i think well off aristocrats were often called rich when they owned a lot of stuff. Most of their land was in the north that agriculturally was not the best. They seemed to go from owning a huge amount of land to very little very quickly. Perhaps they took mortgages out in the years prior to the huge American wheat imports, perhaps their coal was of lower quality. They lost a lot when John Bowes inherited his fortune and founded his museum. The family sold Streatlam Castle at about the time that Elizabeth married York, which suggests there was a need. They were not after listed with the great wealthy families like Dudley, Derby, Londonderry, Westminster, Cadogan, Northumberland, Lonsdale, Fitzwilliam or Durham
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