Hearth tax and became widespread in the 14th century when the royal finances were unable to bear the rising costs of war and state agents. In particular, "fouages" were levied in 1342 and 1349. The "hearth-penny" was an Anglo-Saxon term for "Peter's pence". In England, hearth tax, also known as hearth money, chimney tax, or chimney money, was a tax imposed by Parliament in 1662, to support the Royal Household of King Charles II. Following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Parliament calculated that the Royal Household needed an annual income of £1,200,000. The hearth tax was a supplemental tax to
Skinnand down, however, during the Civil War and, by the time of the Hearth Tax returns of 1665, there were just three houses in Skinnand. Details about the Norman-built Anglican church of Skinnand are sketchy, although it was reputedly dedicated to St Matthew and burned down by Oliver Cromwell's forces in the 1640s. Historical records certainly show that it had begun to fall into ruins in the 17th century - at around the time of the English Civil War. The "Glebe Terrier" documents of 1700 recorded: "The church was in ruins, no house for the rector, more than this we find