The Duty on Hair Powder Act 1795 (35 Geo. III, c. 49) was an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

which levied a tax on hair powder. The tax was used to finance government programs, especially to fund the

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Act was repealed in 1869.

The Act

The Act stated that everyone wishing to use hair powder must, from 5 May 1795, visit a stamp office to enter their name and pay for an annual certificate costing 1

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

(equivalent to in 2020). Certain exemptions were included: the Royal Family and their servants; clergymen with an income of under £100 a year; and members of the armed forces who were privates in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

soldiers, mariners,

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, officers in the

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below commander,

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, fencibles, and volunteers. A father with more than two unmarried daughters could buy two certificates that would be valid for any number he stated at the stamp office. The master of a household could buy a certificate for a number of his servants, and that certificate would also be valid for their successors within that year. Substantial fines could be imposed on those brought before the courts.

Effects

The Hair Powder Certificates, etc. Act 1795 (35 Geo. III, c. 112) was passed later in the same session of Parliament to allow people more time to apply for certificates. The use of hair powder had been declining and the tax hastened its near death. In its first year, the tax raised £200,000. In 1812 46,684 people still paid the tax. In 1855 only 997 did, and almost all of these were servants. By the time it was repealed in 1869 it yielded an annual revenue of £1,000. According to author Jenny Uglow, those who chose to pay the guinea hair powder tax were nicknamed " guinea-pigs" by reformist Whigs who chose instead to cut their hair short (the "French" cut) and go without a wig as an expression of solidarity with the French. Those deriding hair-powder taxpayers as "guinea-pigs" were, in turn, satirized by ''The Times'' as members of the "Crop Club" wearing the "Bedford Level", a reference to prominent Whig reformer

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, (30 September 17105 January 1771) was an 18th-century British statesman.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peer ...

References

Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament Tax legislation in the United Kingdom Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1795 {{statute-stub