Category Archives: estates

The Duke Is Dead, Long Live the Duke . . . Now What?

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

During the Georgian era, a will could be declared void it the person was insane or drunk at the time of its creation or be voided if it was proven to have been written for a convicted felon, a prisoner, or an outlaw/thief. So it was also for those who committed suicide or had been excommunicated from the church or if the person was a slave. A married woman required the consent of her husband to have a will drawn up. Worst so, the husband had the right to withdraw his permission up until the will was probated. Because the legal age to marry during the time was 14 for boys and 12 for girls, such was the same ages for wills. Continue reading →

Posted in Act of Parliament, aristocracy, British history, estates, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Inheritance, laws of the land, legacy, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, real life tales, Regency era, titles of aristocracy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Could Longbourn Be Lost to Mortgage Debt? + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Only registered debts like mortgages and those on which the stamps and fees had been paid were legally enforceable. The law of the time said an heir was only liable for debts to the sum of the assets he inherited. Most mortgages could be continued, just by paying the interest. Continue reading →

Posted in aristocracy, book excerpts, book release, British history, eBooks, estates, finance, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, laws of the land, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, publishing, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Lease and Release as a Plot Point in “Where There’s a FitzWILLiam Darcy, There’s a Way”

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

For Lease and Release to work, two agreements were required. First, a bargain (sale) contract was executed by the seller to convey a lease on the land… (Unlike an outright sale, short leases did not require enrollment in a public registry.) The seller then separately executed a release to grant to the buyer (who was now his tenant) the seller’s remaining interest. [This transfers] title to the buyer, since he now owned both the current and future interests in the land. [“A Bit of Deed History,” Bob’s Genealogy Filing Cabinet]  Continue reading →

Posted in book excerpts, book release, British history, estates, family, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Inheritance, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Entails and Common Recovery

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

As always happens, I received a number of questions on Wednesday’s post on A Debt-Ridden Inheritance about the legality of all this. Back in feudal times, land was given from lord to tenant in exchange for services. This “service” could … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, estates, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, medieval, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, real life tales, Regency era, research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Entails and Common Recovery

Auctioning Off Household Goods in the Regency Era, Part 3

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

If you have not read the other two posts on this subject, look to Monday and Friday of the previous week for other posts regarding this thriving business in the Georgian era, of which the Regency can be found. As … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, commerce, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Auctioning Off Household Goods in the Regency Era, Part 3

Auctioning Off Household Goods During the Regency Era, Part 2

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

You may find Part 1 HERE. One thing we should assume in sales of household goods, meaning furniture, portraits, silver, etc., is this was an activity of the wealthier tradesmen, the gentry, and the aristocracy. After all, who wished to … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, business, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Auctioning Off Household Goods in the Regency Era, Part 1

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

The Georgian era of which the Regency is a part saw greater economic prosperity for new groups, hoping to become a part of the genteel class. Think of Mr. Bingley in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Although he had a … Continue reading →

Posted in art, British history, England, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Industrial Revolution, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Capability Brown, England’s Greatest Landscape Artist: “This site has great capabilities.”

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown changed the face of eighteenth century England, designing country estates and mansions, moving hills and making flowing lakes and serpentine rivers, a magical world of green. (About Capability Brown) The fifth child of William Brown, the land … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, business, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, research | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Advancements in Agriculture During the Regency

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

The British Agricultural Revolution, or Second Agricultural Revolution, was an unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain arising from increases in labour and land productivity between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries. Agricultural output grew faster than the population over the hundred-year … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, estates, food, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Industrial Revolution, inventions, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rochester and Higham, Kent, UK and How They Are Used in “Losing Lizzy: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary”

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

When I write my Pride and Prejudice based vagaries, I tend to place Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s fictionalize Rosings Park in the Rochester/Higham area of Kent. I choose this area for two basic reasons: (1) Rochester is about 30 miles … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, book release, British history, British Navy, buildings and structures, Church of England, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency era, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rochester and Higham, Kent, UK and How They Are Used in “Losing Lizzy: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary”