gentry & prosperity

• who were the gentry?


  Wealthy landowners in medieval and early modern England. They didn't belong to the titled nobility, their status and power was purely based on wealth. They grew massively in the ELizabethan era for many reasons.
• The tudors suspicion of the 'old' nobility (Reasons for rise of the gentry)


  Tudors had decreased size of nobility which left a gap for the gentry to fill and they became very politically influential and powerful
• Dissolution of the monastries by Henry VII (Reasons for rise of the gentry)


  The monastries used to own 1/4 of the land in England, so more land was available than ever before
• (Reasons for rise of the gentry)

  Increasing wealth


  Growth in trade and exploration, population growth, rising prices and enclosure helped gentry families make their fortune. They could use this to educate themselves, build estates ect...
• Fashion


  Wealth of gentry helped drive the development of new fashions. The wealthy used their money to buy expensive clothing and fashion was an important status symbol.
• Female fashions:

  • Ruff
  • Heavy white makeup
  • dyed and false hair
  • Blackened teeth
• Male fashions:

  • Ruff
  • Sword
  • Beard
  • Cloak
  • Leather shoes
• architecture


  • building boom and development of new ideas in architecture during Elizabeth's reign lead to a period know as the 'Great Rebuilding'.
  • Many new extravagant country houses were built that reflect the wealth and stability of the era
  • New houses were often built to host/impress Elizabeth on her progresses
• Elizabethan buildings


  • Buildings varied from area to area, depending on materials available locally
  • Very different compared to previous Gothic styles and were heavily influenced by the Italian renaissance architecture
  • Focused on symetry and size
  • Had intricate chimneys and expensive leaded glass in large mullioned windows
• Robert Symthson


  Was responsible for designing and building some of the most famous houses e.g Longleat House in Wiltshire