Social and Economic Change on Lancashire Landed Estates Daring the Nineteenth Century with Special Reference to the Clifton Estate 1832-1916. Submitted to the University of Lancaster for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. G. Rogers. B June. 1981. ProQuest Number: 11003645 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003645 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Acknowledgements I am indebted to numerous individuals for their help with this thesis. Dr. David Foster first kindled my interest in the subject of Lancashire landed society and, in many important respects, pioneered the way. Dr. Eric Evans, Dr. David Howell and Dr. John Marshall have all offered me invaluable advice at various stages. I owe particular thanks to the staff of Lancashire Records Office and especially to one of its former archivists, Mr. David Smith, who pointed me in the direction of many sources where no other guide existed. Mrs. Pat Barker kindly typed the script. I owe a special debt to my supervisor, Dr. John Walton, most of all for the high standards he impresses on others and to Mr. John Liddle with whom I have spent endless hours discussing aspects of this work. Finally I owe my greatest thanks to my parents and especially my wife without whose encouragement this thesis would never have been written. G. Rogers. June 1981. TABLE OF CONTENTS; PAGE No. Abstract. i CHAPTER I Land, Landowners and Landed Wealth. 1 CHAPTER II The Spending of Wealth. • 52 CHAPTER III The Landowner and Estate Management. 87 CHAPTER IV Landowners and Agricultural Improvement. 145 CHAPTER V Land in Crisis. 208 CHAPTER VI The Landowner as Urban Developer. ' 239 CHAPTER VII The Old Order in Retreat. 326 APPENDICES. 385 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 391 ABSTRACT One of the most fascinating aspects of 19th century social history is the adaptability and the capacity for survival shown by many of Britain*s landed families. Admittedly they were increasingly moving on to the defens­ ive. By the end of the century their collective social and political influence had undergone considerable erosion and their economic supremacy was under challenge. Indeed, by the end of the Great War, British society was fast moving into an age in which the landed aristocracy was no longer the dominant force it had once been. Nevertheless, the experience of Britain’s landed elite was not one of sudden decline and collapse; rather it took the form of a gradual eclipse. Indeed, if the overall position of landed society in 1914 was consider­ ably weaker than it had been a hundred years before, then it was still remarkably impressive for all that. Certainly the wealth of the aristocratic leadership was even more prodigious than ever. In this respect, industrialisation did not just create a new generation of Lancashire "worthies it also reinforced at least the financial standing of long- established families. In fact, by the end of the century, Lancashire’s leading magnates - Derby, Sefton, Devonshire, Wilton - were probably the wealthiest single group in the county. In much the same way the profits from business and urban property shored up the position of lesser landowners as well including, for instance, the Blundells, La thorns, Scarisbricks and Lilfords. However, the end of the 19th century also saw the contraction and, in some cases, the (ii) complete break-up of numerous Lancashire estates. In other words, landowners were travelling down two roads simultan­ eously during the course of the century — some to survival and others to oblivion. Within this broad context this study justifies itself in several important ways. So far, little detailed work has been done on Lancashire landowners of the 19th century. This is all the more surprising considering the scale of economic change that took place, in a county where so much of the land was concentrated into relatively few hands. Hopefully, this study will go some way towards fill­ ing that gap. More especially, what follows re-examines aspects of landed behaviour; how, in fact, landowners related to the changes that were taking place around them. In certain respects it ventures qualifications to established interpretation and, in doing so# makes extensive use of new evidence. For the most part the thesis concentrates on the Clifton estate based at Lytham on the south Fylde. There was nothing particularly exceptional about the estate. In many ways it was rather typical, but that is what makes it interesting. It was a large ancestral property running to about 16,000 acres, mainly agricultural in character, yet increasingly caught up in urban and commercial developments. As such, the estate provides a valuable insight into chang­ ing social and economic attitudes. The Clifton estate, however, is not considered in isolation. Where appropriate comparisons are drawn with the experience of other land­ owners within the region and nationwide. (iii) The Clifton estate was one of those estates which failed to survive the rigours of economic change intact. In their case, the size of their landholding and its potential, at least in terms of business diversification, did not grant them immunity against financial disaster. In short, this suggests that much more is involved in explain­ ing the predicament many.landowners found themselves in at the end of the 19th century, than just the scale of their property and business assets. This is the theme taken up by the first two chapters. Chapter I looks specifically at landed incomes, the contribution made by non-agricultural sources and, most importantly, the motives which shaped landowners1 attitudes towards income and investment. Incomes, of course, cannot be considered in isolation. Therefore Chapter II examines the spending habits of Lancashire landowners and the extent to which they were inclined towards debt-accumulating expenditure. It also suggests that the landowners* spending and their readiness to borrow money reflected their enduring confidence in the stability of their own social and financial position right up to the closing decades of the century. However, in a county and in an age of rapid economic change, landowners were clearly presented with widening opportunities to exploit the resources of their estates. This is the theme for Chapter III, which deals with estate management and the respective roles of landowner and agent in managing and directing business affairs. It again poses the question as to the extent to which landowners in general, identified with the complexities and purposes (iv) of 19th century business management. Chapter IV is concerned with agriculture and agricultural improvement and it brings together several themes which run through this study. Despite widening non- agri cultural investment most landowners were still financ­ ially dependent on their agricultural property; on a personal level, many identified most strongly with land and agricult­ ure; and they were sufficiently sure of themselves to embark on ambitious and expensive improvement schemes throughout the second and third quarters of the century. Chapter V therefore examines the impact of the "great agricultural depression" on landowners who had spent heavily on their estates, who were still largely dependent on income from agriculture and who were also faced with the problem of mounting debt in a period when their revenue from farm rents began to stagnate and, in some cases, even contract. In this respect, it is argued that the late 19th century depression had much more serious social and financial repercussions for Lancashire landowners them has previously been supposed. Chapter VI focuses more sharply on the Clifton estate for the purpose of showing how changing economic and financial circumstances in the closing decades of the century eventually brought about a fundamental shift in the way in which urban property on one estate was both regarded and managed. The closing chapter has a strong social theme to it. It first of all explains that the estate was (v) not o^st a financial unit but that it had an important social dimension to it as well. In other words, for much of the 19th century the landed elite, through their territorial dominance, exercised a powerful hold over social, political and administrative life outside the county*s industrial towns. Yet, by the end of the period, their collective power had been seriously undermined because of their weakened financial position, the fast diminishing relevance of their social role and the intervention of statutory authority. As such, Lancashire*s landed society survived into the new century but in a very much different guise. f The location of Lancashire Estates mentioned in this Study, Barrow » Clauj'hton iiyar.qcouflh Blackpool! Barton % Sali.irnbury St. Annei .Pieaton , ^£lton.r . _ lUtton >'ari n;;ton ~~.Cln.yton ; iircthg.rton. A a t l g Bufford » Charnock (Park Hall) S c n r i n b n c k Lathorn » Wrightinfit Crocby Ut.noton tho boundaries I* ihf: C3 if ton Estate CHAPTER I LAND, LANDOWNERS AND LANDED WEALTH In September 1842 James Fair, land agent to the Clifton estate, wrote a glowing letter to the family solicitors, Wilson and Rawstome. It expressed a buoyant mood of confidence. An extensive scheme of agricultural improvements was under way, rents were fully paid up, there was the prospect of further territorial expansion in the ' offing with the purchase of Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood’s neighbouring Great Marton estate, and a respectable surplus had been deposited with the bankers.