Seat Of

Country houses have traditionally been the primary residence, or "seat" of landed families for generations.  This field is used to search for families that have occupied, or currently occupy, a country house.  The term "seat" is used in this database very broadly, e.g., any family that occupied the house for approximately 5 years or more will be listed as having made the house their "seat". 

Family names are listed by both title, e.g., Devonshire for the dukes of Devonshire, and by family surnames, e.g., Warde.  In some cases you can search by both the title or family name, e.g., you will retrieve the same houses if you search by "Devonshire", or "Cavendish" (the family name of the dukes of Devonshire).  If you don't find the match you want the first time, try searching again by the alternate name, i.e., non-titled surname.

When searching by titles it's best to use the most basic form of the title.  For example, when searching for the seat of the Earl of Elgin, do not enter Lord Elgin, as this will produce no results; simply enter Elgin. 

Please remember that this database is a work-in-progress and that many, many houses have yet to have seat information entered.

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