English Landed Society in the Eighteenth Century

305 Pages·2006·11.538 MB·English

by  G.E Mingay

STUDIES IN SOCIAL HISTORY
E N G L I SH L A N D ED S O C I E TY IN T HE
E I G H T E E N TH C E N T U RY

E N G L I SH L A N D ED S O C I E TY IN
T HE E I G H T E E N TH C E N T U RY
G. E. MINGAY
Routledge
R
lay lor f-ivinas Croup
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published in 1963
This edition published in 2007 by
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© 1963 G. E. Mingay
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
English Landed Society in the Eighteenth Century
ISBN10: 0-415-41284-6 (volume)
ISBN10: 0-415-40266-2 (set)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-41284-1 (volume)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-40266-8 (set)
ISBN13: 978-1-134-52915-5 (ebk)
Routledge Library Editions: Studies in Social History
ENGLISH LANDED
SOCIETY
IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
by
G. E. Mingay
Lecturer in Economic History
The London School of Economics and Political Science
Routledge and Kegan Paul
LONDON:
University of Toronto Press
TORONTO:
First published 1963
in Great Britain by
Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd
and in Canada by
University of Toronto Press
Second impression 1964
Printed in Great Britain by
Western Printing Services Ltd
© G. E. Mingay 1963
No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without permission from
the publisher j except for the quotation
of brief passages in criticism
Contents
Preface page ix
Sources and Acknowledgements x
Notes on Abbreviations xii
INTRODUCTION
I. Landownership and Society in the Eighteenth Century 3
STRUCTURE
II. The Structure of the Landed Classes 19
III. The Growth of the Great Estates 50
IV. The Lesser Landowners 80
FUNCTIONS
V. The Landlords and Politics 111
VI. The Landlords and Society 131
VII. The Landlords and Agriculture 163
VIII. The Landlords and Industrial Development 189
COUNTRY LIFE
IX. The Landlords at Home 205
X. The Life of the Farmers 233
CONCLUSION
XI. The Landed Interest in the Eighteenth Century 259
Index 289
vn

Preface
THIS book is based on research into estate records which began
over ten years ago, and in its later stages the work was assisted
by a grant from the Research Fund of the University of London.
My thanks are due to the owners of private records who have
permitted publication and to the many archivists who helped in
my enquiries, not least by suggesting sources which I might
otherwise have neglected.
I am under a great personal debt to Professor J. D. Chambers,
who first inspired my interest in this subject, and whose
Nottinghamshire in the Eighteenth Century was a pioneer work in
the field. It will be evident to the reader that for much of my
material and general approach I am also immensely indebted to
the work of Professor H. J. Habakkuk, whose writings have
shown the great value of estate records for the history of this
period and have suggested the lines on which further investiga-
tion should proceed. Professor F. J. Fisher played a major part
in shaping the book, and I have been fortunate in having access
to his knowledge and perception. My other colleagues at the
London School of Economics, Dr. D. C. Coleman and Dr. A. H.
John, and Professor J. D. Chambers of Nottingham, Professor
H. J. Habakkuk of Oxford, and Dr. F. M. L. Thompson of
University College, London, read large parts of the manuscript
and made invaluable criticisms and suggestions. To them all I
owe most sincere thanks. The errors and imperfections which
remain are of course my own responsibility.
The lack of up-to-date and comprehensive studies of land-
ownership in the modern period is a remarkable and serious
weakness in our historiography. Until more ambitious and
authoritative works are produced, it is hoped that this short
general survey of the landed society of the eighteenth century
may help to fill the gap.
London
G. E. MINGAY
June 1962
ix