Social Changes Flashcards
What did the 1911 Parliament act do?
Reduce the power of the Lords - no longer allowed to block legislation
What percentage of MP landowners were there by 1945?
Fall from 40% to 5%
When did tax rise for the upper class?
1925
What did taxes rise from and to?
57% from 2%
What did the gentry begin to do?
Selling off land - only the largest land owners could afford to keep land
How much were estates worth £2 million taxed?
40%
What events became more accessible to the lower classes?
Henley Regatta and Ascot
When were death duties increased?
1929, 1946 and 1949
When and why was the Debutantes Ball cancelled?
1958 - Margaret didn’t like that middle class women were being presented.
How much land did 0.6% of the population own?
98.5%
How many members of the gentry were landless in 1937?
1/3 of the 4,000 gentry
How many families owned over 10,000 acres in 1910?
124
How many had over 1,000 acres in 1979?
65%
How much land was owned by just 1,200 landowners in 1979?
1/4 of all farmland - six million acres
What happened to the definition of upper class?
Changed to be less about ancestry and more on wealth
What meant that not all lords were hereditary?
1958 Life Peers Act
How many of the Lord Lieutenants were aristocrats by 1970?
15/46
How many Etonians were in MacMillans government 1957-63?
40
What undermined deference?
Rise of satire and greater social mobility after WWII
What made social mobility possible?
Rise in the number of middle-class jobs and educational opportunities - Education Act 1944
Who bought the country houses which became too expensive?
National Trust from 1918
What scheme allowed families to live in their statetly homes for two generations?
1937 Country Houses Scheme - required them to be transferred to the NT and open for 60 days a year
What did the 1937 Country Houses Scheme allow the owners to avoid?
Death Duties
What TV shows helped preserve the landed elite?
Brideshead Revisited 1981 and Upstairs Downstairs 1971