The English class system and the Marlows in't

[tabouli.livejournal.com]

Being one of them iggerant colonial types, I don't really understand the English class system. I have seen the Marlow family described as both 'upper middle class' and 'landed gentry'. Some questions:

1. What is the difference between 'upper middle class' and 'landed gentry' in terms of typical profile, assets/income, attitudes and behaviour?

2. Seeing Trennels is a large farm entailed to the Marlow line, the family is presumably 'landed', but does this necessarily make them 'gentry'?

3. Whereabouts do senior naval officers stand in the grand scheme of social status and income?

Tell all, ye wise and knowledgeable...

Comments

Re: Entailment

[liadnan]

Tail male is strictly a restricted entail, "to A and the heirs male of his body", which limits it to inheritance down the male line only. I still have doubts about the likelihood of anyone leaving Trennels in such a way. Possible of course, and I don't have access to stats on entails at present.

Re: Entailment

[owl]

Isn't there an 'in tail general' as well? And Trennels obviously did pass down in the male line, or else the husbands were forced to take 'Marlow' as their surnames. :D

Re: Entailment

[liadnan]

Yes: tail general, tail male, and, if only for the purposes of exam questions, tail female. There could also be a "special tail" "to A and the heirs of his body begotten on B".
All arises from the statute De Donis 1285 as amended up to and including the 1925 property legislation. Since 1996 it has been impossible to create them at all.

Re: Entailment

[liadnan]

Memo to self: check whether Duffy has anything to say about any of the wealthier farms in Morebath being entailed in The Voices of Morebath