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An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which generates income for its owner.
British context
In the United Kingdom, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and natural resources (such as woodland) that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house, mansion, palace or castle. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks a manor's now-abolished jurisdiction.
Country house estate
The "estate" formed an economic system where the profits from its produce and rents (of housing or agricultural land) sustained the main household, formerly known as the manor house. Thus, "the estate" may refer to all other cottages and villages in the same ownership as the mansion itself, covering more than one former manor. Examples of such great estates are Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, England, and Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England, built to replace the former manor house of Woodstock.
Before the 1870s, these estates often encompassed several thousand acres, generally consisting of several farms let to tenants; the great house was supplied with food from its own home farm (for meat and dairy) and a kitchen garden (for fruit and vegetables). A dower house may have been present on the estate to allow the widow of the former owner her own accommodation and household when moved out the primary house on the estate.
The agricultural depression from the 1870s onwards and the decline of servants meant that the large rural estates declined in social and economic significance, and many of the country houses were destroyed, or land was parcelled off to be sold.
The great estates
An urban example of the use of the term estate is presented by the "great estates" in Central London such as the Grosvenor and Portman, which continue to generate significant income through rent. Sometimes London streets are named after the rural estates of aristocratic landowners, such as in the case of Wimpole Street.
Sporting estate
From the Norman era, hunting had always been a popular pastime with the British royalty and nobility, and dating from the medieval era, land was parcelled off and put aside for the leisurely pursuits of hunting. These originated as royal forests and chase land, eventually evolving into deer parks, or sometimes into the Royal Parks if owned by the royal family. The ownership of these estates for hunting was in practice strictly restricted until the 19th century when legal changes to game hunting meant the nobility, gentry and other wealthy families could purchase land for the purposes of hunting. At the administrative centre of these sporting estates is usually a sporting lodge. These are also often known as shooting or hunting estates.
Other uses
In modern British English, the term "estate" has been generalised to any large parcel of land under single ownership, such as a housing estate or industrial estate.
In the United States
Large country estates were traditionally found in New York's Long Island, and Westchester County, the Philadelphia Main Line, Maine's Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, and other affluent East Coast enclaves; and the San Francisco Bay Area, early Beverly Hills, California, Montecito, California, Santa Barbara, California and other affluent West Coast enclaves. All these regions had strong traditions of large agricultural, grazing, and productive estates modeled on those in Europe. However, by the late 1940s and early 1950s, many of these estates had been demolished and subdivided, in some cases resulting in suburban villages named for the former owners, as in Baxter Estates, New York.
An important distinction between the United States and England is that "American country estates, unlike English ones, rarely, if ever, supported the house." American estates have always been about "the pleasures of land ownership and the opportunity to enjoy active, outdoor pursuits." Although some American estates included farms, they were always in support of the larger recreational purpose.
Today, large houses on lots of at least several acres in size are often referred to as "estates", in a contemporary updating of the word's usage. Most contemporary American estates are not large enough to include significant amounts of self-supporting productive agricultural land, and the money for their improvement and maintenance usually comes from fortunes earned in other economic sectors besides agriculture. They are distinguished from ordinary middle-class American houses by sheer size, as well as their landscaping, gardens, outbuildings, and most importantly, recreational structures (e.g., tennis courts and swimming pools). This usage is the predominant connotation of "estate" in contemporary American English (when not preceded by the word "real"), which is why "industrial estate" sounds like an oxymoron to Americans, as few wealthy persons would deliberately choose to live next to factories.
Traditional American estates include:
- Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina; estate of George Washington Vanderbilt II
- Hearst Castle, Central Coast of California; estate of William Randolph Hearst
- Castle Hill, Ipswich, Massachusetts; estate of Richard Teller Crane Jr.
- Meadow Farm, East Islip, New York; estate of H. B. Hollins (demolished)
- Westbrook, Great River, New York; estate of William Bayard Cutting
- Coe Hall, Oyster Bay, New York; estate of William R. Coe
- Indian Neck Hall, Oakdale, New York; estate of Frederick Gilbert Bourne
- Inisfada, Manhasset, New York; estate of Nicholas Brady
- Idle Hour, Oakdale, New York; estate of William Kissam Vanderbilt
- Oheka Castle, Cold Spring Harbor, New York; estate of Otto Hermann Kahn
- Harold Lloyd Estate, 'Greenacres' Beverly Hills, California; estate of Harold Lloyd
- Filoli, Woodside, California; estate of William Bowers Bourn II.
- Riven Rock, Montecito, California; estate of Stanley and Katharine McCormick (demolished)
- Carolands, Hillsborough, California; estate of Harriett Pullman Carolan (daughter of George Pullman)
- Dumbarton Oaks, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.; estate of the Woods—Bliss Family, landscape architecture by Beatrix Farrand
See also
- English country house
- Estate map
- Estate (Russia)
- Finca
- Gentry
- Hacienda
- Patroon
- Real estate
- Real estate business
- Real estate development
- Real estate bubble
- Villa
References
- Historic England Listing Selection Guide: Domestic 3: Suburban and Country Houses https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/dlsg-suburban-country-houses/heag104-domestic3-suburban-and-country-houses-lsg/
- "London's great estates: long-term vision or short-term gain?". Financial Times. 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- Hobson, J.C. Jeremy (2013). Sporting Lodges. Shrewsbury, U.K.: Quiller Publishing, Limited. p. 15. ISBN 978 1 84689168 7.
- Aslet, Clive (1990). The American Country House. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 135. ISBN 9780300105056. Retrieved 17 November 2020. This version is a 2004 reprint of the 1990 original.
Look up estate domaine or domain in Wiktionary the free dictionary This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Estate land news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership which generates income for its owner British contextIn the United Kingdom historically an estate comprises the houses outbuildings supporting farmland tenanted buildings and natural resources such as woodland that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property such as a country house mansion palace or castle It is the modern term for a manor but lacks a manor s now abolished jurisdiction Country house estate Wentworth Woodhouse is a large rural estate extending to 15 000 acres including the country house The estate formed an economic system where the profits from its produce and rents of housing or agricultural land sustained the main household formerly known as the manor house Thus the estate may refer to all other cottages and villages in the same ownership as the mansion itself covering more than one former manor Examples of such great estates are Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire England and Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire England built to replace the former manor house of Woodstock Before the 1870s these estates often encompassed several thousand acres generally consisting of several farms let to tenants the great house was supplied with food from its own home farm for meat and dairy and a kitchen garden for fruit and vegetables A dower house may have been present on the estate to allow the widow of the former owner her own accommodation and household when moved out the primary house on the estate The agricultural depression from the 1870s onwards and the decline of servants meant that the large rural estates declined in social and economic significance and many of the country houses were destroyed or land was parcelled off to be sold The great estates Looking north across Bloomsbury Square on the Bedford Estate with Bedford House behind c 1725 London town house of the Dukes of Bedford An urban example of the use of the term estate is presented by the great estates in Central London such as the Grosvenor and Portman which continue to generate significant income through rent Sometimes London streets are named after the rural estates of aristocratic landowners such as in the case of Wimpole Street Sporting estate From the Norman era hunting had always been a popular pastime with the British royalty and nobility and dating from the medieval era land was parcelled off and put aside for the leisurely pursuits of hunting These originated as royal forests and chase land eventually evolving into deer parks or sometimes into the Royal Parks if owned by the royal family The ownership of these estates for hunting was in practice strictly restricted until the 19th century when legal changes to game hunting meant the nobility gentry and other wealthy families could purchase land for the purposes of hunting At the administrative centre of these sporting estates is usually a sporting lodge These are also often known as shooting or hunting estates A modern industrial estate in Lambeth LondonOther uses In modern British English the term estate has been generalised to any large parcel of land under single ownership such as a housing estate or industrial estate In the United StatesBiltmore Estate Asheville North Carolina Large country estates were traditionally found in New York s Long Island and Westchester County the Philadelphia Main Line Maine s Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island and other affluent East Coast enclaves and the San Francisco Bay Area early Beverly Hills California Montecito California Santa Barbara California and other affluent West Coast enclaves All these regions had strong traditions of large agricultural grazing and productive estates modeled on those in Europe However by the late 1940s and early 1950s many of these estates had been demolished and subdivided in some cases resulting in suburban villages named for the former owners as in Baxter Estates New York An important distinction between the United States and England is that American country estates unlike English ones rarely if ever supported the house American estates have always been about the pleasures of land ownership and the opportunity to enjoy active outdoor pursuits Although some American estates included farms they were always in support of the larger recreational purpose Today large houses on lots of at least several acres in size are often referred to as estates in a contemporary updating of the word s usage Most contemporary American estates are not large enough to include significant amounts of self supporting productive agricultural land and the money for their improvement and maintenance usually comes from fortunes earned in other economic sectors besides agriculture They are distinguished from ordinary middle class American houses by sheer size as well as their landscaping gardens outbuildings and most importantly recreational structures e g tennis courts and swimming pools This usage is the predominant connotation of estate in contemporary American English when not preceded by the word real which is why industrial estate sounds like an oxymoron to Americans as few wealthy persons would deliberately choose to live next to factories Traditional American estates include Biltmore Asheville North Carolina estate of George Washington Vanderbilt II Hearst Castle Central Coast of California estate of William Randolph Hearst Castle Hill Ipswich Massachusetts estate of Richard Teller Crane Jr Meadow Farm East Islip New York estate of H B Hollins demolished Westbrook Great River New York estate of William Bayard Cutting Coe Hall Oyster Bay New York estate of William R Coe Indian Neck Hall Oakdale New York estate of Frederick Gilbert Bourne Inisfada Manhasset New York estate of Nicholas Brady Idle Hour Oakdale New York estate of William Kissam Vanderbilt Oheka Castle Cold Spring Harbor New York estate of Otto Hermann Kahn Harold Lloyd Estate Greenacres Beverly Hills California estate of Harold Lloyd Filoli Woodside California estate of William Bowers Bourn II Riven Rock Montecito California estate of Stanley and Katharine McCormick demolished Carolands Hillsborough California estate of Harriett Pullman Carolan daughter of George Pullman Dumbarton Oaks Georgetown Washington D C estate of the Woods Bliss Family landscape architecture by Beatrix FarrandSee alsoHousing portalEnglish country house Estate map Estate Russia Finca Gentry Hacienda Patroon Real estate Real estate business Real estate development Real estate bubble VillaReferencesHistoric England Listing Selection Guide Domestic 3 Suburban and Country Houses https historicengland org uk images books publications dlsg suburban country houses heag104 domestic3 suburban and country houses lsg London s great estates long term vision or short term gain Financial Times 2016 11 24 Retrieved 2023 04 06 Hobson J C Jeremy 2013 Sporting Lodges Shrewsbury U K Quiller Publishing Limited p 15 ISBN 978 1 84689168 7 Aslet Clive 1990 The American Country House New Haven Yale University Press p 135 ISBN 9780300105056 Retrieved 17 November 2020 This version is a 2004 reprint of the 1990 original
