Institutional Change and Property Rights before the Industrial Revolution Wardship in Britain, 1485–1660
Book contents
- Institutional Change and Property Rights before the Industrial Revolution
- Cambridge Studies in Economic History
- Institutional Change and Property Rights before the Industrial Revolution
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables and Figures
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Wardship and the Feudal Incidents, 1066–1540
- 3 The Court of Wards and Liveries, 1540–1642
- 4 The Court of Wards
- 5 The Early Stuart Fiscal State
- 6 Law and the Court of Wards
- 7 The Economic Consequences of Wardship
- 8 ‘Like Horses in Smithfielde’
- 9 Wardship and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - ‘Like Horses in Smithfielde’
Buying a Wardship
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 October 2025
Book contents
- Institutional Change and Property Rights before the Industrial Revolution
- Cambridge Studies in Economic History
- Institutional Change and Property Rights before the Industrial Revolution
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables and Figures
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Wardship and the Feudal Incidents, 1066–1540
- 3 The Court of Wards and Liveries, 1540–1642
- 4 The Court of Wards
- 5 The Early Stuart Fiscal State
- 6 Law and the Court of Wards
- 7 The Economic Consequences of Wardship
- 8 ‘Like Horses in Smithfielde’
- 9 Wardship and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Wardship could affect surviving families in a myriad of ways; one family’s experience could be very different from another’s. For the lucky, the child and their estate would be returned at a reasonable price. For the unlucky, the child and their lands would be sold on to a third party who might exploit both without scruple. To try and capture some of the social and familial costs wardship imposed – inadequately captured from a purely economic perspective – the eighth chapter traces out the different stages of wardship and some of the surviving testimony and anecdotes from those unfortunate to enter wardship.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Institutional Change and Property Rights before the Industrial RevolutionWardship in Britain, 1485–1660, pp. 184 - 198Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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