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~~The changing rich~~	Upstairs, downstairs
2008-07-05 12:31:39 UTC	2008-07-09 16:51:42 UTC (4 days later)
A POINT OF VIEW	A POINT OF VIEW
As Britain's rich see their wealth grow are we risking a dislocation in society that would surprise our Tudor forefathers, asks historian Lisa Jardine.	As Britain's rich see their wealth grow are we risking a dislocation in society that would surprise our Tudor forefathers, asks historian Lisa Jardine.
The extremely rich are getting even richer. So we are told in the World Wealth Report, widely discussed in the newspapers over the past few weeks.	The extremely rich are getting even richer. So we are told in the World Wealth Report, widely discussed in the newspapers over the past few weeks.
The number of super-rich increased by almost 9% last year. Last Monday it was announced that the annual income of the Prince of Wales had risen by Â£1m, an increase of 7%, very much in line with the general trend.	The number of super-rich increased by almost 9% last year. Last Monday it was announced that the annual income of the Prince of Wales had risen by Â£1m, an increase of 7%, very much in line with the general trend.
Not only are the very rich getting ever richer, but they are also increasingly cut off from the common experience of those who are obliged to do things differently Hear Radio 4's A Point of View	Not only are the very rich getting ever richer, but they are also increasingly cut off from the common experience of those who are obliged to do things differently Hear Radio 4's A Point of View
And the wealth of the slightly less affluent - those who have assets of more than Â£1m not counting the homes they live in -- increased even more steeply.	And the wealth of the slightly less affluent - those who have assets of more than Â£1m not counting the homes they live in -- increased even more steeply.
In spite of the current "credit crunch", nothing apparently makes it easier for you to make money than having a lot of it in the first place, and the rich currently have more to play with than ever before.	In spite of the current "credit crunch", nothing apparently makes it easier for you to make money than having a lot of it in the first place, and the rich currently have more to play with than ever before.
What do they spend it on? Private jets, customised yachts, fast cars and works of art; opulent homes with heliports on the roof, spacious cinemas, Olympic-size swimming pools and saunas, and kitchen facilities to allow them to call in the caterers whenever they fancy a cordon-bleu meal.	What do they spend it on? Private jets, customised yachts, fast cars and works of art; opulent homes with heliports on the roof, spacious cinemas, Olympic-size swimming pools and saunas, and kitchen facilities to allow them to call in the caterers whenever they fancy a cordon-bleu meal.
With all these personalised and private possessions and amenities, they never ever have to rub shoulders nowadays with those less fortunate than themselves.	With all these personalised and private possessions and amenities, they never ever have to rub shoulders nowadays with those less fortunate than themselves.
Not only are the very rich getting ever richer, but they are also increasingly cut off from the common experience of those who are obliged to do things differently.	Not only are the very rich getting ever richer, but they are also increasingly cut off from the common experience of those who are obliged to do things differently.
Lavish lifestyles	Lavish lifestyles
Since they have no need to interact with less prosperous members of their community at all, they know increasingly little about us. They can, if they choose, turn their backs on the lives and circumstances of the rest of us.	Since they have no need to interact with less prosperous members of their community at all, they know increasingly little about us. They can, if they choose, turn their backs on the lives and circumstances of the rest of us.
It was not always that way. Last weekend I travelled back in time to a place where the worlds of those with lavish lifestyles were of necessity closely intertwined with those who provided them with all their everyday needs - the year was 1588, the place, Kentwell Hall in Suffolk.	It was not always that way. Last weekend I travelled back in time to a place where the worlds of those with lavish lifestyles were of necessity closely intertwined with those who provided them with all their everyday needs - the year was 1588, the place, Kentwell Hall in Suffolk.
Work could be grinding and thankless in Tudor times	Work could be grinding and thankless in Tudor times
Each summer for the past 30 years, Kentwell Hall has been transformed by owner Patrick Phillips and his wife Judith into a living replica of itself in a given year during the 16th Century.	Each summer for the past 30 years, Kentwell Hall has been transformed by owner Patrick Phillips and his wife Judith into a living replica of itself in a given year during the 16th Century.
For three weeks continuously, between 200 and 400 volunteers, steeped in Tudor history, ranging in age from infants to sprightly octogenarians, live and breathe the period from dawn to dusk.	For three weeks continuously, between 200 and 400 volunteers, steeped in Tudor history, ranging in age from infants to sprightly octogenarians, live and breathe the period from dawn to dusk.
Meanwhile, school groups and (at the weekend) "punters" like myself are allowed to wander around the house and grounds, watching them at work and eavesdropping on their activities.	Meanwhile, school groups and (at the weekend) "punters" like myself are allowed to wander around the house and grounds, watching them at work and eavesdropping on their activities.
Like anthropologists observing a group of Trobriand islanders, though, we are asked not to intrude as the participants go about their daily business, and to accept that any question we ask will be answered from within the limited knowledge and understanding of somebody living over 400 years ago.	Like anthropologists observing a group of Trobriand islanders, though, we are asked not to intrude as the participants go about their daily business, and to accept that any question we ask will be answered from within the limited knowledge and understanding of somebody living over 400 years ago.
In the extensive grounds around the moated manor house, armies of artisans and purveyors of goods labour over the necessaries for the comfort of the Clopton family - gentry owners of Kentwell since 1385.	In the extensive grounds around the moated manor house, armies of artisans and purveyors of goods labour over the necessaries for the comfort of the Clopton family - gentry owners of Kentwell since 1385.
Elaborate ruffs	Elaborate ruffs
The blacksmith at his anvil works iron, heated to red-hot in furnaces kept roaring by young apprentices manning the bellows, into horseshoes and tackle for the stables, and tongs and spits for the fire in the manor-house kitchen.	The blacksmith at his anvil works iron, heated to red-hot in furnaces kept roaring by young apprentices manning the bellows, into horseshoes and tackle for the stables, and tongs and spits for the fire in the manor-house kitchen.
At a ~~treddle-operated~~ lathe, a man with a chisel concentrates on turning a perfectly symmetrical wooden bowl for use at table. The bearded alchemist is bent over his still, transforming household wood-ash and distilled water into a caustic solution of lye - an essential ingredient (mixed with a little urine) in the starch used to stiffen the gentry's elaborate ruffs.	At a treadle-operated lathe, a man with a chisel concentrates on turning a perfectly symmetrical wooden bowl for use at table. The bearded alchemist is bent over his still, transforming household wood-ash and distilled water into a caustic solution of lye - an essential ingredient (mixed with a little urine) in the starch used to stiffen the gentry's elaborate ruffs.
A sense of community has always been built on strong foundations of shared endeavour - doing things together, over long stretches of time	A sense of community has always been built on strong foundations of shared endeavour - doing things together, over long stretches of time
Nearby one of his colleagues is keeping a watchful eye on a young boy pounding sulphur, charcoal and saltpetre together in a mortar, to make gunpowder for the gentlemen's wheel-lock guns and pistols (rumours of an imminent Spanish invasion are everywhere).	Nearby one of his colleagues is keeping a watchful eye on a young boy pounding sulphur, charcoal and saltpetre together in a mortar, to make gunpowder for the gentlemen's wheel-lock guns and pistols (rumours of an imminent Spanish invasion are everywhere).
The attention to detail is, for a historian like myself, breath-taking. Labourers, gardeners, and all kinds of artisans and peddlers carry out their work with meticulous care for its Tudor authenticity.	The attention to detail is, for a historian like myself, breath-taking. Labourers, gardeners, and all kinds of artisans and peddlers carry out their work with meticulous care for its Tudor authenticity.
Costumes are precise down to the last bum-roll under a gentlewoman's damask dress, and the exquisite black-work embroidery on her smock.	Costumes are precise down to the last bum-roll under a gentlewoman's damask dress, and the exquisite black-work embroidery on her smock.
In the dairy and bakery in the moat house, where modestly-coifed young women with flour-covered aprons over their heavy woollen dresses churn butter and knead bread under the watchful eye of their seniors, the ambiance and atmosphere are so convincing that I could sit for hours, watching them going about their work.	In the dairy and bakery in the moat house, where modestly-coifed young women with flour-covered aprons over their heavy woollen dresses churn butter and knead bread under the watchful eye of their seniors, the ambiance and atmosphere are so convincing that I could sit for hours, watching them going about their work.
Scrubbed tables	Scrubbed tables
All the Kentwell participants mingle and chat with one another for all the world as though they had never stepped out of the 1500s in their entire life. Leisurely conversations are conducted with passers-by, in convincingly authentic Tudor English. Right down to the smallest infant, everyone seems at ease with themselves and their community.	All the Kentwell participants mingle and chat with one another for all the world as though they had never stepped out of the 1500s in their entire life. Leisurely conversations are conducted with passers-by, in convincingly authentic Tudor English. Right down to the smallest infant, everyone seems at ease with themselves and their community.
It is the great kitchen of the house that I return to for longest on every visit. There is little room here for onlookers, and one has to slip into any available corner to observe.	It is the great kitchen of the house that I return to for longest on every visit. There is little room here for onlookers, and one has to slip into any available corner to observe.
The danger is that, confined within the CCTV-monitored walls of their palatial mansions, the rich stand apart from those ordinary kinds of social bond which bind communities together	The danger is that, confined within the CCTV-monitored walls of their palatial mansions, the rich stand apart from those ordinary kinds of social bond which bind communities together
Around the huge scrubbed table, cooks of all ages labour over food preparation that, without modern kitchen conveniences, requires dozens of pairs of hands to bring to perfection.	Around the huge scrubbed table, cooks of all ages labour over food preparation that, without modern kitchen conveniences, requires dozens of pairs of hands to bring to perfection.
Small boys fetch and carry, drag in logs for the fire, and take turns to rotate the spits. Pages and maids run hither and thither with ingredients and instructions, and then ferry the food in procession through long corridors to the waiting gentry at high table in the great hall.	Small boys fetch and carry, drag in logs for the fire, and take turns to rotate the spits. Pages and maids run hither and thither with ingredients and instructions, and then ferry the food in procession through long corridors to the waiting gentry at high table in the great hall.
Tarts and pastries cool on window-ledges, delicious smells of roasting and baking waft around you, and everywhere magic worthy of Delia is being worked with long-forgotten Tudor recipes. There is a constant hubbub, an orderly chaos presided over by the formidable head cook.	Tarts and pastries cool on window-ledges, delicious smells of roasting and baking waft around you, and everywhere magic worthy of Delia is being worked with long-forgotten Tudor recipes. There is a constant hubbub, an orderly chaos presided over by the formidable head cook.
In this bustle of people coming and going, fetching and carrying, it is simply impossible for the inhabitants of the manor house to forget those less fortunate than themselves.	In this bustle of people coming and going, fetching and carrying, it is simply impossible for the inhabitants of the manor house to forget those less fortunate than themselves.
Nor can they, as they walk around the grounds, overlook the discomfort in which those who support their lifestyle, live and work. And the Tudor church saw to it that neighbours of all social degrees honoured their obligations to one another - there were rules for charitable giving to the poor, and rules of hospitality dictating that no stranger was turned away empty-handed from a householder's door.	Nor can they, as they walk around the grounds, overlook the discomfort in which those who support their lifestyle, live and work. And the Tudor church saw to it that neighbours of all social degrees honoured their obligations to one another - there were rules for charitable giving to the poor, and rules of hospitality dictating that no stranger was turned away empty-handed from a householder's door.
Of course I'm being hopelessly nostalgic. The same Tudor community whose cohesiveness I am extolling was deeply suspicious of foreigners, including those who came from a neighbouring village, comfortable with allowing a man to beat his wife inside his own home, and pitiless towards vagrants or "masterless men".	Of course I'm being hopelessly nostalgic. The same Tudor community whose cohesiveness I am extolling was deeply suspicious of foreigners, including those who came from a neighbouring village, comfortable with allowing a man to beat his wife inside his own home, and pitiless towards vagrants or "masterless men".
And if you were a child spit-turner in that Tudor kitchen I so enjoy, working long hours for a pittance in the noise and the heat, it was probably not much comfort to know that the family in the parlour were aware that you were there, assiduously spit-turning.	And if you were a child spit-turner in that Tudor kitchen I so enjoy, working long hours for a pittance in the noise and the heat, it was probably not much comfort to know that the family in the parlour were aware that you were there, assiduously spit-turning.