In the
United Kingdom, historically an
estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and natural resources (such as woodland) that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a
country house,
mansion,
palace or
castle. It is the modern term for a
manor, but lacks a manor's now-abolished jurisdiction. The same concept is apparent in
Australia, though the word
homestead is used more commonly, with "estate" typically being used for larger, historic properties.
Country house estate The "estate" formed an economic system where the profits from its produce and rents (of housing or agricultural land) sustained the main household, formerly known as the
manor house. Thus, "the estate" may refer to all other cottages and villages in the same ownership as the mansion itself, covering more than one former manor. Examples of such great estates are
Woburn Abbey in
Bedfordshire, England, and
Blenheim Palace, in
Oxfordshire, England, built to replace the former manor house of Woodstock. Before the 1870s, these estates often encompassed several thousand acres, generally consisting of several
farms let to tenants; the great house was supplied with food from its own
home farm (for meat and dairy) and a
kitchen garden (for fruit and vegetables). A
dower house may have been present on the estate to allow the widow of the former owner her own accommodation and household when moved out of the primary house on the estate.
Gatekeeper's lodges replaced the
gatehouses of the medieval manor. Grounds were
landscaped in line with social trends. The
agricultural depression from the 1870s onwards and the decline of
servants meant that the large rural estates declined in social and economic significance, and
many of the country houses were destroyed, or land was parcelled off to be sold. In Ireland, much of the land conquered from the
Gaelic Irish kings in the
Norman conquest (12th century),
Tudor conquest (16th century) and
Cromwellian conquest (17th century) was turned into estates for British settlers and
planters, as well as some loyal Irish lords. The
Anglo-Irish big house was at the centre of about 4,000 Irish estates in 1800. These estates were broken up in the
Irish Land Acts of the late 19th century which transferred most of their land to tenant ownership. Many of the big houses were also
destroyed in the Irish War of Independence and Civil War (1919–23). Many of the old estates and surviving houses are tourist attractions. Curraghmore Estate is one of few surviving large estates, comprising in
County Waterford belonging to the
de la Poer Beresford family.
The great estates on the
Bedford Estate with Bedford House behind, c. 1725, London
town house of the Dukes of Bedford An urban example of the use of the term estate is presented by the "great estates" in Central London such as the
Grosvenor and
Portman, which continue to generate significant income through rent.
Other uses In modern
British English, the term "estate" has been generalised to any large parcel of land under single ownership, such as a
housing estate or
industrial estate. ==In the United States==