What is "landed gentry"

n. the gentry who own land (considered as a class) [syn: squirearchy]

Landed gentry is a largely historical British social class consisting of land owners who could live entirely from rental income. It was distinct from, and socially "below", the aristocracy or peerage, although in fact some of the landed gentry were as wealthy as some peers. They often worked as administrators of their own lands, while others became public, political and armed forces figures. The decline of this privileged class largely stemmed from the 1870s agricultural depression.

The designation "landed gentry" originally referred exclusively to members of the upper class who were landlords and also commoners in the British sense, that is, they did not hold peerages, but usage became more fluid over time. Similar or analogous social systems of landed gentry also sprang up in countries that maintained a colonial system; the term is employed in many British colonies such as the Colony of Virginia and some parts of India. By the late 19th century, the term was also applied to peers such as the Duke of Westminster who lived on landed estates. The book series Burke's Landed Gentry recorded the members of this class. Successful burghers often used their accumulated wealth to buy country estates, with the aim of establishing themselves as landed gentry.

The term Landed gentry usually refers to a privileged social class in the United Kingdom.

Landed gentry may also refer to:

• Landed gentry (China), the elite shenshi class in China
• Polish landed gentry, a historical group of hereditary landowners who held manorial estates in Poland