Life in the Georgian Parsonage

Jon Stobart examines the houses, household goods, and consumption practices of Church of England parish clergy across the long eighteenth century, situating them within debates about morality and social change.

Drawing on probate inventories, account books, diaries, satirical prints, sermons, and architectural designs, he reconstructs the material lives and domestic arrangements of clergymen in rural and urban parishes.

The book challenges secular readings of eighteenth-century consumption by foregrounding ethical and religious motivations behind clerical consumer behaviour.

It highlights distinctive features such as extensive libraries, studies, hospitality practices, and clothing, while tracing changing perceptions and critiques of clergy in literature and print culture.

By integrating material culture with religious and social history, the work offers a fuller understanding of the clergy as significant but understudied consumers in Georgian England.