Are our large estates all in the middle of the countryside? (5)
I believe the answer is:
rural
'of the countryside?' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'are our large estates all in the middle' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'are' could be 'a' (short for 'are', historical unit of measurement) and 'a' is present in the answer.
'large' could be 'l' (eg in clothes sizes) and 'l' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'rur' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
(Other definitions for rural that I've seen before include "Rustic" , "Countrified" , "Pastoral or agricultural" , "Cobbett saw on his rides?" , "Relating to country life" .)