Some of the mansions of pit owning families in the north east and in central Scotland in particular were completely trashed within a short period of being left empty. Their are accounts of newly abandoned mansions being heavily vandalised from the years around World War One. In other areas where landed families attempted to control how their tenants voted until relatively late in the nineteenth century their could be similar levels of hostility (the Vyners at Studley Royal in North Yorkshire being an example).

In many areas however local communities tried their best to save these houses and were generally sorry to see them go. I think a lot must have depended on how the owners of these houses made their money and looked after their estates.