starling families of England were a branch of the "Sterling" families of Scotland, citing as evidence that the coats of arms of some English families was the same or similar to those recorded for the Scottish families. However, it notes that the Suffolk family did not use this coat of arms, supporting a theory of an independent origin.^[6].

The Hearth Tax

The Hearth Tax was a levy on the number of fireplaces that was levied by the English government between 1662 and 1689. One shilling was payable for each hearth every March and September, unless the householder was exempt as a pauper or if their house was worth less than 20s a year. The tex was collected 54 times in total, although sometimes a single assessment was the basis for more than one collection. The return for 1671 for the city of Norwich showed 58% of households were exempt. ^[7]

Records - which are nearly all incomplete - show the names of all the householders who were liable to pay the tax and those who were exempt. As such they form a detailed population list centuries before the introduction of the national census in England in 1841.^[7]

Norfolk Hearth Tax records have been published in three volumes:

• March 1666 - taxpayer lists for 11 out of 38 hundreds and some parishes in a further 3 hundreds^[8]
• September 1664 - "reasonably complete" taxpayer lists for 22 hundreds and some parishes in a further 8 hundreds^[9]

Taking the two together, there are complete or reasonably complete returns for 27 of the 38 hundreds, with some parishes in a further 7 hundreds and 4 with no returns at all. This gives an overall coverage of around 70% of parishes.

The third volume is of the Exemption Certificates for 1670-1674. This covers just the City of Norwich and boroughs of Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn and Thetford. 95% of the exemption certificates for these places have been located and transcribed.

Suffolk hearth taxes have been published in full for 1674; as the book is now out of copyright, it is freely available online at the Internet Archive.^[10]

The Cambridgeshire records have been published showing the 1662 return, with comments on how this has changed until 1664. In this way the return for both years can be seen.^[11]

Entries

A total of 45 individuals are found across 36 parishes. Geographically, there is a bias towards the coastal parishes of north and northeast Norfolk, with significantly fewer (proportionately) entries for Cambridgeshire compared to the census returns 200 years later. The highest assessment is for George Starlinge esq of Charsfield, Suffolk, who had 7 hearths followed by John Starling of Bonham, Norfolk, with six.

Norfolk

1. Alburgh - Anne Starlinge - 3s - 1666
2. Alby - Widow Starlinge - 1s - 1664
3. Banningham - Symon Starlinge - 3s - 1664
4. Bonham - John Starling - 6s - 1666
5. Blakeney - Henry Starling - 1s - 1666
6. East Dereham - John Starlinge - 3s - 1664
7. East Dereham - Edw Starling jun - 1s - 1664
8. East Dereham - John Starling - 1s - 1664
9. East Wretham - Miles Starlinge - 2s - 1664
10. Gunton - Gregory Starling - 2s - 1666
11. Gunton - Wm [William] Starling - 1s - 1666
12. Great Yarmouth North End Ward - John Starling - exempt - 1670, 1671, 1673, 1674
13. Hanworth - Stephen Starlinge - 3s - 1664
14. Hemblington - [illegible] Starlinge - 1s - 1664
15. Letheringsett - Rich Starlin - 2s - 1664, 1666
16. Marham - Willm Starlinge - 1s - 1664
17. Marsham - Robt Starlinge - 2s - 1664
18. Norwich St Edmond - Henery Starling - 4s - 1666
19. Norwich St John Timberhill - Richard Starling - 2s - 1666
20. Norwich St Mary Coslany, Mary Starling - exempt - 1672
21. Norwich St Peter Mancroft - Rich Starling - 2s - 1666
22. Norwich St Peter Parmentergate - widow Starlinge - exempt - 1671, Apr 1672
23. Norwich St Peter Parmentergate - widow Starlinge - exempt - 1671, Apr 1672, Sep 1672, 1674 [from context, appears to be a different person]
24. Norwich St Paul - Edmunde Starlinge - exempt - 1671, May 1672, Sep 1672
25. Norwich St Paul - Edward Starling - exempt - Mar 1674
26. Reepham with Kerdiston - Edm Starlinge - 1s - 1664
27. Ridlington - John Starlinge - 1s - 1664
28. Shereford - Sam Starling - 4s - 1666
29. Thetford Bailey End St Cuthbert - Michael Starlinge - 1s - 1664; exempt - 1671, Mar 1672, Sep 1672 ("Michael Sterling"), 1673 *
30. Weasenham All Saints - Widd [Widow] Starling - 1s - 1664, 1666
31. Wheatacre - Robt Starlinge - 2s - 1664
32. Wood Dalling - Robt Starlinge - 2s - 1664

Suffolk

1. Beyton - William Stealinge - 3
2. Brandiston - Henry Starlinge - 5
3. Brandiston - Jo Starlinge - 1
4. Bury St Edmunds St James - Jo Starlinge - 2
5. Bury St Edmunds St Mary’s - Jo Starlinge - 2
6. Bury St Edmunds High Ward - Widow Starlinge - certified 1
7. Charsfield - George Starlinge esq - 7
8. Covehithe - Isaac Starlinge - 1
9. Mildenhall - Robert Starling- 2
10. Nacton - Jo Starlinge - 4 ^[12]
11. Nacton - Thomas Starlinge - 3

Cambridgeshire

1. Newton - Mary Starling widd[ow] - 2 - 1662, 1664
2. West Wratting - William Starling - 2 - 1662, 1664

Sources

1. ↑ Starling Family History, ancestry.com
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Surnamedb
3. ↑ Open Domesday - Starling
4. ↑ FreeREG
5. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NB8Y-3R6 : 11 February 2018, Annis Sterling, 13 Jul 1540); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 990,375
6. ↑ The Sterling Genealogy, Albert & Edward Sterling, 1909
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Norfolk Hearth Tax Exemption Certificates 1670-1674, Peter Seamon, John Pound & Robert Smith, British Record Society Hearth Tax Series Vol III, Norfolk Record Society, Vol LXV
8. ↑ Norfolk & Norwich Hearth Tax Assessment Lady Day 1666, P Seaman, Norfolk Genealogy Vol XX, Norfolk & Norwich Genealogical Society
9. ↑ Norfolk Hearth Tax Assessment Michaelmas 1664, P Seaman & M.S. Frankel, Norfolk Genealogy Vol XV, Norfolk & Norwich Genealogical Society
10. ↑ Suffolk in 1674 being the hearth tax returns, Suffolk Green Books, 1904
11. ↑ Cambridgeshire Hearth Tax, N Evans & S Rose, Cambridgeshire Records Society, volume 15
12. ↑ The Suffolk Poll book in 1702 listed just three Starlings who qualified to vote: John Starling of Eye, Charles Starling of Brandeston and Robert Starling of Nacton. It's possible the last is descended from this Jo Starlinge - see David Elisha Davy, Suffolk Collections, Pedigrees of the families of Suffolk, with historical illustrations, by the same. Alphabetically arranged; in forty-three manuscript volumes, British Library's Western Manuscripts section, Sterling of Brandeston. Indexed in "The Genealogists" as follows: Surnames A-E; Surnames F-K) (Surnames L-Sh) (Surnames Sh-Z)