The era of wealthy reverends finally ended with the collapse of agricultural incomes in the 1870s.Īgricultural incomes collapsed in part through the arrival of long distance imports from North America and New Zealand. Some made great use of their copious spare time for strenuous intellectual activity, as a measure of this Bryson suggests searching for vicars and rectors in the Dictionary of National Biography – there’s an awful lot of them, more even than politicians. This meant for many years that they had quite considerable incomes for not necessarily a great deal of work. Since Bryson lives in a rectory “men of the cloth” feature here I learnt the distinction between vicars and rectors: vicars received the little tithes of the parish, and rectors the great tithes. The links between the various rooms and the topics discussed are sometimes tenuous, such as the one between the cellar and the Erie Canal.Īs I have commented before my book “reviews” are as much about noting things that I learnt from a book as they are “reviews” but in this case I struggle since there are simply so many facts to absorb. A thick book arranged thematically around the rooms in Bryson’s house, a rectory in Norfolk. I’ve been on holiday for a week, this has meant a lot of reading! Next up is “ At Home: A Short History of Private Life” by Bill Bryson.
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