Poser 318 - Hearth tax roll for Abercorn parish, 1691

This week's poser is the hearth tax roll for Abercorn parish, 1691 (National Records of Scotland, E69/24/1).

The writing contains quite a lot of secretary hand letters, but is mostly quite clear. Some capital letters might present a problem, especially in uncommon names. As in a lot of writing of any age, consecutive letters with minims can be tricky. To help the reader differentiate the letters u and n, clerks often made a curled tittle above the word to show the presence of the letter u. Ideally the tittle should be above the letter u, but the majority of 16th and 17th century handwriting gives one the impression that precise placement of tittles was something few clerks had time for.

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The poser asks you: is the writer of the extract above consistent with his use of tittles?

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For help with reading the poser, use our coaching manual. The following areas may be of particular assistance.

Letter i, j, m, n, u
Letter r
Alphabets

Answer to this week's poser