Helpful Readers,
Yesterday I received some extremely interesting questions from a reader about renting Kellynch Hall. Unfortunately, they came at a time when I am entertaining house guests. I cannot apply myself to the task until later this week, except to provide this link to Jane Austen’s Economics. Can anyone answer part or all of the questions below? Your comments are welcome and I thank you ahead of time for helping out.
If you cannot answer the questions but are interested in the topic, here are some links to online articles from the Jane Austen Society of Australia: One is about Kellynch Hall, which contains all the references to it in Persuasion, and one written by Jon Spence about Stoneleigh Abbey, the great house belonging to Mrs. Austen’s side of the family.
Click here for a fun trivia quiz about the Eliots of Kellynch Hall, and here for the website, Kellynch Hall.
Click here for my article, How Rich is Fitzwilliam Darcy? and some material supporting Brad de Long’s words.
Enough dithering, here are the questions:
- How much would it cost to live at Kellynch annually? Simply, that is, without sorbet and six liveried footmen–just the way Lady Eliot would have kept the place running in the black.
- Just how much rent did Admiral and Mrs. Croft pay for a furnished house of that consequence?
- Would the rent pay for building maintenance and upkeep or just the cost of running the house and keeping the servants?
- Would Sir Walter’s debts be whittled down by renting Kellynch? Is he making a small profit on the rental? Or just not losing money, treading water so to speak?
- It seems that the Crofts took over the charity obligations since Anne “was so sure” of the poor being relieved when the Eliots left for Bath. Was that usual for renters? Why did that duty not fall on the rector or the parish?
Jane Austen's World 
What an excellent question! I can’t wait to see if you come up with any answers!
Ha, Eric! Easier said than done. Even the economists who study that era are reluctant to plow through the records and make sense of them. I am simply going to do throw a few more links out, and let our questioner sort through this interesting but scattered information.
Is anyone writing a thesis about the cost of running/renting one of these mansions during Georgian times? I believe there are calculations for the Edwardian era, but that is 100 years hence!
It has been some time since this question was asked, but this paper by James Heldman might hold a few clues about the costs involved in living on Sir Walter Elliot’s grand scale. Read How Wealthy is Mr. Darcy Really? by James Heldman, JASNA, and scroll halfway down the article. Also read my article in a later post on Pride and Prejudice Economics. The links in that post might lead you to the information you’re seeking.
my mother watchs pride and prejudice alot she feels that her day will not go on if she douse not watch it at least once a day the first day we got it in the house she watched it 4 times that day and has not stoped sinse ther is one line in the movie that my mother and family is stuned that I can remember if you want to know what it is all you have to do is say so Happy Holidays ladies
I love the book “the easiest housekeeping and cooking book it is so good me and my mom read it is so full of rengency stuff like how thay clean base bords you will love it I know that for a fact happy holiday kim
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