1108231. Cite this via datacite

Title:

[T]he Estates of Sundry of My Tenauntes': Landholding in Loughborough in 'Tawney's Century'

Issue:

Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 87

Series:

Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society

Volume:

Page Start/End:

191 - 206

Downloads:

2013_87_191-206_postles.pdf (263 kB) :

Download

Licence Type:

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International Licence

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5284/1108231

Publication Type:

Journal

Abstract:

The hundred years between 1540 and 1640, traditionally defined as ‘Tawney’s century’, were associated with disruption, instability and formative transformations and transitions in landholding, estates and the land market. The accretion of monastic lands acted as a catalyst on the land market from 1536–40 onwards, advancing the fortunes of some, identified by Tawney as the enterprising gentry. A historiographical converse of the ‘rise of the gentry’ was the perceived ‘crisis’ of the aristocracy, restricted in its ability to respond to the inflationary pressures which accelerated from 1540. More recently, a transformation in landed fortunes has been interpreted as the genesis of ‘agrarian capitalism’, by which the most precocious landlords and some of their tenants invested in and expanded their landholdings, exploiting their rural bases more efficiently. Tensions consequently ensued in the relationship between landlords and (some of) their tenants, particularly the latter who held by the customary tenure of copyhold. The context has been described as a conflict between custom and improvement which involved a contest over custom. The issues of rural landholding during these three or four generations thus extend to the condition of the ‘peasantry’, the ability of landlords to adapt or exploit and the nature of seigniorial policy, the stratification of landholding within the ‘peasantry’ through engrossing and consolidation of holdings, consequent to their activity of the local land market, and the persistence or otherwise of landholding dynasties and networks. One simple introductory comment may be made about transactions in real estate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: the market was fluid in general and in loughborough in particular. A high volume of transactions in land remained a feature. It is with the structure of ‘peasant’ landholding and landlords’ estate policy in the parish of loughborough that this exploration is concerned. by ‘structure’ is intended here the contextual constraints on landholding in the early-modern Midlands: those factors in the relationship between lord, tenant and tenure which governed much of the accumulation of and relationship to the land. The counterpoint is the fluidity of the land market, partly constricted by considerations of inheritance and the family, but also exhibiting some volatility between 1540 and 1640, as land moved both outside and inside the family.

Author:

David Postles

Publisher:

Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society

Year of Publication:

2013

Source:

ADS Archive (ADS Archive)

Relations:

Created Date:

03 Feb 2022