# Inbred Aristos **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852 "2026-02-20T16:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aruvqan\_myers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@aruvqan\_myers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan_myers)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852/1 "2026-02-20T16:52:02Z")
So, watching a bit about “Wealthy English Aristocrats insist on their relevance in modern society” and Lord and Lady Chichester have held this property since the 1400s … and he is grumping about he and his wife and 4 kids living in ‘genteel’ poverty showing rooms with peeling wallpaper, damaged paint, scroungy rooms. My dude, you have FOUR kids. Hand them each a scraper and paint roller and paint tray and kick them in the bums and make them do maintenance. No money? How about selling off that art hanging on your walls and random furniture and hit up IKEA for furniture. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852/2 "2026-02-20T16:54:40Z")
The whole genre of “Woe is me, I’m land rich and money poor” gets on my last goddamn nerve. My dude: _sell your shit and get a job!_ I know it goes against how you were raised, and if you sell that overpriced world’s tiniest violin I’ll play it for you as you fill out the job application like everyone else has to do. The only stories where I care about the beggared aristocracy are the stories where they’re the villains. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852/3 "2026-02-20T17:11:52Z")
> [@aruvqan\_myers](#): > > My dude, you have FOUR kids. Hand them each a scraper and paint roller and paint tray and kick them in the bums and make them do maintenance. Note that some old buildings in the UK are on the National Heritage List and you can’t just do random renovations on them. > **[Listed building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listed_building)** > > In the United Kingdom, a listed building\[a\] is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (see secti... ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan\_myers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@aruvqan\_myers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan_myers)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852/4 "2026-02-20T17:32:04Z")
I put it to you if the wallpaper is hanging off in strips, and the paint is spalling off the walls, one probably can do that type of work ones self …. If you have 38 rooms and live in 5, take in boarders, rent out the east wing, actually sell the antique shit and freaking have the roof and windows done so the outside stays outside … ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852/5 "2026-02-20T17:37:35Z")
> [@aruvqan\_myers](#): > > I put it to you if the wallpaper is hanging off in strips, and the paint is spalling off the walls, one probably can do that type of work ones self I am not an expert on heritage protection in the UK, but my understanding was that replacing wallpaper in a 14th-century building (as in your example) could require period-appropriate specific materials and repair methods as well as approval by a committee. Whereas doing nothing requires no approval and is free. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852/6 "2026-02-20T23:06:22Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I am not an expert on heritage protection in the UK, but my understanding was that replacing wallpaper in a 14th-century building (as in your example) could require period-appropriate specific materials and repair methods as well as approval by a committee. Whereas doing nothing requires no approval and is free. I am likewise not an expert on these matters, but [these legislation summaries written by experts on UK heritage protection law and policy](https://www.spab.org.uk/advice/heritage-protection-legislation-and-policy-explained) suggest that you’re right: > [@](#): > > Different types of heritage assets are protected in different ways and different consents are required for the carrying out of works to existing buildings or sites, and for new development. These include planning permission and listed building consent. > > What activity does and does not require permission or consent is a matter of considerable complexity and relevant decision-makers have the ultimate responsibility to decide whether an application for consent is required in particular circumstances. […] > > Listed building consent is required for all works of demolition, alteration and extension to a listed building, or any other works which will affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. This requirement extends to all parts of the building covered by the list description, possibly including curtilage buildings or other structures. > > It is a criminal offence not to seek consent and to undertake works without the required consent. Ignorance of a building’s listed status is not a defence to any criminal proceedings. It is also not possible to offer the defence that works would have been permitted if they had been applied for. > > Listed building consent applications are made to, and determined by, the local planning authority. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inbred-aristos/1027852/7 "2026-02-21T13:35:45Z")
> [@aruvqan\_myers](#): > > How about selling off that art hanging on your walls and random furniture and hit up IKEA for furniture. Sheesh. British aristocrats with large art collections, valuable furniture etc. now usually transfer the ownership of them to charitable trusts. The advantage of that is that their heirs won’t have to pay inheritance tax on those items. The disadvantage is that they can’t easily sell off those pieces to raise money. Hardly a reason for sympathy. But it is a reason why their financial position probably isn’t as simple as you’re assuming it is.