But in the main the money came from agriculture. Later this was sometimes supplemented, particularly during the agricultural depression of the post-Napoleonic war era, by exploitation of other resources such as coal. The wealth came, almost entirely from agriculture on the massive lands owned by the lords in the houses. Some of the houses were enormous, but even minor country houses represented wealth and power in the countryside.
As this book by historian Pamela Horn shows the history of these houses is endlessly fascinating, not least because they represented extremes of wealth and class differentials in the countryside. From Brideshead Revisited to Downtown Abbey the potential for conflict and gossip both upstairs and downstairs attracts authors and TV executives.
The English country houses of the Victorian and Edwardian era are a source of endless fascination.
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