Original: The country house was not only a weekend retreat for aristocrats, but also often a full time residence for the minor gentry who were a central node in the "squirearchy" that ruled Britain until the Reform Act 1832 (as documented in The Purefoy Letters, 1735-53 by L G Mitchell).
Simplified: The country house was not only a weekend retreat for aristocrats, but also often a full time residence for the minor gentry.