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 so-called 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 .