In PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, was the house the Bennets lived in a manor?

Question

Was "Longbourne" a manor? It looked pretty big . . . or do you simply call it a "house"?

Answer 1

By the early 19th century there really was no distinction between the names given to houses - 'manor', 'hall', 'grange', etc. By that time the names had lost their original, feudal, meanings. Size really had nothing to do with it. Houses which had these old descriptors were usually rebuilds on the site of, or incorporating part of, a much older building. The leading land owner might, as a matter of courtesy be called 'the lord of the manor', but the feudal obligations due to him had long since disappeared - although certain vestiges of the old manorial system might remain - property being held on a 'copyhold' basis where changes in ownership had to be recorded in the manorial rolls, and rights of 'common'. However, if the owner of the 'big house' didn't have a title (Sir, Lord etc) he would more likely be called 'Squire'

Answer 2

Mr. Bennett was a gentleman, but not a wealthy one. Jane Austen described the Bennet's estate as more humble than the ostentatious mansion of Rosings Park.