The history of Britain since the Norman Conquest has been one of peaceful continuity, giving rise to long-term patterns of land ownership - originally farms with a tradition of serfs, then tenants on the land. Under the great landed estates, London grew along stream beds and when its population grew, land was used for urban growth, but within a tradition of holding on to land and letting out buildings. So in the long term there is a vested interest in maintaining the quality of buildings, urban layout and stewardship, but this has also resulted in a restricted middle class of rented tenancies. Now there is renewed interest in improvement and renewal of the Great Estates - how to improve and make secure and more enduring the wider social values of these powerful historic land ownerships.
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