‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’ isn’t just an idiom, it’s a way of life. The traditional English home is a tapestry of particular quirks that not only make for an eye-pleasing design but has become a symbol of one’s identity, and in a country where social class is so innately ingrained in the nation’s lifeblood, one’s home is an inextricable reflection of one’s social status. Over the years, the English home has been studied and preserved in various forms including museums and numerous articles and essays dissecting the homes of various English figures and determining their social class based solely on the contents of their home. Starting at the top of the social hierarchy, this post is a guide to upper-class houses in England and how they reflect the British class system:
Nowhere in the world has a social class system so complex and nuanced as in Great Britain, specifically in England. Just mentioning the dirty words ‘class system’ results in a torrent of hysteria in many, the obliviously privileged arguing it doesn’t exist, the guilt-ridden belittlement from those who refuse to recognise its realities, and those who’d simply wish to not think about it, because the truth is, no matter how evolved we think we are, or how far we’ve come from doth’ing our caps, the class system is so engrained into our DNA that it has transformed, mutated and adapted to a wholly new class system based not simply on finances, as it does in most cultures, but to the clothes we wear, the way we speak, the newspapers we read (or don’t), our postcodes, our education, our parents, and above all, our homes.
In most countries, there are three social classes; upper, middle and lower, and classifications are generally centred upon wealth or income. In present-day England, however, finance is hardly a consideration at all. Education, family background and cultural pursuits all play a part, but the biggest signifier of all is an Englishman’s home. In most countries, the size of a person’s home is quantifiably related to their finances and therefore social standing, in England class is a mysterious and fickle culture of its own whereby size and price is nowhere near as important as, say, the age of the property and brand of wallpaper. Because of these strange idiosyncrasies, the English home is a subject of fascination beyond the general aesthetic value and often unlocks the mysteries of the English class system. Here is a look at some of the elements that make up a traditional upper-class English home:
Estates
In most countries big is best is the aphorism that best defines house-hunting, in England the older, the better is a more appropriate guide. Think pre-war, as in the English Civil War circa 1640, particularly if it’s packed with character features like medieval halls, priest-holds, wattle and daub, mullioned windows and such. The reason historic properties are favoured by the upper echelons isn’t just for aesthetic purposes (which are self-evident), but because they imply a long, traceable ancestry, with houses usually passed from generation to generation. As the upper class is exclusively made up of the nobility (those with inherited titles), a historic home suggests their family is, perhaps, one of the prestigious families who were granted land and/or manors by William the Conquerer. Usually, as a title is inherited so too is the family seat, such as Dunrobin Castle in the Highlands which has been home to the Dukes of Beaufort since the 13th century. Therefore, the older the better.
Historically, landowning has been the preserve of the upper class. Agriculture was the main form of industry in medieval times and therefore, the bigger the acreage the wealthier the nobleman. Little villages were often built upon these lands to support the farmers, the manor’s household staff and other related professions, with the rents on the cottages paid to the landowner. Because of this, great swathes of the English countryside were inherited by proceeding generations, as well as the small villages of quaint chocolate-box cottages that usually came along with them. This is an area in which bigger actually is better, but there’s a catch. These are not acres of land centred upon heated swimming pools, playgrounds and other conspicuous leisure activities, these are fields and paddocks that are overwhelmingly geared towards industry, whether growing crops, housing livestock or breeding racehorses, they suggest hard work and, preferably, a connection to nature. A good example of this kind of inherited land ownership is the Duchy of Cornwall, which has been inherited by the heir to the throne since 1337.
Interiors
‘New’ is an alien word to the Upper Classes in England. The interiors of a historic country pile are no place for newly-bought department store furnishings or identikit minimalism. As a member of the upper class, one will have inherited countless antiques, artefacts and storied collections, from the 15th-century tapestries that hang in the entrance hall to the million-pound authentic Chippendale armchairs that Sotheby’s have been sniffing around.
But don’t get confused by room after room of handcrafted items that have inflated in value over the centuries, the homes of the English upper classes are purposefully decorated in such a way as to, not scream wealth, but to almost appear disdainful of it. Think original solid oak flooring that has been left to scuff and scratch over hundreds of years, threadbare Persian rugs that have never been replaced and purposefully laid in the most public of rooms, sagging sofas and faded throws, bric-a-brac cluttering side tables, all left out in the open making a very clear statement: We don’t care to impress you. Because why would they? ‘He who cares the least wins’ and, historically, the Upper Class have had the least to prove because, whether through leading successful wars, developing massive fortunes or strategically cultivated relationships, they are at the top of the social hierarchy.
Townhouses
As the industrial revolution changed the economic landscape of Britain, upper-class families began buying second homes in centres of industry where sons and brothers of title-holders earned money as mill owners, for example. These townhouses were usually multi-storey properties in smart areas of the city, such as the Regency-style terraces of Kensington and Mayfair. Like the historic country estates, many titled families have also inherited these elegant townhouses, practising the style of residing in the urban homes during the working week and decamping to their country estates during weekends or holidays. Prominent families may also have a holiday home in the Scottish highlands, usually retreated to during England’s annual heatwave and for seasonal hunts after the Glorious Twelfth. These homes tend to have a more relaxed decor with a stylistic taste more prominent in upper-middle-class homes.
- Resources:
- ‘Do you have an upper class home?‘ – Dailymail.com
- ‘Great houses, modern aristocrat‘ – Architecturaldigest.com
- ‘The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire‘ – Sothebys.com
- ‘Cosy and comfy, one’s sitting room: The Queen’s private retreat‘ – Dailymail.com
View more upper class houses in Britain by browsing previous posts such as inside The Queen’s childhood home, The Queen’s private apartment at Windsor Castle or Prince Charles’ Clarence House interiors, alternatively take a look at estates such as Dunrobin Castle or the carefully maintained landscapes at Tintinhull Manor.
feature image: © copyright Ray Bird, Creative Commons by-sa 2.0