Merrington : land, landlord and tenants 1541-1840 : a study in the estate of the Dean and Chapter of Durham
This thesis considers the performance of the Dean and Chapter of Durham as estate managers from 1541-1840, as perceived from the detailed study of one parish. Durham was created as a New Foundation Cathedral in 1541 by Henry VIII and endowed with the lands of the Priory, which had been dissolved in 1539. Durham Chapter administered the same lands until 1840 when central government again intervened with cathedral estates. Cathedral chapters have been described as 'inactive rentier' landlords. Durham Chapterâs management is compared with that of other landlords to see if this description was justified. The Chapter's response to problems and challenges, such as tenant right and inflation in the sixteenth century, civil war and abolition in the seventeenth century and rapidly changing agricultural practices in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is considered. The thesis concludes that by 1626 Durham Chapter had created an effective system of estate management, known as beneficial leasehold, which offered tenants security of tenure and fixed rents, while compensating the Chapter for inflation by regular renewal fines, related to the true value of the land. The Chapter were not inactive rentiers in 1640:
Morrin, Elizabeth Jean
History
Merrington : land, landlord and tenants 1541-1840 : a study in the estate of the Dean and Chapter of Durham. This thesis considers the performance of the Dean and Chapter of Durham as estate managers from 1541-1840, as perceived from the detailed study of one parish. Durham was created as a New Foundation Cathedral in 1541 by Henry VIII and endowed with the lands of the Priory, which had been dissolved in 1539. Durham Chapter administered the same lands until 1840 when central government again intervened with cathedral estates. Cathedral chapters have been described as 'inactive rentier' landlords. Durham Chapterâs management is compared with that of other landlords to see if this description was justified. The Chapter's response to problems and challenges, such as tenant right and inflation in the sixteenth century, civil war and abolition in the seventeenth century and rapidly changing agricultural practices in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is considered. The thesis concludes that by 1626 Durham Chapter had created an effective system of estate management, known as beneficial leasehold, which offered tenants security of tenure and fixed rents, while compensating the Chapter for inflation by regular renewal fines, related to the true value of the land. The Chapter were not inactive rentiers in 1640:
land landlord tenant study estate dean durham consider performance dean durham estate manager perceive detailed_study parish durham create new foundation cathedral henry_viii endow land priory dissolve durham administer land central_government intervene cathedral estate cathedral describe inactive landlord durham management compare landlord see description justify response_problem challenge tenant right inflation civil_war abolition rapidly_change agricultural_practice consider concludes durham create effective system estate_management know beneficial leasehold offer tenant security tenure fix rent compensate inflation regular renewal fine relate true value land inactive