The traditional economic difference between the Peerage and the Landed Gentry was that whereas the former had an income from town property, coal mines, harbours and other sources as well as from land, the latter had to rely on land alone. This, in the past, made the Peerage predominantly Whig and the Landed Gentry Tory: it also meant that while peers were able to survive the farming depression at the end of the last century (and again between the wars) many of the Landed Gentry were ruined. There were, of course, families in the Landed Gentry who were independent of the land for their wealth just as there were a great many peers and baronets whose estates were wholly agricultural. And there were commoners whose estates were so large that they ranked with the great territorial magnates rather than with the ordinary country squires. Most families of this importance were offered titles in the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Those remaining in the Landed Gentry may have had forebears who refused: like the Mr. Bankes of Kingston Lacy at the time of George IV.

Such "great commoners" were the exception. The typical landed gentleman had a much smaller estate, something between a thousand and five thousand acres. Of this, one or two hundred acres formed the grounds and park round his house; and there may have been a further couple of hundred acres of woods scattered about the estate. The rest was let to tenant farmers of varying sizes. The rents made up the landed gentleman's entire income, with the addition of a few rents from village houses which, being let to farm labourers, were equally dependent on agriculture. More often than not, these houses were let for a nominal rent to estate staff and pensioners. Sometimes, though by no means always, a few hundred acres were kept in hand as a home farm. This may have lost money rather than made it. The only other source of income might have been the woods, if they were successfully worked.

Today, it is difficult to live on farm rents alone. A few people whose estates are large and in good condition manage to do so; but usually the rents are swallowed up by repairs to farm buildings, modernising cottages, drainage, fencing and all the other expenses of land ownership; even allowing for the various grants which may be obtained for work of this sort. One must either find an income from elsewhere, or develop one's estate. The simplest means of achieving the former is to sell land and invest the money thus raised in stocks and shares. There are few landed estates which have not, in the past half century, been to some extent reduced in this way; many of them to a fraction of their original size. Without having to sell land, a landowner can add to his income by becoming a member of Lloyd's. Some landowners, such Dr. Dent-Brocklehurst of Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire, are members of the Stock Exchange. Others go into industry. Sir Robert Adeane is the director of a great many companies; and, contrary to the usual practice of the Landed Gentry today, he has been buying more land. Sir John Musker of Shadwell Park, Norfolk is a banker. Several families have always been connected with banking, such as the Barclays, the Hoares of Stourton, the Smiths of Woodhall Park and the Holland-Martins of Overbury; just as the Whitbreads of Southill, the Watneys of Cornbury and the Cobbolds of Glemham have always been connected with brewing.

The alternative to finding an outside income is to develop one's estate. The most usual way is by farming. The tendency has been for landowners to increase the amount of land in hand so as to be able to farm an acreage large enough to be profitable. This depends on farms falling vacant, which is a slow process. The landlord has to pay the tenant right which would otherwise have been paid for by the incoming tenant. Farming also requires capital from farming, if one includes the value of the land, is very much less than that from stocks and shares; though it is considerably higher than what would be obtained by letting the land. Most of the Landed Gentry, however, prefer to make do with a smaller income and keep the land rather than sell it and by doing so enjoy a larger income. Keeping one's own land has benefits as well as disadvantages; notably the shooting. Though few people can now afford to run a shoot on their own, it is fairly easy to form a syndicate.

Another way to develop one's estate is by forestry. The late Mr. Charles Ackers of Huntley Manor, Gloucestershire, did this with great success. What might be called the urbanisation of the countryside has in fact benefited the Landed Gentry. Houses which were formerly let for a nominal rent to estate staff and pensioners can now be modernised and let profitably to people who work in the neighbouring towns; or they can be sold for something like £5,000 each. As most estates include a number of such houses, it is now often possible to raise quite a good capital sum without selling more than a very few acres of land.

The fact that so many town workers like to live in the country means that landowners can often sell building sites. Owners of estates near the South Coast, such as Colonel Weld of Lulworth in Dorset, have developed part of their land as caravan sites. Many landowners have started garages and roadhouses on their estates. All this means that the Landed Gentry are becoming more like the great territorial magnates, getting their income from urban or suburban and industrial property as much as from agriculture. Many people whose fathers owned a purely agricultural estate now own property in a town which has grown. However, the wealth which comes from owning an estate close to a growing town is dearly won. There is the likelihood of restrictions on profit from development. There is also the threat of a Socialist council compulsorily acquiring part of one's estate, even one's house and park; in the way that Wentworth Castle, Yorkshire, was compulsorily acquired from the late Captain Vernon-Wentworth in the nineteen-forties.

There are also great difficulties in maintaining a country estate on the outskirts of a large town; many people have given up the unequal struggle and moved elsewhere; such as Colonel Clifton, who has recently left his ancestral home of Clifton Hall, near Nottingham. Several families have bought their present estates in recent years, having sold estates on the outskirts of London in order to do so, for example, the Trotters of Mells Park, Somerset, who were formerly of Durham, Hertfordshire; or the Smith-Bosanquets of Norton Bavant, formerly of Broxbornebury, also in Hertfordshire.

Obtaining an income is one thing: keeping it is another. With surtax as it is, many landowners can only maintain their estates by spending capital. If a house or a building site is sold the money goes towards the upkeep of the estate. The increase in value of real property over the just twenty years has enabled people to spend capital in this way without actually becoming poorer. There are various relief's from taxation offered to the landowner, such as the Statutory Repairs Allowance, the Maintenance Claim, and the Capital Expenditure Claim. A farm loss can be charged to surtax: although with legislation aimed at the so-called "cheque book farmer" this is of less advantage than heretofore.

The maintenance Claim includes structural repairs to a country house and maintenance work in the grounds such as resurfacing drives or repairing garden walls. But other expenses such as the wages of gardeners and servants are not allowed. The upkeep of a large country house and its grounds is perhaps the landowner's greatest burden. A great many landowners have solved the problem by ceasing to live in their large houses.

Among the many houses which have been let to schools and colleges are Woodhall Park, Hertfordshire, Stoke Rochford, Lincolnshire, Kingweston, Somerset and Langley Castle, Northumberland. In each case, the owner of the estate lives in a smaller house nearby; usually a dower house or farmhouse. At Woodhall, Mr. and Mrs. Abel Smith have made a new house out of the fine Georgian stables. Major and Lady Enid Turnor live at Little Ponton Hall, a short distance from Stoke Rochford and of more manageable proportions. Cally, Kirkcudbright, is an hotel and Mrs. Murray-Usher and her son, Mr. James Murray-Usher, live in smaller houses on the estate. Cirencester Abbey, which was previously let to a tenant, now stands empty; Mr. and Mrs. Chester-Master also live in a smaller house. Sir John Craster is selling Craster Tower in Northumberland. Major Vaughan has sold the main house of Courtfield in Herefordshire to the Mill Hill Fathers, founded by his great-uncle, Cardinal Vaughan; thus keeping a sense of continuity. He and his family live in the dower house. The main house at Orwell Park, Suffolk, was sold before the war to a school and Mr. and Mrs. Pretyman built a new house at the other end of the park. Quite a number of landowners have built new houses.

This is expensive, but has advantage that one can choose a good site; whereas the existing smaller houses on an estate are often without amenities. Wyvenhoe Park, Essex, is to become a new university and Mr. and Mrs. Gooch have built a house in the Palladian style on another part of the estate.

In some cases, the original house has been pulled down and a new house built on the site. This has been done by Major and Mrs. Drummond Moray at Abercairny, Perthshire and by Mr. and Mrs. Fitzherbert-Brockholes at Claughton Hall, Lancashire. Building on the site of the original house enables one to enjoy its amenities, the park and the setting; but if the original house was of architectural or historic interest, it is unfortunate that it should be lost. Lulworth Castle, Dorset, was burnt down between the wars; Colonel Weld, instead of rebuilding it, has enlarged a manor house just outside the park. In the former stables of the Castle he has made a gallery to house the splendid art collection from Ince Blundell in Lancashire, a house which he inherited recently and sold. Without leaving one's house, one can adapt it to modern conditions.

A wing may be made into flats, as has been done at Scotney Castle, Kent; or into separate houses, like at Farnley Hall, Yorkshire. Lt.-Col. John Leicester-Warren has run his own home, Tabley House, Cheshire, as a school.

Opening a house to the public is a help. The actual takings may not amount to much; there may be no profit after the wages of guides and other expenses have been paid. But there is the great advantage of being able to set the cost of running one's house - over and above what is allowed under the Maintenance Claim - against taxation, as a business loss. And if the house is of historic or architectural importance, it is possible to get grants for its repair from the Historic Buildings Council. Among the houses of the Landed Gentry which are open to the public are Newby Hall, Yorkshire; Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire; Rousham, Oxfordshire; and Chirk Castle, Denbighshire. At Sawston Hall, Cambridgeshire, which is also open to the public, there has been an experiment in son et lumiere. Mr. David Booth-Jones holds exhibitions of pictures at Hale Park, Hampshire. As well as opening Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye to the public, Dame Flora Macleod of Macleod shares it with the whole of her Clan. Macleods from all over the world regard the Castle as their possession and are glad to help towards its upkeep.

Some of the houses open to the public have been made over to the National Trust including Stourhead, Wiltshire, Gunby Hall, Lincolnshire, Sizergh Castle, Westmorland and Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire. Whole estates and houses with their contents have been accepted by the Treasury in lieu of death duties and then transferred to the Trust, keeping them intact. Death duties have taken their toll of many estates and are a great menace to the hereditary wealth on which the Landed Gentry is based. The typical landowner's estate would be worth several hundred thousand pounds; the duty on this could be as much as 70 per cent. Fortunately, there is the relief of 45 per cent on agricultural land. This has encouraged people to keep their land, or even buy more. The traditional landed gentleman who owned nothing but agricultural land would have been less hit by death duties than anybody.

There are certain other relief's from death duties which benefit the Landed Gentry. The duty on timber trees is not payable until they are cut and sold. Works of art, too, are not subject to duty until they are sold: which avoids the dispersal of heirlooms. More and more people are making over estates to their heirs to avoid death duties. This has the good effect of encouraging the younger generation to take an interest in the family estate. Sons who would formerly have gone into the Services now study agriculture and help to run their estates from an early age. The rule whereby property made over within five years of death was liable to the full rate of duty has been relaxed. And there is complete exemption on property made over in consideration of marriage. A few years ago the nephew and heir of a Gloucestershire landowner married in a hurry and sooner than had been planned to enable his uncle, who was dying, to make over the estate to him and save all duty.

However much death duties may be avoided, there have been many estates sold after the death of an owner: Ampney Park, Gloucestershire, Aynhoe, Oxfordshire, Caunton Manor, Nottinghamshire, Mount St. John, Yorkshire, Ince Blundell Hall, Lancashire and The Hyde, Sussex, to mention but a few. Estates are constantly being sold owing to taxation and the cost of upkeep. Most of the Dunster estate in Somerset which had been in the Luttrell family since medieval times, was sold a few years ago. The Tyrwhitt-Drake family has sold Shardeloes, Buckinghamshire, with its magnificent Adam house. The late Captain Granville Soames sold Sheffield Park in Sussex, famous for its landscape gardens. It is some consolation that when estates are broken up, the tenants are often able to buy their own farms.

And yet, if one looks at the Landed Gentry, one is struck not so much by the number of estates which have been sold, as by the number which still remain in the original families. Such large and famous houses as Loseley Park, Surrey, Sherborne Castle, Kingston Lacy, Forde Abbey and Charborough Park, Dorset, Capesthorne Hill, Cheshire, Burton Constable and Burton Agnes, Yorkshire, Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk, Alscot Park, Warwickshire, Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire and Prideaux Place, Cornwall are still maintained and lived in, mostly by descendants of the people who built them.

The Landed Gentry has not just survived, it has recovered. At the end of the last war, it seemed most unlikely that great houses would be lived in again. In the early nineteen-thirties, land was a liability rather than an asset. One large landowner actually paid people to farm his land for him. The general opinion was that land would never recover. Families who were obliged to part with their land counted themselves fortunate to get the rock-bottom prices of those days. However many estates may be sold each year at the present time, it is doubtful if the number is anything as great as it was in the early nineteen-thirties.

Those who had faith in the future and kept their land, perhaps at considerable sacrifice, have been extremely well rewarded. Today, with land worth £1200 an acre, the owner of a 5,000 acre estate is a millionaire. A large proportion of the Landed Gentry own 5,000 acres or more; yet few of them live in anything approaching millionaire style. The Landed Gentry could sell their land and enjoy great riches. That they prefer to keep their land, with all its responsibilities, and are prepared to work hard to do so, is a great tribute to the descendants of men who have served this country well since the Middle Ages. To the Landed Gentry, owning land is a trust.

M. B-J.