The English kings and queens were by far the country's major landowners in the century before the Civil War, owning manors and other properties in every county. This collection of essays is the first comprehensive account of their estates and their management. Each essay takes a separate area of the history of the estates and assesses the success with which the intentions of government were implemented on the estates themselves. The book covers both national and local issues and will be of interest both to those interested in the successes and failures of government in the century before the Civil War and to those concerned with change in the countryside.