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Managing for Posterity - The Norfolk gentry and their estates c.1450-1700 (Hardcover)
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Managing for Posterity - The Norfolk gentry and their estates c.1450-1700 (Hardcover)
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Securing the long-term survival and status of the family has always
been the principal concern of the English aristocracy and gentry.
Central to that ambition has been the successful management of
their landed estates, whilst failure in this regard could spell
ruination for an entire family. In the sixteenth century, the task
became more difficult as price inflation reduced the value of
rents; improved management skills were called for. In Norfolk,
estates began to change hands rapidly as the unaware or simply
incompetent failed to grasp the issues, while the more astute and
enterprising landowners capitalised on their neighbours’
misfortunes. When Sir Hamon Le Strange inherited his family’s
ancient estate at Hunstanton in 1604 it was much depleted and
heavily encumbered. The outlook was bleak: such circumstances often
led to the disappearance of families as landowners. However, within
a generation, he and his remarkable wife Alice had modernised the
estate and secured the family’s future. After 700 years, the Le
Stranges still survive and prosper on their estate at Hunstanton,
making them the longest surviving gentry family in Norfolk. The
first part of this book presents new research into the secret of
their rare success. A key aspect of their strategy was a belief in
the power (and economic value) of knowledge: Hamon and Alice wanted
to ensure that their improvements would endure for posterity. To
this end, they curated their knowledge through meticulous
record-keeping and carefully handed it down to their successors.
This behaviour, instilled in the family, not only facilitated
on-going reforms, but helped future generations overcome the
inevitable reversals and challenges they also faced. The second
part of the book collects together four related papers from
Elizabeth Griffiths’ research about the Le Stranges, Hobarts and
Wyndhams, republished from the Agricultural History Review and
edited from two Norfolk Record Society volumes. For anyone
interested in early modern rural society and agriculture and the
history of Norfolk gentry estates, this volume will be essential
reading, offering as it does new perspectives on the history of
estate management, notably the role of women, the relationship with
local communities and sustainability in agriculture.
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