The Nottinghamshire landowners and their estates c.1660 - c.1840

Chapter 1: Sets out the present nature of the landownership debate and outlines the aspects still in contention which will be subject to reappraisal. Chapter 2: Discusses the problem of defining a historical region, and presents an assessment of what are thought to be the old historical regions of Nottinghamshire, followed by a brief description of the economy. Chapter 3: Introduces the social structure of the data set families which comprise the stable core of landowners with which the study is concerned. Chapter 4: Discusses the social and geographical distribution of property and some of the factors which contributed to the changes experienced in the local pattern of landownership. Chapter 5: Outlines the contentious nature of the strict settlement debate, and assesses how the demographic implications affected the chequered patterns of inheritance, the form and timing of the settlement device, and the cumulative burden of indebtedness. Chapter 6: Factors influencing the level of activity on the local land market are presented, and compared with the findings of other regional studies. Chapters 7,8, and 9: Present a series of three family histories bringing together the principal lines of argument, and setting them in the wider context of estate economics. These chapters emphasise the contrasting responses of individuals to crises and challenges in order to maintain continuity of both family and estates. Chapter 10: Points the way towards a new model which could form the basis for future interregional comparisons, as it is essentially from an understanding of the regional variations that an appreciation of the changing patterns of landownership, will emerge