Comments on: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Entail in Downton Abbey, and More

By: musingsofananglophile

musingsofananglophile — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 21:44:59 +0000

Reblogged this on Musings of an Anglophile.

By: smkelly8

smkelly8 — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 01:47:50 +0000

Reblogged this on Mixed Media and commented: Background for Downton Abbey Fans

By: TBTS Reviews: Downton Abbey Season 2 « The Brown Tweed Society

TBTS Reviews: Downton Abbey Season 2 « The Brown Tweed Society — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:04:18 +0000

[...] seems absolutely calm in comparison to the second. While the first season dealt mostly with the entail and the developing relationship between Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley, the second season sees all [...]

By: TBTS Reviews: Downton Abbey Season 1 « The Brown Tweed Society

TBTS Reviews: Downton Abbey Season 1 « The Brown Tweed Society — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:30:41 +0000

[...] of a third cousin once removed, Matthew Crawley, a solicitor from Manchester, due to the strict entail left by the Earl’s late father. The arc of Season 1 is spent in a [...]

By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:56:35 +0000

Note to Magdelen: Your ex-husband sounds like a great catch! I would never have divorced him! (if I were a female!)
T/

By: robert johnson

robert johnson — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:21:20 +0000

I have learn about the definition of entail on this site. I have watch “Dalton Abby” so many times to understand the plot.

By: PurpleGirl

PurpleGirl — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:50:42 +0000

I’m so happy to have found this site. I had many questions about the Entail and now I can learn more about it. PBS is starting a reshowing of the first season tonight in preparation for the second season. Thank you for putting up this site.

By: Blackspider

Blackspider — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:03:40 +0000

And as a practising lawyer, not one whose grandparents were lawyers, I think you’ll find this precis is rather more accurate

http://obiterj.blogspot.com/2011/08/downton-abbey-entail.html

The entail could have been broken. And there could have been no entail of the personalty ie all the actual money!

By: Vic

Vic — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:01:53 +0000

Thank you, Ariadne. While many dowagers have shown themselves to be capable of running their deceased husband’s estate (if they inherited it), they usually did so with the help of a steward and man of business! One would assume that Lady Mary would have done the same until she married, then her husband would have taken over its management, unless she had “modern” ideas, like her sister, Isabel.

By: Ariadne

Ariadne — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:57:19 +0000

Vic, I love your website! It has certainly been a useful resource and also simply a fun way to while away the hours.

Your post here has led me to another question: how much work was involved in the day-to-day running of the estate? I guess that would depend on the size of the estate and the number of tenants to a certain extent. The reason I ask is because I wonder, if the entail somehow magically had been broken, would Lady Mary be equipped to run the estate? It doesn’t sound like ladies of the time were trained to handle the business affairs, so would it really be her husband or a steward (did they still have those?) who made the decisions or would her father start trying to involve her as his heir?

By: Vic

Vic — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:54:42 +0000

Tony, I am not sure the phrase was used in this mini-series, but it certainly is well-known on this side of the Pond!

By: Tony Grant

Tony Grant — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:27:05 +0000

In our own life times we and the rest of the world witnessed the happy out come of the successful Royal version of the entail being fulfilled when Lady Diana produced, “an heir and a spare,” then, her work was done. There must be a comparison in the animal or insect world.

I hear you say, “heir and a spare,”, yes, that is the jolly phrase the aristocracy and royalty use when the female of the partnership has done “her lifes work.” First it is to produce an heir and so so much better if a spare is produced too.The female of the species is not really required after that.They have a lovely way with things don’t you think?

I have not seen Downton. Haven’t they used that phrase yet? I’m surprised if they haven’t.