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| Christian, Duke of Saxony |
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| Squires were gentlemen with a coat of arms and were often related to peers. Many could claim descent from knights and had been settled in their estates for hundreds of years. The squire usually lived at the village manor house, and owned an estate comprising the village with the villagers being his tenants. If the squire owned the living (was patron) of the parish church—and he often was— he would choose the rector, a role often be filled by a younger son of the squire. Some squires also became the local rector themselves and were known as squarsons - a combination of the words squire and parson. The squire would also have performed a number of important local duties in particular that of justice of the peace or MP. Such was the power of the squires at this time that moderrn historians have created the term "Squirearchy".
The position of squire was traditionally associated with occupation of the manor house which would often itself confer the dignity of squire. It is so unclear how widely the village squire may still be said to survive today; but where it does, the role is likely more dependent upon a recognition of good manners, lineage and long family association rather than land, which, while relevant, is nowadays likely to be considerably smaller than in former years due to high post-war death duties and the prohibitive costs associated with maintaining large country houses.
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| Master Preston |
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