This chapter examines the management of the 14,000 acre Blundell estate in Ireland during the period 1700-80 and in particular the career of father and son combination, Henry and John Hatch, agents between them for over fifty years. Their agency of the Blundell estate offers an insight into the complexities and evolution of the land agency business in eighteenth-century Ireland. In 1786, a somewhat despondent John Hatch requested to be relieved of his duties as land agent of the Blundell estate in King’s County (Offaly) insisting that the town of Edenderry was ‘dwindling into ruin’. In particular, Hatch, who had replaced his father Henry as agent, highlighted that both distress and poverty were endemic at Edenderry and in general there was not much he could do to overturn circumstances. Faced with the unenviable task of managing an Irish landed estate in decline, Hatch was just one of five agents appointed to the Blundell estate throughout the eighteenth century. He remained in this position until his death in 1797, at which time irregularities were found with his management of the estate. However, this was a frequent occurrence and was something which befell many eighteenth-century landed estates (and indeed later). The reason for such dilatory practice was believed to have stemmed from the fact that the nature of the agents duties was largely imprecise and that the role lacked any professionalism.
This chapter explores the legacy of subsequent legislation in early-twentieth-century Scotland that gave the Government the power to establish small landholdings across Scotland. Following the re-designation of crofts in the Highlands and Islands, small landholdings as a form of land tenure fell into terminal decline with little to no legislative changes to improve the rights of small landholders. Following renewed attention in Scottish Parliament, this chapter explores the Grassmillees Scheme, Ayrshire, its establishment, evolution and explores the nascent formation of a landholding identity with ever-deepening historical roots. It scratches the surface of a rich vein of historical evidence that serves as a window to revealing landholding attitudes outwith the crofting counties.
As many of the chapters have touched upon individually, the legacy and memory of the land agent in Britain and Ireland made a strong impression on both contemporary and subsequent poetry, fiction, drama and folklore. This is unsurprising, given the wide range of powers, personalities and activities of land agents in all corners of the British and Irish isles, as well as the sheer scale of their dominion. Despite the urbanisation and industrialisation overtaking much of society in this period, large sections of it remained rural and agricultural, and the power of the landed and aristocratic classes, though subject to challenge, remained strong. Ireland – Belfast, Dublin and Cork aside – remained a fundamentally rural society and agricultural economy well into the twentieth century. As such, the requirements for, and scope of activities of, land agents, remained significant and the raw materials for fictional presentations of such powerful figures prevalent, as discussed in this chapter.
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