Organised according to a strict hierarchy:
Aristocracy: persons of noble birth who possessed large estates in the country but who also often took their place in London at court or in Parliament.
Gentry, sometimes known as minor gentry: descendants of the aristocracy whose holdings were smaller but who still possessed considerable wealth, as well as persons who through commercial enterprise (such as ownership of a monopoly) had managed to amass property and prestige and thus were entitled to be called gentlemen.