Stewards, Lords and People: The Estate Steward and his World in Later Stuart England (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History)
Cambridge University Press
Edition: First Edition, 9/10/1992
EAN 9780521364898, ISBN10: 0521364892
Hardcover, 304 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
The landed estates were one of the fundamental structures of early modern England. They were omnipresent, for they were not confined to the countryside but penetrated into every borough and city. English society was composed largely of landlords and tenants. It follows that to understand the nature of this society the relationship between the two must be studied, and in particular the role of the man who linked them: the estate steward. Stewards, Lords and People analyses the role of the estate stewards in the social mechanisms of later Stuart England. It is based on many years of research among more than 10,000 letters exchanged by stewards and their masters about estates as widely distributed as Northumberland and Cornwall, Cumberland and Sussex.
Preface
List of abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. The rise of the estate steward
3. The steward's career
4. The whole duty of a steward
5. Between lord and tenant
6. Returns to London
7. The ambassador
8. Tending the interest
9. The almoner
10. Filling the pulpit
11. The constable
defending the manor
12. The constable
defending the forests
13. Exploiting the estate
14. The clerk of works
15. Master and man
A note on the manuscript sources
Index.