Presentation of the 1695 Wigtownshire Hearth Tax edition together with a thesis focussing on the historical value of the tax lists. The discussion provides a historical context for the tax lists and includes an analysis of the distribution of hearths, kilns, smiddies, saltpans and furnaces as indicators of wealth, social status and evidence of social, economic and agricultural development. Comparison is provided with other Hearth Tax lists and with contemporary records such as the poll tax returns, and also from later records such as early census information. The Hearth Tax is also compared with different Wigtownshire records from earlier and later periods (Wigtownshire Charters, parish records and the statistical accounts). The significance of the high proportion and distribution of recognisably Gaelic surnames apparent in the Wigtownshire hearth taxlists is also highlighted. The edition also includes an index of surnames, place-names, tabular information and illustrations
