A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey: Seasonal Celebrations, Traditions, and Recipes by Jessica Fellowes Page A
Authors: Jessica Fellowes
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dramatic reduction in government subsidies and the growth of motorcar ownership.
The demise of the power of the landed gentry meant that politicians lost interest in agriculture, particularly if it meant maintaining the old patrician order. In 1920, Lloyd George introduced a new zero per cent capital gains tax on land sales, which encouraged owners to reduce their estates by converting a highly taxable income into a tax-free sale. This was surely a deliberate move by the prime minister to break up the estates. The point is that all these great estates had been borne out of a pre-taxation era: if you had land, you could live off it by renting it out or farming it, or both, with no taxes to pay. The introduction of taxation was not just a heavy burden – it was their ultimate destruction. By 1922, a quarter of all agricultural land had been sold. Nor was it all kept as farmland – in 1918 there were twelve million acres under cultivation; by 1926, this had fallen to nine million.
ROBERT:
‘You do realise we can sell land as a capital gain and pay no tax on it at all?’
MARY:
‘And end up with an estate that can’t support the house.’
So great estates were broken up, country houses were sold off and the newly formed (1908) National Union of Farmers – which forbade landowners from joining – was the strongest body in agriculture, with ten thousand members (only a paltry number of farmers sat in Parliament). For many, it felt as if the decline of the aristocracy was in freefall.
‘Since I own the other half of everything, isn’t it more appropriate for me to manage the boy’s fortunes?’
ROBERT
Those landowners and new owner-occupiers who held on had to diversify or die. This is what we see happening in
Downton Abbey
in series four, with the Granthams’ additional problem of a large death duties bill following the loss of Matthew. This could not be easily settled, thanks to the law of entail. This was the system devised to prevent future generations from squandering their inheritance: a grandfather would legally settle the family estates on to his grandson so that the son would only ever have interest in them during his lifetime, with access to income but not capital.
The law of entail was effectively abolished in 1925 with the Settled Land Act, but many families continued to operate their inheritance in this way, understanding as they did that it had protected aristocratic estates for centuries. But in 1924, our Downton year for the opening of the fifth series, this system was still legally intact.
At the time of his death, Matthew owned half of the Downton estate (having bought it out using his inheritance from Swire), while Robert owns the other half. When Matthew apparently died with no will, it was believed that his assets would transfer almost entirely to George, bypassing Mary (her small share is only a life interest). Added to this, Robert is keen to be the sole person in charge of the entire estate again – in other words, controlling his and Matthew’s halves as he once did before he had to sell out.
‘My destiny is to save Downton for George.’
MARY
Fortunately, the discovery of the letter – tucked into a book in his office – in which Matthew named Mary as his sole heir ensures that she now owns his half of the estate; it is this she seeks to protect on behalf of their son. Still, it doesn’t dodge the question of the high death duties (taxes levied on inherited property) that need to be paid and now she and Robert have to find a way to pay them without breaking up the estate if George is to inherit Downton Abbey intact. (Death duties will have to be paid again when Robert dies, so they need to make sure there is money to spare.) Furthermore, Robert is not keen to relinquish control to his daughter.
ROBERT:
‘Crop rotation? Livestock versus cereals? Indeed, the whole matter of the tax. There are lots of things I’d like your opinion on.’
MARY:
‘I assume you’re trying to
The demise of the power of the landed gentry meant that politicians lost interest in agriculture, particularly if it meant maintaining the old patrician order. In 1920, Lloyd George introduced a new zero per cent capital gains tax on land sales, which encouraged owners to reduce their estates by converting a highly taxable income into a tax-free sale. This was surely a deliberate move by the prime minister to break up the estates. The point is that all these great estates had been borne out of a pre-taxation era: if you had land, you could live off it by renting it out or farming it, or both, with no taxes to pay. The introduction of taxation was not just a heavy burden – it was their ultimate destruction. By 1922, a quarter of all agricultural land had been sold. Nor was it all kept as farmland – in 1918 there were twelve million acres under cultivation; by 1926, this had fallen to nine million.
ROBERT:
‘You do realise we can sell land as a capital gain and pay no tax on it at all?’
MARY:
‘And end up with an estate that can’t support the house.’
So great estates were broken up, country houses were sold off and the newly formed (1908) National Union of Farmers – which forbade landowners from joining – was the strongest body in agriculture, with ten thousand members (only a paltry number of farmers sat in Parliament). For many, it felt as if the decline of the aristocracy was in freefall.
‘Since I own the other half of everything, isn’t it more appropriate for me to manage the boy’s fortunes?’
ROBERT
Those landowners and new owner-occupiers who held on had to diversify or die. This is what we see happening in
Downton Abbey
in series four, with the Granthams’ additional problem of a large death duties bill following the loss of Matthew. This could not be easily settled, thanks to the law of entail. This was the system devised to prevent future generations from squandering their inheritance: a grandfather would legally settle the family estates on to his grandson so that the son would only ever have interest in them during his lifetime, with access to income but not capital.
The law of entail was effectively abolished in 1925 with the Settled Land Act, but many families continued to operate their inheritance in this way, understanding as they did that it had protected aristocratic estates for centuries. But in 1924, our Downton year for the opening of the fifth series, this system was still legally intact.
At the time of his death, Matthew owned half of the Downton estate (having bought it out using his inheritance from Swire), while Robert owns the other half. When Matthew apparently died with no will, it was believed that his assets would transfer almost entirely to George, bypassing Mary (her small share is only a life interest). Added to this, Robert is keen to be the sole person in charge of the entire estate again – in other words, controlling his and Matthew’s halves as he once did before he had to sell out.
‘My destiny is to save Downton for George.’
MARY
Fortunately, the discovery of the letter – tucked into a book in his office – in which Matthew named Mary as his sole heir ensures that she now owns his half of the estate; it is this she seeks to protect on behalf of their son. Still, it doesn’t dodge the question of the high death duties (taxes levied on inherited property) that need to be paid and now she and Robert have to find a way to pay them without breaking up the estate if George is to inherit Downton Abbey intact. (Death duties will have to be paid again when Robert dies, so they need to make sure there is money to spare.) Furthermore, Robert is not keen to relinquish control to his daughter.
ROBERT:
‘Crop rotation? Livestock versus cereals? Indeed, the whole matter of the tax. There are lots of things I’d like your opinion on.’
MARY:
‘I assume you’re trying to
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