english landownership

7/27/2019 English Landownership

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English Landownership, 1680-1740

Author(s): H. J. HabakkukSource: The Economic History Review, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Feb., 1940), pp. 2-17Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Economic History SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2590281 .

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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, 68o I740.By H. J.HABAKKUK.HARRINGTON,writingttheend of theCommonwealthperiod,foundthe keyto the Civil War in the shift fpropertyrom heChurch,heCrown,ndabove llfromhegreat emi-feudalandownerso thesquires.Thisnotionof theriseof thesquirearchyas become he organisingonceptionfEnglish ocialhistoryetweenheDissolution f theMonasteriesand I640. Duringthis OOyears heclassof knightsf the shirereceived considerableccession fstrengthrom hebourgeoisie.Londoners-someof themawyers,omeofficialsfgovernment,but thegreatmass of themmerchants-boughtandfrom hegreat andedfamilies ho managed heir statesnefficientlyndwho failedto adapt theirorganisationo the new conditionscreated ytheprice ise. Thesemerchantsought artly ecauseofthe ocialprestige hich ttachedolandownershiputperhapsmorebecausethe unimprovedstates f thegreatfamilies ere

veryprofitablenvestments; hey ould be enclosed nd rack-rentednd the mprovedentmight epresentveryhighrate finterest n theoriginal urchase rice. The implications-thatprogress n agriculturen the sixteenthnd earlyseventeenthcenturies ame fromthe commercial apitaland commercialinstinctsf suchmen.Frenchmenwho came to England in the early eighteenthcentury ointed o thisclassof squires s a uniquefeature fEnglishsociety nd the secretof her social stability;a classdistinctrom hegreat erritorialristocracyn theonehand ndthesmaller reeholdernd tenant armern theother, otmerelybinding ogetherhevarious lasses fthe ountryside,ut inking,bya networkfpersonal elationships,hewholeof rural ocietytothemercantilend financialocietyf London. Yet at theverytimewhen ontinentalbservers eremost igorousn their raiseof thesquirearchy,t no longerrepresentedhe most mportantelementsnEnglish ural ociety.Thegeneral rift fpropertynthe ixty ears fter690 wasin favour f the arge state ndthegreatord; andwhile hemovement as probably ot o decisiveas thatwhich,n the hundred earsbefore 640 consolidatedhesquirearchy,t clearlymarks ne ofthegreat hangesnthe dis-position f Englishanded roperty.1This articlesbaseduponworkdoneonthe anded states fNorthampton-shire ndBedfordshire.

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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, I68o-I7443The upper lassesof English anded ociety n the mid-seven-teenth enturyellroughly nto threegroups. The aristocracyincluded varietyf social ypes nd covered normouserritorialaggregationsuch as those of the Capells,Earls of Essex, theStanleysndtheTalbotswith he mallermore ocalised states ffamilieswithan annualrental f about?3,ooo. Almost ll thepeers nNorthamptonnd Bedfordshireereof this econd ype.There was secondly groupof substantialquireswithrentalsbetweenC8oo nd C2,ooo, ut normallyearer heCi,ooo. Theiroriginswerevaried, ut nNorthamptonshire,hichwas a greatcounty or quires, he most mportantf themwerethe secondor third enerationfmerchants ho had bought statesn thesixteenthr the earlier eventeenthentury,nclosed xtensivelyand et out theirands olarge armersrazing heep ndcattle ortheLondonmarket. ew of them layed leading ole nnationalhistory,ut thenames t leastofmostof them re familiar; heOsbornesto whomDorothybelongs,Sir Justiniansham,the" Emperor ofDorothy'setters,heTreshams ftheGunpowderPlot, the Knightleyst whose house at Fawsleythe MartinMarprelateractswereprinted,heDrydens fwhom hepoetwasa juniormember.Grading ff rom hesewere thesmaller quires-the andedgentry, ainly ommoners,ith rent ollof C8oo nd ess,withan influence sually ocalised o their wn village or hundred;distinguishedn theirowerranges rom hesmallfreeholderndthe easehold armerythefact hat hough hey sually ultivatedsomepartof their states irectlyhegreater art f theirncomecame from ents; distinguishedlso by their ocial activities-theywereJ.P.s some were M.P.s) and in the ateryears f theCommonwealthhey idmost fthe dministrationfthe ounties.I havenotyetbeen ble tocompute,ver narea ufficientlyargeto form basisofgeneralisation,heproportionf andwhich hisclassheld. But think hat hefigures ill how hat s a class heyheldconsiderably ore andthan he ubstantialquires.The linebetween he wo first lasses, hepeers nd the quires,was in i640 byno means lear.Families iketheComptons arlsofNorthampton,heSpencers arlsof Sunderland,heMontagusofBoughtonwere n I640 in almost ll ways differentrom heolder ristocracy-thealbots ndtheStanleys;they re n manyways ikefamilies,heCockaynesnd the Watsons, orexample,whomcontemporariesouldnothave ranked s nobility. herewas somedifferencef social distinctionut in many ases t isextremelyifficulto define.On anaverage herewasa differenceof ncome, ut herewere number fpeers ike heEarlofExeter



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4 THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEWwhose ncomeswere ess than heprosperous quires', ndnotafewprosperous quireswhose ncome losely pproachedhat fan average ord. The ines f ocialdivision o not ie at all closelyalong the lines of economicdivision. The aristocracys not ahomogeneousr distinct lass.With nly woexceptions,ll thegreat amiliesn these ountiesin i640 were till here hundred earsater.Those thathadsolda part ftheir state, ad not old so much stoaffectheir eneralsocial ignificance,nd themajority ad,onthebalance, urchasedland. Theyhadbeen oinedbyseveralnewfamiliesuilding plarge anded states.The numberfgreat roprietorsndthe reaof and ownedby them s a class hadboth ncreased.Moreover,the changes f this hundred earshad created clearerineofdivision etweenhearistocracynd thesquirearchy.he Dukesof Montagu,Grafton, edford nd Marlborough,he Earls ofBridgewater, orthampton,eominsternd Halifax, ord Fitz-william nd LordRockingham-menike hese orm classwhichin 1740 is economicallys well s socially istinctrom he shams,theCartwrightsndtheDrydens.Such ubstantialquireswere, fall three roups, hemost table n composition.While longthefringe here quiremergedntogentryhereweremanywho hadbeenforced osell, he quireswho hadan ncome fCi,ooo yearand more n i640, survivedntact nto heeighteenthenturyndare in many ases stillthe leadingfamilies f the county. Thegeneralisations to thepeculiar tabilityfEnglish ocietywhichoccurs ofrequentlyn ighteenth-ndnineteenth-centuryistorians,is largely generalisationrom he peculiar ircumstancesfthisclass. Had theyooked lsewhere,ven n theupper anges fruralsociety, heywould havefoundmobilitynough.Foramong hesmallerquires ndthe anded entryheperiod etween68o and1740 hadseengreathanges.A. H. Johnson laced heperiod fintensiveisappearancef the mall reeholderetweeni66o-I760.The sameperiod aw anappreciableiminutionn the rea of andownedbysmall quires nd the andedgentry.More mportantthan he rea of and was thechange n thesocial compositionfthis lass. Inmany illagesnNorthamptonshirend Bedfordshirefamilies ettled hereforgenerations erereplacedby lawyers,doctors,goldsmithsnd tradesmenwhose main interests ndsources f ncomewere nLondon and who retiredompletelyotheir ountry ouseonly n later ife.The land changeswhichhad gone to reshapeEnglish ruralsocietynthis ashion adthreeharacteristics.he most mportantshiftfpropertynthese ountiesn thereign fElizabethnd nthe earlydecadesof the seventeenthenturywas not between



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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, x6A8o-I740 5classes lreadywell established n the and,but from he andedclasses s a whole o thosewhomadetheir ortunesn commerce,governmentr aw. Of the andthat hanged andsbetween68oand I740 a muchhigher roportion,ust under half, ametofamilies ettledn the counties or sixtyyearsor more. In thesecondplace,mostof such and came ntothe handsoffamilieswhoalreadyn i68oownedarge states. n thenorth fNorthamp-ton,Lord Fitzwilliam,iscount traffordndtheEarl of Rocking-hampurchasedonsiderableroperties; artherouth heEarl ofHalifax,heDuke of Grafton,heEarl of Sunderlandnd theEarlofBridgewater;nBedfordheDuke ofBedford, hohadboughtno large propertyince theacquisition f Woburn,was buyingheavilyntheearly ecadesof theeighteenthentury,ndso wastheEarl of Kent. The third haracteristicelateso thenew pur-chasers f and. A little vertwo-fifthsf the andwhichwent onewcomers ent to men whowerebuilding p largeterritorialaggregations;men ike theDuke of Marlborough,ord Trevorand LordBathurst.With ew xceptionsheymade heir ortunesin law or government. he greater artof theremaininghree-fifthsent o menwhowerebuying etween ooand i,ooo acres,mainly or residential urposes.A few lawyers ought argerproperties,ut the merchanturchasing wo or three housandacres ndestablishinglanded amilyf significancenthe ounty,thetype fpurchaser ho figureso largelyn Northamptonshireand BedfordshirenderElizabeth nd theearly tuarts, oesnotoftenccur ntheperiod etween68o and 740.In thecharacterfthese hanges ntheownership f land liesan importantart fthe stabilityfEnglish ocial ife nthefirsthalfof the eighteenthentury.The economic hangesof thegenerationsrecedingheCivilWar establishednewclass n thecounties,nd set n motion trains hatfissuredhewholesocialsystem.tisnotyet ossible ocomparetatisticallyhe mount fland whichchangedhands between 6oo and i640 withwhatchanged andsbetween68o and 720; butthetwoamountsrequite clearly f the same magnitude. hat the changes n land-ownershipnthe econdperiod ausedno socialconflicto matchthat recedingheCivilWarwas primarilyueto thefact hat hedriftfpropertyas towards he table nd conservativelementsin society nd to thosewho drewmuch of their ortune romgovernmentr closely llied ources.The increasing italityfthe arge anded stateswas notdueto any strictlyconomic dvantages.Theywereunits fowner-shipnotofproduction.Very ew andownersftheupper lasseswereactivelyoncernednagriculture.n i66o only hree f the



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6 THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEWgreat statesn this rea had homefarms,ndthough henumberincreasedetween710 and 730 (indeed hisperiod n manyestates awthebeginning f themodern omefarm) heyworkedalmost ntirelyor hehousehold ndnotthemarket.Homefarmsonthe states fthegentry ere armore ommon.Butforneitherclassdidtheprofit romuchventuresormmore han very mallproportionf their otal ncome. The largeestateshad certainadvantagesn the way of management;despite he adviceofcontemporaryriters n estatemanagementhestewards fthelords n thecounties ontinued o be chosen n mostcasesfromamong the large tenant armers;but the central ontrolwasstrong nd n thehands f awyers ho devoted heirwholetimeto thebusiness f he state,nspectedhe ccountsmost igorously,madeperiodic isits ndacquainted hemselves ithmostmodernimprovements.he owner f a small state ould obviously otcall uponthe ameresources.But twasnottoadvantages fthisorder hat he arge estates wed their urvival ut to legalandsocialchanges.FromTaltarum's ase in I472, whichconveniently arks heefficacyfthe common ecoverys a method fbarring n estatetail, to the Commonwealtheriod, t was possibleto entail nestate ut mpossibleoensurehat he ntailwouldnotbe broken.The wholeweightof judicialdecisionwas thrown gainst hecreation fentailedstates,ndthe udges nphasised hedestruc-tiblenature f thedevice-thecontingentemainderywhich helandedclasses ttemptedomaintainheunity f tsestates.Thedevice which s associatedwith Sir OrlandoBridgemannd SirJeffreyalmerwas thecreation ftrusteeso preserve ontingentremainders. landowner ho wishedhis estates oremainntactinhisfamilymightonveyhem ohis sonfor ifewith emaindertotheheirsmaleof hisbody nd atthe ame ime onvey hem otrustees uring helifeof the son,in trust orthe son and topreserve hecontingentemainders; hese rustees ereregardedas having n estate n the and. The newstatus f thecontingentremaindermade it extremelyifficulto break an entail. It issometimesointed o as thecause of theconsiderablencrease ttheend ofthe eventeenthenturyn the mount f andentailed.Thattherewassuch n ncreasescertainlyrue, ut t s due to twosetsofcauseswhichmayprofitablye distinguished.artoftheincreasesdue toa decreasen the mount f anddisentailed. uttherewas,in addition, positivencreasen theamount f landentailed; andhithertoeld nfee implewasbeing ntailed.Thispart fthe ncreaseannot edirectlyssociated ith henew egaldevices; thepossibilityntheearly eventeenthenturyfentails



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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, I680-1740 7being rokens not ikelyo havedeterredandownersrommakingthem, ndthepossibilityn the ater eventeenthenturyfmakingentailspermanentan scarcely ave been an activemotive nincreasinghem.The newdevicesforsafeguardingntailswereeffectivenlybecause he udgeswerewillingo sanction heworkoftheconveyancers. hatthe udiciaryt the end of theseven-teenth entury ereprepared o sanction uchdevices,whereasthroughouthe sixteenthentury heyhad emphasised heirdestructibilitysa clueto an mportanthangenthe elationfthejudges o the anded lasses.But npart henew egal devices ndthe ncrease f entail oth prang rom rofoundhanges f socialfeeling-changesn the ttitude o familynd to land-whichtheeconomic istorians notcompetento define.TheMontagus fBoughton adowned states ince he ixteenthentury; hey idnot startbuying onsiderable uantities f land until the lateseventeenthentury,nd then hedesire opurchase asso strongthat heymortgaged eavilyobuy. It maybe askedwhy henewdevices ncreasedhestabilityf thelarge estate elative o thesmall. The answerwouldseem to be that he argerandownersavailedthemselvesmuchmoreof the devices nd entailed heirlandsmuchmorefrequentlyhan he small andowners.The entailingfestateswasthecoreof the ystem ywhich hegreaterandownersrovided or heir hildren,nd t s thereasonformanynew developmentsn the organisationf theirwealth.For example, ne ofthemostcurious ndimportantacts boutlandownershipnthisperiod s that hough he arger roprietorsasa class wnmoreandn 740 thanheyid n 640 and lthoughtheirncomes er crehave ncreased, largenumberfthem avebecomemoreindebted, ven in proportion o their ncreasedincomes. The amount f indebtednesss so difficulto calculatethat t is notyetpossible o estimatereciselyheproportionnwhich heres such n ncrease.But toccursn a sufficientlyargenumbero make t more han naccidentffamily istory. oththe ncreasenthe rea owned nd thedebts repartly ueto theincreasef entail.Theconnectionetweenhe wowas sometimesextremelyirect. n order o givehisdaughter dowry, land-owner aisedmoney ya mortgagenhis ands.Thismoneywasusually pent ythedaughter'susbandnbuyingandto form erjointure.Theprocedure as repeated hen he son-in-lawnhisturn ame oraise dowryorhisdaughter. henet esult as thattwo familieswned n increased mount f andandhad createdtwo additionalmortgages.Many f the arge amiliesn I740 hada numberf argemortgagesn theirstates;noattemptas madeby the landowner o repay, nd the interest as accepted s a



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THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEWpermanentharge n the estate; no attempt as madeby themortgage olders o foreclose ecausethemortgage asreliableand lucrative nd because, fhe wished o realisehis capital,hecouldalways ell t. This s a factorfconsiderablemportancenthe griculturalevelopmentf theperiod. t makes necuriousas to thefate f suchestatesn the ater ighteenthentury henthe burdenof debts had grown forone or two generationsmore.Though here re clear imitationso the mportancefentail-notall landwas entailed,nd entails ould be barred yAct ofParliament-itwas of fundamentalmportancen thisperiod. Ittended o keep large old estates ogether nd whenever,y theoperationfotherauses, ew arge states ere reated,tpreventedtheir isintegrating.The greatestf thesepositive auseswas the war withFranceand the nnovationsnnational inance hich t necessitated.hatwarwasthefirstince heHundred earsWar nwhichEnglandhadto maintainarge rmiesn thefield or ongperiodsnd t hadconsiderableeactionsn all parts f the English ocialstructure.It was financedya combinationf taxationndloans, ndit istheeffectf theformer n thesellers f andandofthe atter nthosewho purchasedand that ts mportanceiesfor hehistoryofEnglish andowning.English axationnthesixteenthndseventeenthenturiesadtwo salientharacteristics.n the irst lace, orreasons fobviousadministrativeonvenience,t boremostheavily n land. Newforms ftaxation,uch stheTudor ubsidy r theCommonwealthAssessment,ramedn all forms fproperty,oonbecamepuretaxes n and. Thisfactwasnotofthefirstocial mportancehilethe assessmentsn whichthetaxeswereleviedwere fictitious.From 58o,when heTudor ubsidy ecame fixed argain, ownto the outbreak f theCivil WartheEnglish andowners eregrotesquelyndertaxed. Our estates," aid Raleigh n i6oi," that e D3O or C4o in theQueen'sbooks arenotthehundredthpart f ourwealth."ThenecessityfraisingmoneyofightheCivilWarforcedhefirst reat ffortn the eventeenthenturyo tax thewealth n atrue ssessment. o much fthetaxation fthisperiod ooktheform fsemi-formalequisitionsorneighbouringarrisonshatit s difficulto calculate heproportionf anded ncome hatwentintaxation.One has the mpressionhat houghn thewaryearstwasextremelyigh tdecreasedonsiderablyfter649. TheGeryfamilyor xamplen i643 paid CIoz 8s.9d. out of an income f(404 6s.8d. and continuedo payat roughlyhatrateuntil he



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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, 1680-1740 9endofthefirst ivilWar. But n 650 and thefollowing ears heypaid on an average nly bout 5o.Between he Restoration nd the Revolution he course oftaxation s much easier to follow since there re no unofficialburdens ndmanymore andowners'ccounts urvive. t variedconsiderablyrom ear o year, ut at its highestt absorbed nlyabout one-fifthf a landowner's ncome,and it reachedthisheight nly n two years,667 and i690. Thoughbetween643and i692, therefore,nglish axationwas leviedon moreor lessaccurate ssessmentsnd was in some years xtremelyeavy, hewartaxationetween692 and1715 representseavier axationfor muchonger eriod.TheLandTax, whichwas not trictlytaxbut rate,was basedon assessment ade n i692. The accuracy f this riginal ssess-ment ariedwidely n differentarts f the country. t was com-monly rgued by defenders f the Land Tax that while themidland ountieswere taxed at their true value, the bordercounties aid at a considerablyower rate, n the most distantcounties otmuch bove shillingn thepound. In Northampton-shire ndBedford he assessment as accurate nd a tax of fourshillingsn the pound did really ake one-fifthf a landowner'srental.Not onlywas the original ssessmentccurate; reasonswillbe given ater orbelievinghat herentals f andownersnthese ounties id not increase o any argeextent etween692andthe ndofthewar, o that he axation emainedrealburden.Though twas originallyrameds a taxon allformsf ncomethe axvery apidly ecame taxon rents.More mportant,t wasa taxonthe wner fthe and s distinctrom he enant.Onmanyestates he tenants adpaid a share f theParliamentaryssess-ment;-some adpaid tall. For reasons obe discussedater helandtaxwas nalmost llcasespaid bythe andownerndattemptstoshifthe ncidencentothe enant ailed.Thisgreat urden ftaxation ellentirelyn landownersnd withespecial everityonthosewhodrew heirntirencome rom ents. n thediminu-tionofthe andedgentryheLandTaxoccupies centralosition.Buttheywouldnothavesuccumbedo soonhadtheir ositionnotbeenweakened yother evelopments.hegeneraltandardsof the andedupper lasseswerechanging.While t s difficultoestimatehe forceswhichdetermineariationsn the amount fincome nyclassspends n conspicuous onsumptiontdifferentperiods,t s clear romhe vidence faccount ooks, nd ndeedfrom hemore bvious vidence fbuildingsndfurniturehat nthelater eventeenthnd early ighteenthenturiesandedpro-prietorswere spending largerproportionf their ncomeon



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IO THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEWostentationnd comfort.The new standardsnd tastes preadfrom ondon; theywere ntroducednto hecounties yfamilieswhomoved n Londonsocietyndwere he standardsreated yfamilies ho could draw upon large non-agriculturalources fincome.The account ooksofsmall amilies,speciallyhosewhosoldout,rarelyurvive,utthefew hat o suggesthat herisingstandards ad spreadto the smaller entry.The impressionsreinforcedy instancesfgentrymortgagingn order o extendtheir wellings.Theywere cquiringhehabitswhichwereonlypossible othosewhohad an ncome rom omeother ource hanagriculture.t was thisrising tandardfliving hatmademanyofthegentry eculiarlyusceptibleotheLand Tax.It maybe askedwhythe Land Tax and therising tandardfexpenditureid notact n a similar ayon the ubstantialquiresandforce hem osell. Two suggestions aybeofferedywayofexplanation.n i68o these ubstantialquires epresentedhemostadvanced nglish griculture; hey prang-most fthem-frommerchant nd lawyerfortunesf the sixteenth entury; theirestateswere nclosed,n goodrepair nd well tenanted;many fthemhad argehomefarms; theyweremaking ood profitsndploughing artback nto griculture. he effectftheLand Taxin most aseswastodivert his apitalnto axation. heefficiencyoftheirandsdeclined ut notsufficientlyo force hem o sell.Secondly,his lasswasconsiderablyore tablen ts ompositionthan hegentry. t istheclasswhosepatternfexpenditurenthevitalyears etween 68o and 1740 changedeast, nd thismayberelated n a generalway to thehomogeneityfthisclass n theearly ighteenthentury,nd to thefactthat t recruited ewmembersnsufficientlymallnumbersoassimilatehem.The question as been examined o farfrom hestandpointfthosewho sold land. How did the war and the accompanyingfinancial hanges ffecturchasers Like all wars,thatagainstLouisXIV was directlyesponsibleor ertain ewfortunes-armycontractorsnd soldiers,nd most f these oughtand. But suchpurchases erefew.The wardeveloped ery apidlyhe endencyo elaborationndcomplexityn themachineryf theEnglish entral overnment.Taxationwas carryingn increasinglyargerproportionf thenationalncomento hehands f hegovernmentndconsequentlytheeconomic alue of politicaldvantagend socialprestige asbecomingmore mportant.t was especiallymportantor thegreatandowners.While carcelynyandownern 640haddrawna large ncome rom on-agriculturalources, n 700 themajorityof thegreat ld families eredrawingarge ncomes rom arious



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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, I6o80-I740 IIsources-colonelciesn the army, ensions,mbassadorshipsndsoforth-incomesn many asesequal totherents f their states.But thechange recipitatedy thewarwhichmostprofoundlyaffectedhe conditionsf land purchasewas thecreation f theNationalDebt, the beginningf the system ywhichtheStatefinances tselfby borrowing rom arge numbers f its ownnationals.Themerchantsho in the sixteenthndearlier even-teenthenturiesoughtandhadthree ossiblemotives.Firstwassocialprestige,hough robablyven n the ixteenthenturyhisappealedmainlyo themore mportant erchantsf the ortwhobecame hairmenf their ompaniesndLord Mayors fLondon,and, mixingwith the landed aristocracyn London,wishedtoassimilatehemselveso it in thecountry.Theymight, econdly,buy and norder o settle n income n theirwives nd children,since and was more ecure nd requiredesstechnicalnowledgethancommercialnvestment.Many merchantsought he rightto receive ents ather han heactual ontrol f and. The desireforsecurity as an extremelymportantmotive. " If," said-awritern I668, "a merchantnEngland rrives tany onsiderableestate,he commonly ithdraws is estatefrom radebeforehecomesnear heconfinesf oldage; reckoninghatf God shouldcall him ut of theworldwhile hemain fhis estates engagedntrade, e must ose one third f t, throughhe nexperiencendinaptnessf his wife o such affairs and so usuallytfalls ut.."But high among themotives f themerchants as the desirefor profitablenvestment,ndthatmotive irected hem o landonly whenthepossibilitiesf commercialnvestment ereex-hausted. t might e argued hat heflowof commercialapitalinto andunder lizabethndthe arly tuarts as n fact ratherpeculiar henomenon,ue in partto thepolicyof trademono-polieswhich iscalxigenciesorcedheCrown oadopt, o nstitu-tionsofforeignradewhich imitedhepossibilitiesfprofitableinvestmentnd forced surplus f commercialrofitnto and.Throughouthe ater eventeenthndearly ighteenthenturiesthepossibilitiesfprofitableommercialnvestment ere ncreas-ing. In addition herewas an increasen the number f goodmortgages.Mostof thesmaller entry-in 66o the elementnEnglish ocietymost ree rom ebt-had beenforcedomortgageheavily. Theheavy urden f the ate ongandexpensive ar,"said nActof 3Anne, hath een hieflyorne ytheowners fthe land of thiskingdom, y reason whereof heyhave beennecessitatedo contract ery argedebts." The relation f theincrease fentail o debthasalready eenmentioned. mortgageon a large statewas thenearestpproach o a first-classecurity



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.II THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEWwhich he seventeenthenturynewuntil he foundation ftheNationalDebt. At theend of thecenturyn immense ew fieldof nvestmentasopenedby governmentorrowing-investmentat once safeand lucrative. The PublicFunds," wrote pam-phleteern I711, " afford much argernterestormoney ndmuch etterecurityor rincipalhan ormerlyouldbehad. Andatthe ametime hegreat ariety fsecuritiesffordurchasesoalldegrees fbuyers,rom Cio lotteryicketo CIo,ooo tockn*the outhSeaTrade,East ndiaTrade,Bank,Annuities,tc. Andherein hesecuritys notonlybetter ut the nterestigher,hancan be had nprivate ands; sixpercent.sgiven y heState,ndtheoccasions f the ellerswillgenerallyiveroom o topurchaseas tomake evenor morepercent." Themerchant howanteda profitablenvestmentor ny urplus ot bsorbedntrade ouldlend o thegovernment.he and till etainedts ttractivenesssthe moststableof all investments,speciallyfter heSouthSeacrash, uttoan ncreasingxtenthemerchant,ho n 640 mighthaveleftmoneyn hiswillto be laid out in land and the rentssettlednhischildren,nthe arly ighteenthenturyirectedhatsuchmoney eused to investntheFunds.

Thisrapid xtensionn thefield f nvestmentxplainsmany fthechangesn thenature fthepurchasersf and. Those peoplebought and who werepeculiarlyusceptibleo considerationsfsocialprestigendpolitical ower. Among hemwere few argemerchants, ainlyhairmenftheEast ndiaCompany, ho wentinforpolitics; butmost fthenewcomers ere ither onnectedinsomewaywith overnmentrwereudges,who desired o havethat ignificancensociety hich nly hepossession f andcouldgive. They boughtup blocks of land in differentartsof thecountry, oughtout some of the surrounding entry, oughtadvowsonsnd, nmany ases, hemanorialights fparliamentaryboroughs.Theywerenotso much nvestingheirmoneynlandasbuying pthe erquisitesf social lass, heundisturbedontrolof the ife f a neighbourhood.When hey ookedoverthefieldstheywanted o see their wn and ndnothing uttheir wn and.The hatred fthesmall quires ndgentryorthegreat ords,whetherld ornew,whowerebuying hem ut is thetheme fmany contemporarylays. Apart fromthe centralcleavagebetweenhosewho benefitedythe warandthosewho sufferedtherewere many ther auses offriction.n Northamptonshiremost fthe ordshad arge arts ftheoldforests hich rovidedthebackgroundor ndless eries fdisputes.The smaller entry,whoduringhewarperiod ried oscrew ptheir entss high spossible, ound heir esttenants ended o move to moreeasily



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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, i68o--740 13rented arms n theestates f thegreat ords. The antagonismexpressestselfometimesn disputesboutenclosures here helocal gentry ake sides against he enclosingord. It nourishedthehatred fthe mall quires or hewar ndalignedmost fthembehind heTorygroups.How does this change n the landowning lasses relate toagrarian evelopmentn the earlyeighteenthentury?Rents,whichroseconsiderablyetween 640 and i690, hardly ose atall between 690 and 1720. Heavilymortgagedandownersattemptedoraise hem, utfailed; and on land etat a rackrenttherewasoften decrease.For this herewerefourmain easons.The warandthe ncreasingxpenditurenconspicuousonsump-tion diminished he amountof moneyspent on repairs ndimprovements. hearrangementsor rdinaryepairs ifferedndifferentstates,nd the ffectf thediversion fmoneywasmostmarked here heresponsibilityormaintainingngoodrepair ellon the ord. Whatever hecovenantsboutrepairs, heestatessufferedor he ack ofmoney o spend n building ewbarns rmaintainingitches.The smallerwners,nparticular,uring hewaryears, ere uttingessmoneynto heirstatestthevery imewhen yraisingentsheywere ttemptingotakemore ut f hem.In thesecondplaceatthehighrate f nterest hich revailedduringhewaryears hemostmportantmprovement-enclosure-was not a profitablenvestment.he actual ostofenclosuresan mportantlementnthe hronologyfthemovement.,etweeni640 and 690 itispossible o trace welve nclosuresnthese wocounties: between690 and 17I5 therewereonly hree. n thetwentieshenumberncreasesgain, hough hegeneral endencywastowardsowerprices han hose fthewarperiod ndthoughpopulationwasnot ncreasing. his ncreases partly ue to thefact hatn theprecedinghirtyears sufficientlyargenumber ffreeholdersadon someestates eenbought ut. Butthemainreason s the decline f therate f nteresto a level twhich hereturnn enclosureepresentedn adequate eturn n capital.Thirdly,or easonswhichwillbe elaboratedater, hetenantrywere n a strongerargainingosition han heyhad beenbeforethewar. Theywere bletopreventny ttemptso shifthe andtaxon to theirhoulders;theywereoftenble when easeswererenewedoshiftheburdenftithen to the andowner; ndtheywerena sufficientlytrong ositiono be ableto resistttemptsoraise heir ents.The fourth eason orthe ackofimportantgrarian evelop-ments etween68o and 1720 liesin the characterf the"newfamilies." he mprovementsfthe ixteenthnd arlyeventeenth



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14 THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEWcenturies ad in the main been the work of the new pur-chasers.There s no similar irect elationshipetweenmprove-ment ndthefamilies ho establishedhemselvesnthecountycenturyater. The moreconspicuousignsof agriculturalack-wardness-open ields,easesfor ives-in i6oo were o be foundmostfrequentlyn the estates f great ords; thiswas still ruethough o a lesserdegreea centuryater,but social and legalchanges reventedmuchof this and coming n to the market.Moreoverhenewpurchaserserenot seeking oodspeculations,butwell-tenantedstateswhichwouldyield regularncomewitha minimumftrouble. n surviving orrespondencebout salesthe estatewhich s representeds the acmeof perfections onewhere he ncomemost losely pproximateso a rent harge; anestate, hat s, with tenantswealthy noughto pay theirrentsregularlyndmaintainheir oldingsn good repair t their wncost,andwhere ll paymentsre fixed ndcertain.The landedgentry t whose expensethe new purchasersmostfrequentlyboughtwere amongthe most advancedsections f the land-owning lasses; their stateswere et on short-termeases trackrents,nd many ultivatedome andthemselves.

The significancef the new owners s not thereforen anydirect r spectacularmprovements.f their apitaldid in factflow nto and it was notbecausetheyhad bought n order oimprove, ut because heywereforced o do so bythesituationof the tenantry.n the later seventeenthnd early ighteenthcentury number f changeswereaccentuatingheshortage fsubstantialeasantfarmers.n Northamptonshirend Bedfordsomeoftheroyal arksweredisparkedn thesecondhalf ftheseventeenthenturynd turned o cultivation;theconsequentdemand ornewtenants ad considerableocal importance,ndtheremayhavebeen nstancesfthe amedevelopmentlsewhere.But muchmore mportant as thefact hat hegeneral haracterof andpurchase as ncreasinghedemand or enants. he argenumberfsmall reeholdersho soldout hadcultivatedheir wnland; joined o thegreat statet waslet outon lease. To a lessextent hediminutionn thenumberfsmall entrylso ncreasedthedemand ortenants.The tenant armers erethereforen astrong osition nrelationo the andowners, hich nabled hemto throw heentire urden f the and taxon to theshouldersfthe andowners,ndwhich nabled hem radually,n therenewalof eases, o shifthepaymentftithe n to the sameshoulders.Therewas in fact marketngood tenants,nd the nducementswhichcompetingandownersffered ereimprovements.heaccount ooksofthenew andownershowon anaverage higher



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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, I6o-z74oproportionf ncome pent n such hings s theprovision fnewbuildingsndefficientanddrainage.The rare ccasionswhen henegotiationsbout a lease were committedo paperand survive,witnesstonce to the nxiety f the teward f an estate oobtaintenants,nd o thedetailedndexacting ay nwhich enants ouldstipulate or mprovements. he wealthy andownersended oget hewealthyenants,r at east he enants ho were apable fholdingargefarms.The smallerandowners,ependentntirelyon their griculturalncome, adusually o lettheir staten muchsmaller oldingso menwith maller apital esources.But themost mportant improvingandlords in theearlyeighteenthenturyre not to be found mong henew purchaserswhoputwhatmoneyhey id nto and n order o maintainsteadyrent oll, ut mong he arge ldfamilies ho owned states hichwerevery ndeveloped,nd whohadthe ncentiveo improvenan increasing urdenof debtcharges, nd the capital o makeimprovementsn theirfluctuatingncomefromnon-agriculturalsources.Landownersn theearly ighteenthentury erequiteclear sto whatwas a good estate. t was one tenanted y argefarmersholding ooacres rmore, ayingheir ents egularlyndkeepingthe holdings n repair. The threemost mportantmethods fimprovementn this periodwereall devicesto this end-con-solidation f holdings,nclosure,ndthereplacingfleasesforlivesby leases*for termof years-and in practice heywererelated o each n a great arietyfdifferentays. Consolidationof strips or example nd the formationf larger nd compactfarms ften ookplacewithout ndingn enclosure.But in themajorityf casestheres a certainniformity.All casesof enclosurewereprecededbya large-scaleuyingout offreeholders.heposition fthe mall reeholderadbeenmademuchworsebythewar taxation,nd in thisarea he hadreceivedno compensatingdvantagefromhigherprices. Hispositionwas weakened,econdly, ythemovement owards heconsolidationffarms.MuchofLordMontagu'sand n I66o wasleased uttoneighbouringreeholders-a isadvantageousethodbecause hefreeholdersorked heir wnholdingst theexpenseofthose heyeased.Between66o and 730 itwasa consistentpart f estate olicy o consolidatehe trips elongingothe ordandso form ompact armswhichwouldattracthe arger enantfarmer. y 730 not n acrewasheldby neighbouringreeholder.If thatwasat alla-widespread ovement,ndtheresgoodreasonfor elievingtwas, t must aveweakenedheposition fthefree-holders onsiderably.Whilethefreeholder as thusweakened,B



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i6 THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEWthegreat andowner ad an additionalncentiveo buybecausewiththe rateof interestising he and was becoming heaper.Both the largeold families nd thenewcomers urchased heholdingsf great umberffreeholders.heEarlsofNorthamp-tonhadnotmadea single mallpurchase flandfora hundredyears,utbetween690 and 7I0 theholderf the itle oughtthree undredcres rommall wners noneof hisestateslone.In the statesnclosedetween720 and 750 itwasnotthefreeholdersho suffered; heyhad already eenreduced o asufficientlymallnumber o makeenclosure ossible, nd thosethat emained ereusuallyubstantialnough ogain onsiderablyby t. The peoplewhosufferedere he smallerenants ith ento thirtycres. It is clear,notonlyfrom he results fenclosurebut also fromthe intentionxplicitlyxpressedn estatecor-respondence,hat heattractionf enclosurewasnot simplyhatitdoubled ents utthatt gotridofthe mallerndattractedhelarger enant.A comparisonf the tenants efore nclosurendsomeyears fter hows considerableiminutionnthoseholdingI0-30 acres, correspondingncreasen theclasswhoholdonlycottagenda homesteadndan ncreasen the mountf andheldbyfarmersf 50-25o acres.Thechange eems o have ome boutin twoways.First,he arger armerslready oldingandon suchanestatewerebecause fanincreased rofitabilitynabled oholdmore, ndbecausewhen easesranouttheestateswerebidforbymenwhohadthe apital o hold n arge nits. Secondly,he malltenantwho had producedmainly orsubsistencend not themarketouldnotpaythe doubledrent nd couldnotderive headvantagef enclosure yturningis andtopasture.

Thepositions regardseasesfor ives s considerablyessclear.Mostof thegreat amilies adpartoftheir states eldon suchleaseswith largefine n renewalnda low annual ental.Onehasthe mpressionhat hey ecreasedn thehome ounties; theDuke ofMontagu'sWarwickshirestateswereheldon leasesforlives, heEarl ofNorthampton'snSomerset,heEarlofPomfret'sin Dorset,someof the Fitzwilliamstatesn theverynorth fNorthampton.he easefor hreeivesmightover great arietyof economic elationships.n the Duke of Montagu's state tBeaulieu, orexample,mostofthe easesfor iveswereheld bytownsfolkfSouthamptonhosublet t rack ents.The units fleasehold,whichweresmall,didnotcorrespondo the unitsofcultivation,ome of whichwerevery arge. This was clearlyrelated o thenearness fa greatmarket ortimbernd food nSouthampton.utontheother statesxamined, here herewasno such disturbingeature,he and wasusually ultivatedythe



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ENGLISH LANDOWNERSHIP, 16980-1740 17personswho had the egalestate n the ease. Suchestates adanumber fcommon haracteristics.hey till oremarks f theiroriginn copyhold; they aidno taxes, heywerenotboundbyleaseto observe nyhusbandryovenants,o action ordebt ayagainst hem orarrears f rent. From thepointofviewof thelandowner,herefore,heyhadmany isadvantages. heir ingleadvantagewas that hey rought imat intervalsfabout sevenyears arge ums fmoneynfines or enewals. heywere n facta sort f mortgage.n these ountiest snotpossible odiscoverany ttemptochange easeholdsor ives nto easeholdsor ermsofyearsntheyears efore690. Even n theninetiesmost fthegreat andowners ererenewingeasesfor ives which ell n onthesamebasis. But afterbout 7I0 themoreusualpractices toreplace hem y a leasefor ometerm fyears t a rack-rent. nthe state ftheDuke of Montagu nd LordFitzwilliamhere resigns fanactive ttemptobuyoutthe nterestfthe easeholdersfor iveswhich lmost eacheshemagnitudef a campaign.Thisactionn thecounty orresponds ith nattemptfParliamentolegislate gainsthem.TwoActswerepassed nthereign fAnnewhichgavethe andownerheright o sue them ordebtwhentheywere n arrears nd protected im gainst vasion nd fraudafter hedeath fthe ast ife.The consequencesfthechangen leaseswere n manywayssimilar othose ollowingnclosure; twasagain he mall enantfarmingen othirtycreswhotended o beeliminatedy he ack-renting.Butthecausesofthechangen estate olicy re notsoclear. It is theresult fan increasingalueplaceduponannualincome s opposed operiodicump ums; and tmay ossibly econnected ith hefact hat tthis eriod urdens nestateswereincreasinglyakingheform fregularndfixedharges.The expansionf thefield f nvestmentfter690, thegrowthof a widerangeofalternativeso thepurchase f land,and thedevelopment f the moneymarketwhich he ncrease f easilyrealisablenvestmentsadepossible-allthese evelopmentseremaking hemercantilend financiallassesof Englanda morecoherent nd specialised roupand centringheirnterests orecompletelyn London. And thoughthe connections etweencommercialapital ndlandowners eremanifoldheywerenotthose fpersonnel.Therewas ess nterlockingfthe woclassesthan here ad been underElizabeth nd theearly tuarts.

english landownership

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