If you pay close attention as you wander around the streets of London, you’ll likely spot countless bricked-up windows, blanky staring back at you from Georgian and Victorian townhouses. These sealed-off windows are relics of one of Britain’s most notorious tax initiatives, which put a price on sunlight. So, let’s open the window and shine a light on the Window Tax, which has garnered one of the capital’s most peculiar architectural quirks—especially to those who remain completely unaware.
The government of King William III introduced the window tax in 1696. It was designed as an indirect way to tax wealth since houses with more windows were presumably larger, and therefore, owned by wealthier people.
The more windows you had, the more you paid. Simple as, right? Well, not entirely. This tax became a nationwide initiative, and while it generally worked for poorer communities, working-class people at the time typically lived in large tenement buildings. These buildings were split into different flats or apartments, but it was still considered to be one dwelling under this new tax.
However, homeowners and landlords quickly found a loophole: if windows were taxed, they’d simply get rid of them. Across London, rows of windows were bricked up, leaving homes dimmer, dingier, and less ventilated, and what started as a sneaky tax dodge soon became the norm.
The tax would evolve over the years to try and keep up. What started as a tiered system—houses with ten or more windows faced higher rates—was changed and manipulated. By the 18th century, the threshold for taxation had dropped to just six windows, with the tax rate climbing higher. Fun side note: it’s said that this is where the term ‘daylight robbery’ comes from.
Unsurprisingly, landlords of rental properties were quick to block up the window to save more money, leaving tenants in gloomier conditions. It became such a problem that it caused severe health problems for many. The lack of fresh air and natural light made it the perfect condition for diseases like tuberculosis, and people were more subject to epidemics of typhus, smallpox and cholera.
Despite all this, as well as the growing criticism, the tax stayed in place for over 150 years before finally being repealed in 1851. By then, the damage was done and thousands of buildings across London bore the scars of bricked-up windows.
Today, they serve as a reminder of one of the most notorious taxes in British history. So the next time you spot one, be sure to take a moment to appreciate how a centuries-old tax can still shape the city that we live and breathe on the daily.