What was the social and cultural role of a "country squire" in Victorian/Edwardian England?
Upvote:0
An esquire had a coat of arms, descending from a knight, the eldest heir eligible to be knighted if he had the money to go along with the blood line. The heir to the hall or manor would be a squire. Some manors came with rights, others didn't. 2 relatives of mine sued each other for the right to hire a vicar like in Jane Austen. The estate was over 2,000 acres and had a farm, village, hamlet, hall and a 2nd manor. A will said tenants owed service with their carts and to do the heir's "other pleasures".
Upvote:2
Is this answered by Wikipedia entries for squire:
later a leader in an English village or Lord of the Manor might be called a squire, and later key public figures such as justice of the peace or Member of Parliament.
and lord of the manor:
Lord Denning, in Corpus Christi College Oxford v Gloucestershire County Council [1983] QB 360, described the manor thus:
“In mediæval times the manor was the nucleus of English rural life. It was an administrative unit of an extensive area of land. The whole of it was owned originally by the lord of the manor. He lived in the big house called the manor house. Attached to it were many acres of grassland and woodlands called the park. These were the “demesne lands” which were for the personal use of the lord of the manor. Dotted all round were the enclosed homes and land occupied by the “tenants of the manor”.
By 1926 I imagine the title-holder would have few or no special powers, but people would have been familiar with the historical feudal origins.
Upvote:7
In the 18th and 19th-centuries, a "squire" could also be a designated landowner (possibly of renown) who served as a private legal entity in the local court system. He was an "arm" of the Judge or Magistrate himself. Source: http://www.bunker8.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/history/36804.htm - “Law, Ideology & the Gallows in 18th & 19th Century England." I have a G.G. Grandfather who was always called "Squire" Hugh (1801-1870) - who migrated here to Appalachia - who served on the county court as it was just getting established. Some "squires" meted out punishment in trials, some were paid fees. They were called "harlan" in earlier centuries (see Crooked Talk: 500 Years of the Language of Crime by Jonathon Greeen - excerpts are available at books.google).
Upvote:9
The "country squire" referred to by Christie is essentially a parody of a parody. Yes, an English country squire would be a (possibly substantial) landowner, a Justice of the Peace - ie a local magistrate - but Christie is alluding to the country squire in contrast to more sophisticated London socialites. In this manifestation, he would be a bluff, red-faced countryman, more at home in breeches and boots than evening dress, and happier discussing his hunters and foxhounds with his groom and kennel man than drinking tea in his wife's drawing room. He would be utterly lost in London high society, despite his wealth.
(I have a vague recollection of a relevant poem, I'll see if I can track it down.)
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