MonoMonday - Through the Window......

.......As many of you already know, I live in the tiniest of Victorian cottages and the only view is onto my very small garden so this is the view through my dining room window looking in from the outside - a bit different. (Have Blipped looking out onto the garden more times than I remember!)

The window frame is over 125 years old in the Gothic Style and made of solid oak - which explains why it has lasted so long and has to be retained as the cottage is Grade2 listed - you can see the whole window with it's arched and circular panes of glass in my Blip of the 8th Feb - and opens inwards rather than outwards! - (The so called decorators made a pig's ear of the re-painting but unfortunately the Trustees didn't see fit to complain or if they did, nothing was done!) The other windows in the house, which are down the side and not visible to the public, were altered in the 1970s and some have had to have sections repaired - I suppose a life of 40yrs for modern window frames is not bad these days.

Today I really envied all those who have views of Mountains, Valleys, Sea and spectacular Landscapes - none of my windows (except this one) has a view and that view is my front garden which I have posted so many times, I've lost count!

BOUI for today:

1) In 1766 The House and Window Duties Act was passed by Parliament. This meant that every house in England and Scotland had to pay a certain amount of tax per window. (In Scotland though, houses with less than five windows weren't taxed).

2) The more windows you had, the higher the tax, so many people decided to have many of them bricked up. This can still be seen on the walls of old town-houses in Central London and elsewhere.

3) Although it sounds ludicrous, the Window Tax of 1766 was actually a relatively ingenious way of imposing an income tax on the rich without ever calling it that.

4) Affecting England, Scotland, and Great Britain, in the 18th and 19th centuries, this tax on windows was actually meant as a tax on wealth, as people with more income generally live in nicer houses, and nice houses generally have more than two windows. While this tax directly led to the bricking up of many windows, it also eventually led to a fair and less arbitrary income tax that honed-in on wealthier citizens.

A dull start to the day - no sign of the sun yet - temperature 53 Deg. F.

Have a good "viewing" day through your window!