Why Old UK Houses Have Bricked-Up Windows
Ever noticed bricked-up windows on grand Georgian houses? It wasn't for structural reasons. It was widespread tax evasion in response to the infamous 'Window Tax' of 1696.
If you walk through any historic UK city, particularly areas built during the Georgian era, you will frequently see grand houses with symmetrical facades where some of the windows have been entirely bricked up. This architectural quirk is a direct result of tax evasion.
Daylight Robbery
In 1696, under King William III, the government introduced the Window Tax. It was designed to be a progressive tax: the logic was that wealthy people lived in big houses with many windows, so taxing the number of windows was a proxy for taxing wealth without having to assess income directly. A house with more than ten windows was subject to a heavy levy.
In response, landlords and homeowners simply bricked up their windows to drop below the tax threshold. The tax led to dark, poorly ventilated homes and serious health issues in dense urban areas. It was finally repealed in 1851 after heavy campaigning by medical professionals, giving rise to the phrase 'daylight robbery'.