The English Aristocracy in the 18th Century

Stately Homes of England - Seats of Power and Wealth

Nov 18, 2009 Brenda Ralph Lewis

In the 18th century, the aristocracy in England was in a supremely powerful position. They controlled the government, owned most of the land and enjoyed colossal wealth.

Naturally enough, they were extremely proud of their position and one of the ways in which they displayed their pride was by building huge country mansions - the Stately Homes that still exist today.

Stately Homes as Treasurehouses

Aristocrats filled their Stately Homes with magnificent furniture, gilt chandeliers, gold and silver ornaments or rare carved woods. They surrounded their mansions with enormous gardens containing acres of the finest lawns and flowerbeds.

The grounds were filled with fountains, temples, marble statues, streams and private zoos. Some aristocrats built scientific laboratories, others gathered huge libraries of valuable books.

The best artists and craftsmen were employed to furnish and beautify the aristocratic mansions.. One of them was Lancelot Capability Brown, the landscape gardener and architect who could make a lawn look like a finely tufted, beautifully sculptured carpet Another was Grinling Gibbons who carved wonderful woodwork panels and doors.

Aristocrats as Scientists, Builders and Professionals

Several English aristocrats made important contributions to the life of the country as a whole. One was the second Viscount Townshend, who experimented with scientific farming.

The first major canal in Britain was built by the third Duke of Bridgwater to carry coal from his mines in Worsley to factories in Manchester. As one of the results, Manchester eventually became an important trading port.

Dukes, earls and other titled aristocrats were usually the eldest sons of noble families. They inherited both the title and the family land, whereas younger sons had to make their own way in life. Several did so by following careers in the Church, the armed services or the professions. Many became doctors, lawyers, engineers, politicians or administrators in the territories of the British Empire.

Joining the Aristocracy

In this, the English aristocracy was quite different from their counterparts in France. A French aristocrat considered it disgraceful for anyone of high, noble birth to soil his hands with trade, industry or agriculture, or earn his living by his own work. The French aristocracy was like an exclusive club whose members had to be born to their position in life.

In England, though, a man could gain aristocratic status if he had enough money or if he served his country with particular distinction. General John Churchill, ancestor of the great Winston Churchill and one of England’s greatest military leaders, was rewarded for his services with the title Duke of Marlborough. Yet John Churchill began life as the son of a poor country squire.

The father of Robert Walpole was an army colonel. Yet Walpole not only became Britain’s first prime minister in 1721 but was also created Earl of Orford.

Ordinary girls were able to marry into the aristocracy. The Duchess of Portland, for instance, was the daughter of a humble army captain, John Scott, who won a £500,000 fortune playing cards.

French Aristocrats and Their Grisly Fate

There was, of course, an enormous difference between the lives of rich and noble families and those of the ordinary people of England. But these ordinary folk never regarded aristocrats with the same venemous hatred that existed among the French. For English aristocrats were not total parasites like too many of their French counterparts.

The French tended to spend their time in idle pleasure at the court of the French king, or were concerned only with increasing their own power and wealth. When they were slaughtered on the guillotine during the Revolution that erupted in France in 1789, the common people were taking a long-awaited revenge. The English aristocracy was never threatened with a fate as terrible as that.

Sources

Pearce, Edward, The Great Man: Sir Robert Walpole: Scoundrel, Genius and Britain's First Prime Minister (London, UK Random House, 2007) London UK. Random House

ISBN-10: 0224071815/ ISBN-13: 978-0224071819

Mandler, Peter, The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home (New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 2009) ISBN-10: 0300078692/ ISBN-13: 978-0300078695

Website: A Biography of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown

The copyright of the article The English Aristocracy in the 18th Century in UK/Irish History is owned by Brenda Ralph Lewis. Permission to republish The English Aristocracy in the 18th Century in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough