Finally, I hesitate ever to underestimate the importance of class in British society. I wouldn’t be surprised if the English (at least) middle classes self-imposed a regime of manners that was influenced by (perceived) upper-class norms during their attempts

to climb into social prominence, after having been perceived as noisy/gauche, so that such norms might have been transmitted more effectively from a small dominant group than actual speech patterns, which rely on face-to-face interaction (at least, then).