Stewards, Lords and People: The Estate Steward and his World in Later Stuart England

by D. R. Hainsworth

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521364898
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/31/1992
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.83(d)

Table of Contents

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.