Talk:Forty-shilling freeholders

Page doesn't explain at all.
This page is lacking an actual explanation of the concept. What is meant by a 'forty shilling freeholder' in the first place? Is it a qualification based on real property? On liquid assets? On documentable income? The article begins by assuming the knowledge of this part of the issue, then discussing the history of the concept, rather than defining or clarifying it. If the legal assumptions surrounding the definition changed over the four or five centuries the concept had relevance, that should be described, but the basic concept needs first to be defined, or it can hardly count as an encyclopedia entry. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hammerquill (talk • contribs) 04:11, 5 June 2012 (UTC)
 * In fact, the historical part, which provides us an explanation, has been obscured, if it ever existed before. And I suppose it did, for I would, as a French, not have been aware of it, otherwise.Crocy (talk) 11:40, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

King Henry VI of England

 * Did establish the 40 shilling law in 1432.(en/ wiki/...)
 * But the site of the Parliament mentions it as a statute in 1429. Crocy (talk) 17:13, 22 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Former research [About Seymour - Eager to know more about the possible "initiator" of this law, I could find a certain "John Seymour", whose biography might actually match the history (the only clue yet, for me, is the constituency of "Wilthshire", where J.S. was knight of the Shire at the right epoch.) Should he be as famous as Dagobert in France, I prefer to mention my research here not to risk to create a wrong link before having set this discussion, for every one to feel free to correct the link if necessary. Thank you. Crocy (talk) 16:04, 22 January 2013 (UTC) - Of course this was a wrong supposition, since Seymour seems to be living in 2010. So, what name should be associated to the initiative of 1432, to be mentionned in a historial survey ? Crocy (talk) 16:12, 22 January 2013 (UTC)]

“As women could not own land…”
This claim is debatable; married women could not own property, but single women could (e.g., widows). There is evidence that a number of women did own land and thus voted. See, for example, Crawford, P. (2001) The poorest she: women and citizenship in early modern England, in The Putney debates of 1647: the Army the Levellers and the English State, ed. Mendle, M. (ISBN 0521650151): “…there are a number of references to women voting in parliamentary elections…it seems likely that it was confined to single women and widows. Their right to vote in county elections derived from their possession of freehold land worth forty shillings…” Benjamin M. A&#39;Lee (talk) 12:48, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

The 1832 Reform Act explicitly disenfranchised wealthy women property holders. Despite this, women 'Poor Rate' payers were allowed to vote from 1869 onwards (via the Municipal Franchise Act) in Local elections. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.148.35.65 (talk) 12:06, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

Dubious
"At first it is probable that all free inhabitant householders could vote." This is contradicted by Derbyshire_(UK_Parliament_constituency) which states "In medieval times, the MPs would have been elected at the county court, by the suitors to the court, which meant the tiny handful of the local nobility who were tenants in chief of the Crown." Any idea which is correct?

AndrewRT(Talk) 17:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

In any case, an unsubstantiated and unreferenced claim probably shouldn't appear in the article. The sentence could be omitted. If there is scholarly uncertainty about the matter, then a statement to that effect, or that the details are unknown could be placed. If the current statement is substantiated, then of course it should be there, if duly referenced, and taking to account differing views of substance, if any. Ignatios2000 (talk) 14:37, 8 December 2015 (UTC)

Propose article move to Forty-shilling freeholders
Google Ngram here has highest usage hyphenated, plural and without capitalisation. Propose the article is moved to Forty-shilling freeholders. Whizz40 (talk) 19:42, 17 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Other encyclopaedia also typically also follow this form . Submitting a technical move request. Whizz40 (talk) 19:28, 5 May 2016 (UTC)