LANDLORDS & LANDLADIES
The idea of landlords harks back to the wealthy aristocratic landowners and landed gentry of history, who inherited vast agricultural estates. For centuries, a largely rural society followed the three-tier model of landowner, tenant farmer and labourer. Land ownership was the exclusive reserve of the privileged few.
The onset of the Industrial Revolution gave rise to a new breed of smaller-scale urban landlords and landladies, who might have a spare room to let out, or perhaps even several properties, to supplement their income. Their ascent was facilitated by the growth of towns and cities, and the resultant spread of suburbia. Industry generated capital for investment and new jobs in urban centres, while railways created a mobile
