Add to ORKGThe vicar and rector often formed part of the elite in English rural communities, elevated in social and moral terms, but also economically and materially. They occupied what was frequently the largest house in the village and sometimes enjoyed close links with the local gentry – as even a cursory reading of the novels of Austen and Elliot makes clear. Indeed, lucrative livings formed one possible option for the younger sons of gentry families. Beyond literary representations, however, we know relatively little about the material lives of these men: the ways in which their houses were furnished or decorated. How deeply did gentility penetrate their domestic arrangements, equipping them to participate in the social rituals and cultural lives...