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Change and the Country House #61

...uction of death duties caused the financial foundation, upon which the aristocracy depended, to fall away.  The modern form of death duties is inheritance tax but taxes have always been with us!  In 1796 tax on estates was introduced to help fund the war against Napoleon.  Then in 1894 the government introduced estate duty, a tax on the capital value of land, in a bid to raise money to pay off a £4 million government deficit.  This led to many estates having to be sold off as they couldn’t afford the death duties needed to be paid when someone died.   Parliament became slightly more representative of the nation; industrial and commercial peers were firs...

Royal Visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #20

...From earliest times the King's court has traveled around the kingdom so the King could see first hand what was happening in his realm. When the King showed up, the local subjects were expected to provide food, entertainment, and accommodations in the form of mediaeval banquets.  For the King or Queen's subjects this could be very expensive and not all royalty was welcome! However, this was the only way that people could see their King or Queen and know that they were real. Fast forward from the twelve century to the 21st century and royals are still touring the country so their subjects can 'see them and believe in them'. Although I published this blog in June...

Meet the Neighbours - Blithfield Hall #78

...it was ‘death duties’ so when someone died (usually an aristocrat) the person who inherited his land and title had to pay taxes of up to 80%!  Many of the landed gentry couldn’t afford to do this – owning a stately home, which had usually been in the family for generations didn’t necessarily mean that the owners had lots of money in the bank to pay the taxes due.  Soon, lots of these houses were being demolished or sold off or the family just left them to rot away while they found somewhere smaller to live.  This was, in fact, why my own home, Hoar Cross Hall, had been unlived in for many years as the family had moved to a smaller house.  Gone were...

Meet the Neighbours - Sudbury Hall #79

...ayment of death duties which had continued to burden the family.  However, the remainder of the Sudbury estate is still held by Vernon descendants. Sudbury Hall   In 1660 George Vernon inherited the house at the age of 25; he also got married that year to a Northamptonshire heiress, Margaret Onley.  With the extra wealth that came with the marriage he built a grand new mansion on the same site which he designed himself – a Jacobean house but with the traditional Tudor structure.  He also moved the village closer to the Hall so that his servants and the tradesmen could live near at hand.  These buildings still survive today! It seems George Vernon...

Meet the Neighbours - Shugborough Hall #80

...n lieu of death duties.  So many stately homes in those days seemed to go this way as families struggled to pay the high taxes demanded with no family fortune behind them anymore and a huge house with high maintenance to look after.  However, the 5th Earl was allowed to live in an apartment within the house, paying a nominal rent, and the hall was opened to the public in 1966.  Some of you may remember Lord Patrick Lichfield, who became the royal photographer after photographing Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981 – well, he was the 5th Earl who lived at Shugborough and you can see his studio as part of an exhibition of his work in the ha...

What the Butler Saw! #42

...Anyone who’s seen Downton Abbey will remember Carson the butler. He is exactly how a butler would have been in the 19th century, a grand, authoritarian figure, commanding respect and awe and most of the servants would have been scared to death of upsetting him! He was dressed like a gentleman of the period and generally ran the household with an iron fist. Although most big houses had a house steward who was in charge of accounts and general running of the household, a butler was more commonly engaged by the wealthy. They usually started as footmen and worked their way up fro there.  Most butlers stayed at the same household until they retired and probably...