Landowners below the peerage — knights, esquires and gentlemen — who held estates and dominated county society.

What is the storm over the gentry?

The historical debate, opened by R. H. Tawney, over whether the gentry rose at the expense of the aristocracy in this period and what that meant for the Civil War.

What did a Justice of the Peace do?

Kept order, tried lesser offences at quarter sessions, and administered the poor law, wage regulation and much other statute in the county.

Why did the Crown depend on the gentry?

There was no paid local bureaucracy, so unpaid gentlemen executed royal policy in the localities in return for status and influence.

WJEC A-Level History 601-5817-7

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Social Change and Reform in Wales and England c.1890-1990Breadth study

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Changing Leadership and Society in Russia c.1881-1989Breadth study

Topic overview Alexander III and political reaction Opposition to Tsarism before 1914 The 1905 Revolution and the Duma 1917: from February to October Consolidating the Bolshevik revolution to 1924 Stalin's rise and the nature of Soviet government The planned economy: collectivisation and the Five Year Plans Russia and its people before 1914 Khrushchev, de-Stalinisation and reform Brezhnev, Andropov and stagnation Gorbachev, glasnost and perestroika Change and continuity in Russia 1881 to 1989

Government, Rebellion and Society in Wales and England c.1485-1603

The rise of the gentry and social change

3 things to know
AS Unit 1

Overview

Storm over the gentry, statute of Artificers and change in domestic housing in this period.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Who were the gentry?

Key term

Give two reasons the gentry grew in wealth and numbers under the Tudors.

Key term

Give two offices through which the gentry governed the counties.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Who were the gentry?
Model answer
Landowners below the peerage — knights, esquires and gentlemen — who held estates and dominated county society.
2
Give two reasons the gentry grew in wealth and numbers under the Tudors.
Model answer
The purchase of former monastic land, and the profits of rising agricultural prices for those who owned rather than rented.
3
What is the storm over the gentry?
Model answer
The historical debate, opened by R. H. Tawney, over whether the gentry rose at the expense of the aristocracy in this period and what that meant for the Civil War.
4
Give two offices through which the gentry governed the counties.
Model answer
Justice of the Peace and Sheriff, with the Lord Lieutenancy above them from the mid-century.
5
What did a Justice of the Peace do?
Model answer
Kept order, tried lesser offences at quarter sessions, and administered the poor law, wage regulation and much other statute in the county.
6
Why did the Crown depend on the gentry?
Model answer
There was no paid local bureaucracy, so unpaid gentlemen executed royal policy in the localities in return for status and influence.

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Government, Rebellion and Society in Wales and England c.1485-1603

Government, Revolution and Society in Wales and England c.1603-1715

Politics, Protest and Reform in Wales and England c.1780-1880

Politics, People and Progress: Wales and England c.1880-1980

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