The country house was not only a weekend retreat for aristocrats , but also often a full time residence for the minor gentry who were a central node in the `` squirearchy '' that ruled LOCATION@1 until the Reform Act NUMBER@1 -LRB- as documented in The Purefoy Letters , NUMBER@2 by L PERSON@1 -RRB- .

The country house was not only a weekend retreat for aristocrats , but also often a full time residence for the minor gentry .
