Hearth less than 20 shillings a year and those who paid neither church nor poor rates. Also exempt were charitable institutions such as schools and almshouses, and industrial hearths with the exception of smiths' forges and bakers' ovens. The returns were lodged with the Clerk of the Peace between 1662 and 1688. A revision of the Act in 1664 made the tax payable by all who had more than two chimneys. The tax was abolished by William III in 1689 and the last collection was for Lady Day of that year. It was abolished in Scotland in 1690. Hearth tax records
Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩ to have first occurred in the dialects of southern England in the early 15th century, but did not affect Standard English until the later 17th century. It has affected most varieties of contemporary English, which have distinct vowels in pairs such as "cat", "cart". In non-rhotic accents, the of "cart" has been lost; in modern RP the word is pronounced , distinguished from "cat" only by the quality and length of the vowel. This lengthening occurred when was followed by non-pre-vocalic ; it did not generally apply before intervocalic (when the was followed by another vowel). Hence the first vowel