 In the Palace of Westminster, the longest act held within the parliamentary archives, is the Land Tax Act of 1821. It stretches for some 348 metres and contains the names of approximately 65,000 individual commissioners responsible for administering the collection of the tax in each of the counties in England, Scotland and Wales. The Norwich section of the Act contains over 250 commissioners, names chosen by their local MP. Five have been selected for investigation. Michael Bland, Elisha de Haig, William Herring, Philip Meadows-Mortino and John Harrison-Yalop. The commissioners were responsible for overseeing the assessment and collection of the land tax. Many documents survive relating to the collection of the tax in the parishes within Norwich. Also located within the parliamentary archives are details of local acts, including the Foundry or Wenson Bridge Act of 1810, which includes references to four of the five commissioners. The proposed bridge would improve transport and business opportunities in the east of the city. In the Norfolk Anel, an entry in 1821 shows that travel between Norwich and the capital was expected to take 24 hours by coach. Our commissioners would each have spent time in London for business and commerce, conversation and exchange. The land tax was levied on land, property and salaries from public office. The tax was collected from the wealthy, but tradesmen and shopkeepers would also have been liable. The commissioners would have overseen the assessors and tax collectors, but received no pay for their time or efforts. Within the Norfolk Record Office are documents pertaining to our individual commissioners, which tell us something of their lives and activities. Michael Bland was a businessman whose name appears on the Land Tax Act. Many of the documents tell us he was in London in the 1820s, with his associations with Norwich more distant. His father was recorded as being from the St Botolff and St Augustine's area of Norwich. This area is very close to a former Quaker meeting house and burial ground. Bland himself was a Quaker, and it is likely he would have known some of the people buried in the graveyard. Bland's share certificates show he had property interests as far afield as South Carolina, but any practical connection to the Land Tax in Norwich seems unlikely. Elisha de Haig was a civic-minded gentleman who served Norwich in both his role as town clerk and through his private philanthropy as a member of the Society of United Friars. So loved was he that a portrait of him was paid for by public subscription. Church Warden at St Peter Hungate de Haig also had his attorney officers which he shared with his father and his private residence in Elm Hill. His obituary remembers him as a man of strong character and kindness. He was highly respected. He is buried in a tomb alongside members of his family in St Augustine's Churchyard, an area with many de Haig connections. William Herring lived in a house on King Street, later moving to St Giles in the St Peter Mankroff Parish. The Grand House No. 48 isn't listed in his will, indicating it could have been rented. He was an active citizen as member of the United Friars. Herring was captain of the Norfolk Humanry and Volunteer Company of King Street. His good conduct and that of the volunteers and men were noted by the King and the House of Commons. Herring acted as sheriff, alderman and finally mayor of Norwich. It was while he was mayor of Norwich that he received from Horatio Nelson the gift of the sword of the rear admiral of the Spanish fleet. This was just after the British defeat of the Spanish at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Philip Meadows Martino was co-founder of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and volunteered his services as a surgeon there. He often attended weekly board meetings where admissions, patients and those being discharged were discussed and recorded. He communicated with the Royal Society on medical matters which is indicative of his professional knowledge and standing. Away from the city, Martino commissioned a summer house to be built, Brachendale Lodge with gardens landscaped by Humphrey Repton. This country retreat was extensive, a place for Martino and his family to relax. His house at Brachendale was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the new County Council building. John Harrison Yalop was a businessman, alderman, sheriff and mayor of Norwich. His business enterprises included a partnership Dunham and Yalop Goldsmiths and lottery agents with Yalop himself holding a winning ticket on one occasion. His meticulous record keeping offers an insight into his business dealings and included the expenses incurred in his role as mayor. He is buried in a tomb at St Peter Mancroft Parish Church, not far from where he once lived overlooking Chapelfield Gardens. Yalop's memorial plaque within the church describes him as unaffected and kind as a match straight of bright and just. It also records his devotion to liberal principles of government. He received the honour of a knighthood after presenting the king with a petition of his native city in favour of parliamentary reform. Elisha de Haig and William Herring belonged to the Society of the United Friars, a quasi monastic group which met for general conversation discussing art, science and music. The group also instigated a soup charity as practical help for the poor. Between the months of January and March, soup and bread were distributed from Broad Street and St Andrews. The ingredients were funded by selling tickets and records show Herring purchasing 13 tickets for half a crown. This attention to alleviating immediate poverty within the city demonstrates a sense of civic responsibility. This sense of civic responsibility also extended to large infrastructure projects. A petition for a bridge over the River Wensum was compiled by a number of Norfolk and Norwich citizens, including four of the five commissioners. Elisha de Haig, William Herring, Philip Meadows-Martineau and John Harrison Yalop all had a hand in preparing the ground for the petition to be presented for parliamentary consideration. These commissioners would very likely have been familiar with the processes of parliament and confident in the aims of the project. Documents in the Norfolk Record Office show details of processes and the costs of preparing the petition. The Act was passed in 1810 and contained specific details of when and where the first committee meeting should take place. A handwritten invitation to this meeting at the time and place stipulated by the Act has been found. Perhaps one or more of our commissioners would have attended that meeting sitting in the yield hall discussing the implementation of the Act. The successful completion of the bridge would have likely elevated the status of the people involved. This in turn may have influenced the decision to include their names on the later Land Tax Act of 1821.