Chapter 27: Chapter 27 The Decline of the Nobility
The master bedroom has undergone tremendous changes compared to before. Whether it is the bedding or many of the furniture and decorations, they have all been rearranged according to Barron's previous room.
To be honest, even so, it is not particularly in line with Barron's preferences at the moment, but thinking that the entire manor will be thoroughly renovated in the future, there is no need to make adjustments now.
The room next to this bedroom was almost filled with many things, leaving only a circle of passage.
According to the butler Sean, it will be up to him to decide whether these things should be kept.
Among these things, the most numerous was a whole row of boxes, all of which were filled with clothing. Many of them looked very new and were obviously well preserved.
In the aristocratic life of the old times, many ladies would change their clothes three times a day. You can imagine how much space was needed to store their clothes.
Therefore, including the clothes left by the old lady and many female members of the family, as well as Barron's father and brother, there are so many clothes that even if they are placed in boxes, it would be extremely spectacular to display them here.
In fact, many times in this manor, Barron always had a feeling that time passed very slowly here.
The outside world is changing with each passing day and developing rapidly; but in this manor, even though we have entered the new century, there is still a strong shadow of the Victorian era.
What suddenly came to Barron's mind was what the American mother-in-law said in the TV series "Downton Abbey" in his previous life:
"You British aristocrats are not only flashy but also extremely boring. The reason why I came here from afar is that I want to participate in this kind of event for the last time before I can still walk. I feel that you are getting worse every year."
And what she said to the old lady:
"My world is a future that is about to come, while your world is a history that is gradually fading away."
Barron's soul had been living in China in his previous life, where the monarchy had long been overthrown and the aristocracy no longer existed. When he watched this drama at that time, he did not feel deeply.
It was not until I arrived here, in the manor that represents the family's former glory, and experienced the life of the nobility as the Duke of Devonshire, as well as the lives of many nobles I saw and heard at that time, that I had a personal feeling.
Yes, the British aristocracy, and even the royal family, are becoming increasingly decadent.
This decline is particularly evident in the areas of economy and power.
Traditionally, land was an important source of income for the British nobility. It can be said that the nobility once owned a large share of the land in the UK! At
the end of the 18th century, 400 noble families owned 20% of the country's real estate.
By the end of the 19th century, this share reached 24%!
It was precisely because the nobles owned so much land that they could live a luxurious life with a horde of servants simply by relying on land rent without engaging in production.
Just like in "Downton Abbey", the old lady once asked her cousin directly:
"What is the weekend?"
Well, for the nobles at that time, every day was a weekend, there was no concept of working days, ladies could change three sets of clothes a day and have parties from time to time.
From the perspective of British history, the turning point of the aristocracy's economic power from prosperity to decline occurred in 1894.
This year, the Liberal Party cabinet announced that an 8% inheritance tax would be imposed on those with assets of more than 1 million pounds.
This was the first time that inheritance tax was imposed on the nobility in Britain, but it was just the beginning.
Between 1909 and 1914, the tax rate was raised to 15%, and has been increasing year by year since then.
By 1939 it had reached 60%!
After World War II, the Labour government increased the inheritance tax rate for those with assets over 1 million pounds to 80%!
The nobles were not happy with this and shouted in the House of Lords: "This is simply robbery at knifepoint!"
The result is of no avail, taxes are still collected, and those in arrears must pay an additional 8% interest.
The Conservative government that came to power later showed no mercy and continued to implement the policy of "robbing the rich to help the poor."
The direct consequence of high inheritance taxes is that when it comes to inheritance, nobles have to sell their manors, homes and artworks to make up for the financial deficit.
After several inheritances, inheritance tax will be paid again and again, and even the most prosperous family business will be severely damaged.
By 1976, the nobility's estates in England and Wales had fallen by 76% and in Scotland by 69%.
As time went on, the British aristocracy owned fewer and fewer properties, and their luxurious lifestyle became unsustainable.
There were even many British aristocrats who, due to their livelihood, had to lower their status and open their estates and private territories to the public for visits in order to make a little money.
Just like the Duke of Devonshire's family, they were once severely damaged because of this.
His grandfather faced an inheritance tax of up to 80% at the time. Faced with this policy, many aristocrats began to pass on family assets in the form of trust funds, which could exempt them from most inheritance taxes.
Barron's grandfather, the then Duke of Devonshire, inherited the family fortune just five years after his father established the family trust.
Because the family trust fund was established less than five years ago, it must pay inheritance tax at a rate of 80%, resulting in the Duke of Devonshire at the time having to pay 7 million pounds in inheritance tax...
In order to protect the family business, he had to sell part of the land, open the manor for public visits and rentals, and also opened hotels, held horse racing meetings, etc. It took him 24 years to earn the 7 million pounds plus late fees, so that the family property could be returned to the family and he became a model among the aristocrats at that time.
But faced with such a high inheritance tax, there are not many aristocratic families like the Devonshire family who can work diligently to preserve their family business, otherwise they would not have become role models.
Other nobles were either lucky enough to complete the trust fund of their family assets during that period, or had no choice but to sell their property, and many even fell into decline.
Even the highest-ranking duke family among the remaining non-royal nobles was not spared!
Generally speaking, the ceremonial order of British dukes is usually arranged according to the year in which the title was conferred - the earlier the title was conferred, the higher the ranking.
For example, among the 24 non-royal dukes still in existence, the family of the Duke of Manchester, ranked 17th, had its fortune squandered by successive generations. Later, the current duke moved to the United States, made a living by fraud, and was arrested many times.
Interestingly, in the beginning, he himself was also defrauded by others.
Their family is a typical declining aristocracy.
Coincidentally, the family of the Duke of St. Albans, who ranked 6th, was also ruined by taxation.
They were not like the Duke of Devonshire, who was able to spend 24 years to earn 80% of the ancestral fortune and preserve the family business.
Even the Duke's family is like this, let alone other nobles...
If we look at the industries run by those aristocratic families who still have good economic conditions, the largest number of industries are still land-related industries such as real estate, agriculture and tourism.
For example, the Duke of Westminster, which is considered to be the richest among the 24 duke families, mainly deals in real estate. The family currently has a wealth of billions of pounds, ranking among the top 15 richest people in Britain...
The reason why their family is so rich is not only because they injected family assets into trust funds early on to avoid high inheritance taxes, but also because they own a large amount of land in London - more than a quarter of the land in London belongs to the Duke of Westminster's family.
Relying on these lands and real estate, they gained a lot of wealth, and were able to use it to acquire the land of other impoverished aristocratic families, and purchased many properties including the United States, Australia and Canada.
As for the Duke of Devonshire's family at this time, it was very typical. The industries held by their family trust fund included Chatsworth House, which was located in Scotland, Ireland and three castle estates in Scotland. The rest of the industries involved agriculture, tourism, hotels and horse racing. It can be said that except for agriculture, those industries were all expanded by Barron's grandfather in order to increase income and earn the 7 million pounds in inheritance tax.
In addition to the worse-than-before economic situation, the weakening of political power is also a major manifestation of the decline of the British aristocracy.
The British Parliament is divided into two houses, the House of Lords and the House of Lords. The House of Lords is composed of aristocratic members, so it is also called the House of Lords.
At first, the House of Lords had the veto power over bills passed by the House of Commons, and the two houses often confronted each other.
At that time, the House of Lords was still quite powerful.
After the passing of the Parliament Act 1911, the relationship between the two houses changed.
According to the Parliament Act of 1911, any financial bill passed by the House of Commons will become law as long as it is signed by the King one month after being sent to the House of Lords for deliberation, regardless of whether it is approved by the House of Lords.
All other social bills, if passed by the House of Commons three times in a row within two years, can be submitted directly to the King for approval and become law, even if they are rejected by the House of Lords three times.
In 1949, the Labour government enacted a new Parliament Act, reducing the period for the House of Lords to "suspend the veto" from two years to one year.
After these reforms, the House of Lords has basically become an institution without real power, and the British aristocracy can no longer exercise political power through the legislative process.
Although the official website of the British House of Lords clearly states that "members of the nobility play an important role in supervising government decisions," since the House of Lords has no real power, it makes no difference whether they attend or not. More than 60% of the nobility rarely attend meetings, and only one-sixth of the nobility attend half of the meetings each year.
Among the regular attendees there are some members of the nobility who do not attend for the purpose of "monitoring government decisions" but simply to collect a few dozen pounds in food and transportation subsidies.
In 1999, the current Prime Minister Brown took drastic measures and directly dismissed more than 600 members of the House of Lords, leaving only 92 members, which can be said to have directly exposed the nature of the House of Lords as a institution in name only.
What is even more ironic is that there was not much resistance to Brown's reform of streamlining the House of Lords, and even many nobles supported this decision...
In fact, the more powerful nobles simply look down on the House of Lords as a "retirement home", and for some members, the biggest impact of their staff cuts is just the loss of a few dozen pounds of subsidy for occasional attendance at meetings.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone