Much of the tension in Downton Abbey, particularly early in the show, is principally concerned with land law. The tension over the entail is a central concern for the characters, who fear losing the estate to an unknown and distant cousin.
An entail is a legal device used to ensure the continuance of the estate over generations. Rather than owning the estate in fee simple, Lord Grantham has only a life interest in the estate. He has a right to the income and the use of the estate, only so long as he lives. This prevents the division or dissolution of the estate via inheritance or mismanagement. It generally demands that the estate be passed in primogeniture. This means it has to be passed to a male heir, through a male. Having three daughters creates a problem for the family. Indeed, should Mary even be allowed to inherit, she could not take the title. What’s worse, should she marry, the estate would become her husband’s due to the combination of all property under the Husband in marriage. The estate would not continue in the Crawley family name.
As all property is subsumed in the man during the marriage, in marrying the current Lord Grantham, Lady Grantham’s fortune has been tied to the estate. It has become a part of the entail that will be passed to the next male heir. With a move away from a feudal system in the industrial revolution, large estates like Downton Abbey are struggling to stay in the black. It is hinted that Lady Grantham’s lack of social status (as she is without a title) is overlooked due to her wealth which saves the estate. Yet, with the unfortunate news that Lord Grantham’s heir dies on the titanic, there is no one set to inherit.
Enter Matthew Crawley, the distant cousin who has suddenly become heir to a massive fortune and a grand title. With no strong ties to the family, he is set to take everything - including Lady Grantham’s fortune. This hardly seems fair to Mary, the eldest child who will be denied her Parent’s fortune based on her gender.
Lady Grantham and the Dowager Countess recognise the grave injustice at work and aim to separate Lady Grantham’s fortune from the estate. Their methods are unclear but they likely desired to have it held in trust for Lady Mary. Separating it from the estate, however, would leave the family ‘land poor’ and is not something Lord Grantham is willing to do out of a sense of duty to the family name and the continuance of the estate. It would simply fail without Lady Grantham’s fortune. Whilst Lord Grantham preserves the estate, he leaves only an adequate dowry for Mary. This news seems to affect Mary’s chances of marriage with titled suitors becoming disinterested at the revelation she is not a wealthy heiress.
The answer could, however, lay in the not too distant future. The Law of Property Act 1925 may provide an answer to Mary’s troubles. The Act abolishes entails and creates a fee simple in absolute possession and the term years absolute (which would be a lease for any amount of time). The entail would be broken and Lord Grantham would be free to set Mary as the heiress to his fortune. Additionally, life interests became equitable. There is no claim to the capital, only the income and perhaps the right to use the property. Mary could be named the capital beneficiary whilst Matthew acts as a life tenant. This would avert the issue of Mary being disinherited completely, as the estate would eventually pass to her.
However, it is unlikely the family would choose to make Mary the heiress still. Primogeniture (passing to male heirs through male heirs) was, and to this day is, the rule for passing a hereditary title to an heir. Mary would be unable to receive the family title as a woman. The title would die without a male heir to pass it to. If she was inheriting the estate, the title would be inherited by Matthew still. Matthew, though a Lord, would not have the wealth to support his new aristocratic title and the family would fall. It is important to note that some of these systems are still in place today, affecting the ability of women to inherit their birthright. This knowledge adds a contemporary note to the tension that drives the plot.
The background of the entail and inheritance of the estates does provide a glimpse as to why the reform brought by the Law of Property Act was needed. Despite no resolution for Lady Mary, without the simplification of ownership and non-ownership rights, inheritance and purchase of land is unnecessarily complicated and altogether too worrisome.
Comments