Anyone who has had any success in researching their Welsh ancestry will know that a grasp of specialized Welsh genealogical methods and sources is only one of several factors that contributed to that success. They will know, for example, how important it is in Welsh research to have some understanding of the social, cultural, religious, and economic background of the communities in which those ancestors lived. This book attempts to broaden that understanding, especially for the period prior to 1800 when most researchers begin to experience difficulties. In addition, it aims to make readers more aware of some little-known sources and the special uses that may be applied to the information found in these sources.

This book reveals the neglected world of the English manorial tenure of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is rooted in landmark legislation: the Enfranchisement of Copyholds Act of 1841, and the Law of Property Act of 1922. The latter still largely governs modern property law. The story did not end until the property of the last documented former manorial tenant was enfranchised in 1957. While the English manorial system is fundamental to understanding much medieval and early-modern history, little attention has been paid to its ability to contribute to our understanding of the modern world. This book establishes for the first time a protracted manorial property revolution in England after 1841, which lasted over 100 years. This story is a massive lacuna in the history of property, and not just in the countryside; the urban manorial tenant was also heavily present in the landscape. Property rights registration since 2002, coinciding with the shale gas fracking furore, has reawakened interest in this neglected aspect of legal history, and ensures that this book will be of interest to lawyers and historians alike.

Using a neo-Marxian perspective, Benno Engels examines the absence of urban planning in nineteenth-century England. In his analysis of urbanization in England, Engels considers the influences of property owners, inheritance laws, local government structures, fiscal crises of the local and central state, shifts in voter sentiments, fluctuating economic conditions, and class-based pressure group activity.

This book describes the nature of tithe payments, the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 and the survey of over 11,000 parishes.

Nine papers consider problems in American, French, and British history that range from economic history to political behavior and social structure. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.