Stepping back in time : Life of the Victorian Servants at Weddington Castle
Whilst history inevitably tends to focus on the high profile, influential individuals who are much better-documented in historical archives, it is important not to forget the equally-important millions of ordinary people who make up the society of any given era.
In the case of Weddington Castle, whilst much is covered about the various owners over the centuries, and their influence in shaping its history; the contribution of the many and various servants and household staff must also be acknowledged. These people were not simply faceless minions: they were all individual personalities, with their own unique stories to tell. This section, therefore, attempts to allow a glimpse into these lives and into the day-to-day running of the Weddington estate.
LADY'S MAID
The Lady’s Maid was hired by and reported directly to the mistress of the house, rather than the Housekeeper. Because her position necessitated a close proximity to her mistress, the lady’s maid was often mistrusted and generally disliked by the lower servants, who possibly felt that she was haughty, or might “tattle” on them. Often, this treatment of the lady’s maid caused her to feel isolated, as if she didn’t quite fit into either world: her position allowed privileges of comfort and luxury not enjoyed
by the lower servants, yet no matter how high-ranking her position was, her station remained among the “poor domestic servants”.
To qualify for the position, the lady’s maid was to be neat in appearance; have stronger verbal skills; be pleasant; be able to read and write well; be proficient with her needle and handwork; and was expected to tell the truth, without gossiping. Honesty was an absolute necessity, as the lady’s maid would be handling her mistress’ clothing, jewels and personal items.
The daily duties of the Lady’s Maid included helping her mistress dress and undress, and maintaining her mistress’ wardrobe, including laundering the most delicate items and using her dressmaking skills to create new articles of clothing for any and all occasions. In addition, the lady’s maid prepared beauty lotions for her mistress’ delicate skin, and she styled her mistress’ hair.
HOUSEMAIDS
Under the supervision of the Housekeeper, there were several house maid positions, including parlour maids, chambermaids, laundry maids, still-room maids, “between maids”- these maids performed double-duty as both kitchen and housemaid, and maids-of-all-work. These were the employees who really maintained the house.
Each had their own set of duties and responsibilities, which included lighting fires and keeping them stoked, bringing up clean hot water for washing and bathing, and removing the dirty water after (four times a day—before breakfast, at noon, before dinner, and at bedtime); emptying and cleaning chamber pots; thoroughly cleaning all the public rooms of the house, making beds, sweeping, dusting and cleaning the bedrooms, as well as all the other rooms and areas of the house, scrubbing floors on their hands and knees, sweeping ashes, cleaning and polishing grates, candlesticks, marble floors and all the furniture,, brushing carpets and beating rugs, washing loads of laundry, which needed to be soaked, blued, washed, rinsed, rinsed again, wrung out, hung to dry and then ironed.
The housemaid’s work was back-breaking and exhausting, more so than we can truly imagine. There were lamps to clean and fill, each and every day, and because the working area was in the basement, maids frequently had to lug hot water up to the third floor of the house where the bedrooms were. In addition, in order to tend the fires in the house and keep them lit, a maid also had to carry loads of coal up each flight of stairs to all the fireplaces in the house.
Indeed, the housemaid’s day was long, intensive and painfully strenuous, beginning at 6:00 a.m. when she rose and dressed, then made tea for the Lady’s Maid and Housekeeper and served them by 6:30 a.m. on until 10:30 p.m. or later, when she could finally retire for the night with the house completely in order and ready for her to start all over again the following day.
THE FOOTMAN
Directly below the butler was the footman. The footman’s position was multifarious, and included a wide variety of duties that ranged from accompanying the mistress in her carriage as she paid calls or went shopping, to polishing the household copper and plate; or from waiting at table, to cleaning knives, cutlery, shoes and boots.
Other duties of the footman (who was frequently referred to as “James” or “John”, no matter what his real name might have been), would have included acting as the Lady’s personal footman. That is, among his other duties, he would have prepared her early morning or breakfast tray; cleaned her shoes; brushed any mud off her dress hems and riding habits; paid small charges of her travelling expenses such as toll gates and handsome cabs (he could reclaim these expenses from the Housekeeper); and if she owned a dog, he would be the one to take it for a walk. He would also accompany her when she went out in the carriage, sitting on the box with the coachman (then in later days, with the chauffer), and would open and close for her the carriage door, as well as the door to any stores she entered, unless there was already a doorman. He waited for her return, carried any packages for her, and once he helped her back into the carriage, he covered her knees with a blanket or fur rug. When the mistress went calling and no one was at home, she waited in the carriage while the footman left her visiting card at the front door.
The footman also acted as valet to the eldest son, and sometimes to the master, himself. He was responsible for laying the luncheon table; he cleaned all the mirrors in the household; he carried coal and wood, and similar tasks. Other general duties of the footman included trimming lamps; running all errands; carrying coal; lighting the house at dusk; cleaning silver and gold; answering the drawing room and/or parlour bells; announcing visitors; waiting at dinner; attending the gentlemen in the smoking room following dinner; and attending in the front hall as dinner guests were leaving.
Because of their public exposure at dinner and to guests, footmen were xpected to be the most presentable of the male servants. In addition to there being an “ideal height” requirement for footmen, they were also assessed on their appearance in “full livery” (Uniform), which for outdoors consisted of an ornate tail coat, knee breeches, stockings, white gloves, buckled shoes and powered hair with cocked hat. For indoors their livery was sometimes a bit less formal. Instead of a tail coat and buckled shoes, they usually wore a dress coat and pumps. Later in the century it was more common to see a uniform of white tie and tails with brass buttons that were stamped with the family crest.
THE HOUSEKEEPER
Always referred to as “Mrs.” by the other servants, whether she was married or not, the housekeeper was second in command of the household, and was the immediate representative of her mistress. It was necessary for the housekeeper to have an understanding of accounts. She was expected to keep an account book where she accurately and precisely noted all sums paid for any and every purpose, the current expenses of the house, tradesmen’s bills, etc. These accounts were balanced and examined
by the Mistress.
The housekeeper was responsible for maintaining order in the house and directing the female staff. She allocated duties and made sure that they were satisfactorily completed. In addition to overseeing the female staff, the housekeeper was also in charge of the household linens. She kept inventory, and made sure that the family and staff always had a clean supply of linens and bedding. The housekeeper was responsible for the inventory of other household necessities, such as soap and candles, sugar, flour and spices. As well, she supervised the china closet and the stillroom department, where cordials and preserves were made and stored.
In addition, she was to see that all the furniture in the house was cleaned and polished, and she attended to all the necessary marketing details, and ordering goods from the tradesmen
PARLOUR MAID
The Parlour Maid would have risen at 6.00 am to begin their duties which would have included
sweeping and dusting the drawing room, dining room, front hall and other sitting rooms, as well as tidying the grates and light the fires. They would also have had to clean the lamps and polish the candlesticks, carry up the cans of hot water to the bedrooms, make the other servants beds, sweep, dust, arrange the rooms and clean the front staircases and front hall. They would then make the beds of rest of the household, dust under the beds; shake the curtains,wash paintwork and light the fires.
Each bedroom would need to be supplied with soap, candles, clean towels, writing paper and the Parlour Maid would have to answer the bell at all times.
On special days their work might also include:
Clean knives, rub up table sliver and tidy pantry
Dress for luncheon
Clean away luncheon, wash up table silver
Fill coal scuttles as needed
Prepare guest bedrooms, turn down the beds, fill the jugs with water, close curtains, put in order and take up hot water
COOK
A professed cook would not do any general housecleaning, nor any ‘plain cooking’, and her ingredients would generally be prepared for her by the kitchen staff.
The busiest times of the day for the cook were the morning and the early evening. In the morning hours, Cook would first meet with the mistress of the house for her to review and approve menus, then she would prepare soup for the following day, as soup was “not usually meant to be eaten the same day it was made”. Next, Cook would prepare the jellies, pastries, creams and entrées required for the evening meal, and then luncheon was prepared for those “above stairs”. The afternoon hours allowed Cook a little bit of down time, unless guests were staying in the house, or if a dinner party was to be held. Then, on such occasions as these, servants found no time for rest.
The hours between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. were extremely hectic for Cook. Once dinner had been served, Cook’s work for the day was finished, and the remainder of the clean up and chores fell to the kitchen maids and scullery maids. These remaining chores, in and of themselves, were extremely laborious, as a full dinner for 18 people could easily produce some 500 separate items of china, glassware, kitchenware and cutlery that needed to be cleaned
The “Plain Cook”, unlike the aforementioned “professed cook”, would have general housekeeping duties to perform, many which were not related to cooking at all, especially in households where there were no kitchen or scullery maids. She might be expected to dust and sweep the dining room or parlour, light the fires, sweep the front hall and/or door-step, and even clean the grates—all in addition to maintaining the work of the kitchen. She would need to rise early, 6:00 in the summer months, and 6:30 in the winter, to light the kitchen fire, and then complete all her work upstairs before cooking breakfast. Plain Cooks were usually expected to only cook simple meals. For example, for luncheon, she might serve a joint of meat, vegetables and pudding. For dinner, she would prepare much the same meal, or she might vary it by serving fish, vegetables, potatoes and tarts.
Following dinner, the plain cook would need to clean the dishes, and scour tables and kitchen counters, and perhaps mop the kitchen floor so that it would be clean for the next morning. These were all tasks that the scullery maid would typically perform, but in a household where there was no scullery maid, these chores were left to the plain cook. She was to see to it that all these duties were completed before going to bed, and finally, it was her responsibility to see that the kitchen fires had burnt low; that the gas (in homes that had gas) in the kitchen and passages was turned off; and that the basement doors and windows were securely fastened. At last, she could retire for the night.
Karim
