Muragh

Muragh or murage was a medieval tax levied mainly in England and Wales and Ireland, but also in some places in Scotland and France, for the construction or maintenance of town walls. The term comes into English from Old French, ultimately from Latin murus meaning a wall. Muragh, also referred to as murage, was generally a term used for the tax meant for the repairs of the defensive walls that enclosed towns in historical England, Wales, Ireland. Beginning as a defence against Viking raids, the tax continued through the Middle Ages before declining in the 17th century, as many town walls ceased to be regarded as important militarily after the English Civil War.

Construction of the walls with the use of the muragh tax was a way for a market town to generate the revenue needed to pay for its own defense. Typically, muragh was granted for a short period of time typically lasting a few years with opportunities to renew until the completion of wall. Later, the grant for muragh to be collected could last indefinitely in Ireland. The construction of town walls, or the desire to have them, was higher in Wales and Ireland due to their differences in ethnicities. Due to the nature of the tax, it was possible the tax could be used to collect funds for non-defensive walls, like a safety rail on a bridge, because of the loose classification of the civic improvement taxes. The tax rate for the muragh was a small percentage of the value of the good which is estimated to be under 1% of the value.