A yeoman differed from landed gentry in one major way. They both owned land (although the yeoman often owned substantially less!), but the yeoman would put his hand to till the earth whereas the landed gentry usually employed servants to do this for them. Even the yeoman's wife would till the earth.
However, the term 'yeoman' was also applied to young sons of the gentry until they inherited their father's estate. 'Yeomanry' were volunteer cavalry regiments amalgamated in 1908 with other volunteers to form the Territorial Force.
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