Land Tax records search: Thomas Freak, Richard Norris Poplar 1791

[hatofthecat]

I have copy of a Sun Fire insurance record from 1791 (sourced from London Metropolitan Archives) that I believe describes my ancestor, Richard Norris a carpenter, as a tenant of a house "near to White Horse at Poplar" being insured by a Thomas Freak.

I was expecting to find Freak's and my ancestor's names shown together as proprietor & tenant in Land Tax records in Poplar for that year and maybe before/after but no luck    I'm searching via Ancestry for these.  I've found Richard Norris but it is a Cuthbert Swaddle that is  listed as "proprietor" (and in 1793 a Sim Golding).  Could Swaddle perhaps be Freak's local agent and thus he is recorded as the proprietor    I've not found Thomas Freak listed as a proprietor of any properties in Poplar on the Land Tax records.  I've also not found any other Norris in Poplar in the tax records around 1791 so is only Richard Norris that could be the tenant of his house near the pub.

Thomas Freak is described as a gent of Chigwell Row, Essex. and there are three other properties noted in the insurance record with the Poplar one but these are all instead at Chigwell Row.  Other insurance records suggest he also owned several properties in Somerset.

Would like to be able to clear up the mismatch 

thanks for any help.

[horselydown86]

In the Sun Fire records for the London addresses occupied by my ancestors I have found the name of the insured can vary every few years and mostly isn't the name of the proprietor.

I can't be sure why but have taken it to reflect that many businesses and/or families occupied one house.

So if you mean was Freak sub-letting a floor from Norris who was the principal tenant of a third (non-resident owner/proprietor) party, I would say that's quite likely.

ADDED:  Did the original post change while I was writing?

[hatofthecat]

Thanks horselydown86.  I'm pretty sure it is Richard Norris that is the tenant of the house as the way the insurance document is worded, I've attached it below.  This shows that Freak is insuring multiple properties.

What I'm wondering is whether its simply that Freak is the actual owner (landlord) and Swaddle is just his local agent and thereby his name appears as proprietor on the Land Tax records.... Would this common practice in the Land Tax records ?? Swaddle is listed as "proprietor" for about 5/6 properties around Poplar/Blackwall.  I'm pretty content that both the Land Tax records and Sun Fire insurance are both referring to Richard Norris... but I hate loose ends 

I've Sun Fire insurance record for one of Richard's sons (and later his widow) insuring his house in Poplar High Street in 1817 which I know is owner insuring own house.

ADDED: yup, sorry... I was trying to make the detail clearer, we must have crossed over our postings

[horselydown86]

I agree that Norris reads as the primary tenant of the house.

I can't answer your question directly but I would recommend sample checking the Rate Book entries for the property if you are able.

One of my families owned a property in Westminster, so I have near-complete Land Tax records from 1801 and complete Rate Book entries from before 1700.  The Rate Book entries match closely to the known deaths of individuals and consequent movements in ownership.  They lag a year or two because the Rate year started at Midsummer and payments in arrears have to be considered.

The Land Tax entries between 1801 and 1812 don't match at all.  It appears that a family member who died in 1771 is listed as the proprietor.  (I say appears because she is listed as Marg^t when the only possible match is a Mary.)

The Rate payments were recorded by Parish Clerks or other people in close contact with the community, so (in my experience) are more accurate.

[hatofthecat]

Thanks for the pointer re. Rate Books horselydown86.  I've not looked into this resource before as I wasn't actually aware they were available that far back.  Looks like those for Poplar are held at Tower Hamlets archives, though from a quick online search via National Archives, which has index for the TH archives, those for 1782-93 seem to be missing   

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r/1?_q=poplar%20rate%20book&_p=1700

Bit of a pain since they could perhaps to pin down exactly when Richard Norris arrived in Poplar from Andover (Hants.) although I know it was between 1784 and 1788.  TH archives are very helpful, they pulled out a stack of documents for me written by one of Richard's sons who was an undertaker & church warden and did all the paupers burials at All Saints in early 1800s.