ABSTRACT
Wales acquired a vanguard role in the British economy, in a process that resulted in new alignments and conflicts based on class and religion. Landownership was highly concentrated throughout the United Kingdom, but especially so in Wales. The importance of industry and mineral exploitation is also apparent from the number of estates where a smaller number of acres obviously produced a vast income. It was the Second World War which effectively ended the age of the gentry in Wales. Some old estates remain to this day, with ancient families at their traditional seats. Glamorgan offers Penrice or Fonmon castles, or Merthyr Mawr House. The political campaign against the establishment began in earnest in the 1840s, though the Welsh Church retained its official position until 1920. Other families sponsored ritualism in their localities, and most of the most notable Tractarian churches in Wales are to be found in the most gentrified and Anglicised areas, such as Gower and south Pembrokeshire.
