Duty on Hair Powder Act 1795

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The Duty on Hair Powder Act 1795 (35 Geo. III, c. 49) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain levying a tax on hair powder. The tax was used to finance government programs, especially wars with France in the late 1700s and early 1800s.[1] The Act was repealed in 1869.

The Act stated that everyone wishing to use hair powder must, from 5 May 1795, visit a stamp office to enter their name and pay for an annual certificate costing 1 guinea (the equivalent of GB£100[2] or US$122 in 2020[3]). Certain exemptions were included: the Royal Family and their servants; clergymen with an income of under £100 a year; and members of the armed forces who were privates in the army, artillery soldiers, mariners, engineers, non-commissioned officers, subalterns, officers in the navy below commander, yeomanry, militia, fencibles, and volunteers. A father with more than two unmarried daughters could buy two certificates that would be valid for any number he stated at the stamp office. The master of a household could buy a certificate for a number of his servants, and that certificate would also be valid for their successors within that year.

The Hair Powder Certificates, etc. Act 1795 (35 Geo. III, c. 112) was passed later in the same session of Parliament to allow people more time to apply for certificates.[4]

The use of hair powder had been declining and the tax hastened its near death. In its first year, the tax raised £200,000.[5] In 1812 46,684 people still paid the tax. In 1855 only 997 did, and almost all of these were servants. By the time it was repealed in 1869 it yielded an annual revenue of £1,000.[6]

According to author Jenny Uglow, those who chose to pay the guinea hair powder tax were nicknamed "guinea-pigs" by reformist Whigs who chose instead to cut their hair short (the "French" cut) and go without a wig as an expression of solidarity with the French. Those deriding hair-powder taxpayers as "guinea-pigs" were, in turn, satirized by The Times as members of the "Crop Club" wearing the "Bedford Level", a reference to prominent Whig reformer John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.[7]

Substantial fines could be imposed on those brought before the courts.

At the quarter sessions of the peace held at Bourne, in Lincolnshire on Tuefday se'nnight, the Rev. Francis Barstow, of Aslackby, was convicted in the penalty of twenty pounds, for wearing hair powder without having previously taken out a licence. [8]

References[]

  1. ^ Murden, Sarah (July 22, 2013). "Hair Powder Tax". All Things Georgian. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  2. ^ Navrátil Van Praag, Alexandria M., ed. (February 15, 2018). "The Hair Powder Act of 1795". Political Dresser. Retrieved August 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "The Rise and Fall of the Powdered Wig: While it's true that wigs were a major status symbol early in the second half of the 18th century, by 1800 short, natural hair was all the rage. Learn all about the rise and fall of wigs". American Battlefield Trust. Head-Tilting History. American Battlefield Trust. July 22, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  4. ^ "Public Act, 35 George III, c. 112 (Reference HL/PO/PU/1/1795/35G3n259)". The National Archives. 1795. Retrieved August 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "HAIR POWDER CERTIFICATES (Reference QS/16)". The National Archives. n.d. Retrieved August 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Dowell, Stephen (1888). A History of Taxation and Taxes in England from the Earliest Times to the Year 1885. Volume III. Direct Taxes and Stamp Duties. London: Longmans, Green & Co. pp. 255–59.
  7. ^ Uglow, Jenny (2014). In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon’s Wars, 1793–1815. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux. p. 149.
  8. ^ "Hair Powder Certificate Act". Northampton Mercury. 23 January 1796. p. 3.


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