ABSTRACT

The landed interest was far from eclipsed during the first phase of the Industrial Revolution. Land remained a thoroughly worthwhile investment not only for social recognition (Ch. 1) but also for economic return. Agricultural rationalization, which had already made Britain the most advanced farming nation by I 780, continued, spurred initially by the huge profits which could be made during the French Wars (1793-1815). The great landowners with, say, more than 10,000 acres consolidated their position and, through the medium of their professional estate stewards, encouraged further improvement by the tenantry who did most of the practical farming. Much of this consolidation was at the expense of gentry estates and the smaller landowners; by the time of the New Domesday of landownership in 1873 over 80 per cent of the United Kingdom was owned by 7,000 of her 32m people. In England a mere 363 people owned more than 10,000 acres and one-third of these were commoners (236, 29). By this time 0.2 per cent of the population - a genuine and exclusive aristocracy - controlled 43 per cent of the land. What might loosely be termed 'the gentry' - those owning between 300 and 3,000 acres - comprised about 12,000 families. These families were responsible for a further 26 per cent of ownership. Thus, at the end of our period, fewer than 14,000 families owned about 70 per cent of Britain's land (236,29 and 185, 547). Most English counties had between 15 and 30 per cent of their land owned by great landowners. Some, like Northamptonshire, acquired a reputation for aristocratic exclusiveness and it is generally true that a more substantial aristocratic presence was to be found in the 'gentler' South of

the country There were exceptions however. The most 'aristocratic' county of all was Northumberland with 51 per cent in 'great landownership'. The duke of Northumberland's vast estates radiating out south, north and west from Alnwick Castle were mostly responsible. Only the implacable North Sea prevented similar extension to the east.