HIERARCHY OF BRITISH SERVANTS

Here's some fun for the day……...

TRIVIA:
The Sphinx is a statue that guards what? 

BRAIN RIDDLE:
What can you catch but not throw?

JOKE:
Q:  What did 0 say to 8?
A:  Nice belt

RANDOM CONFESSION:
I'm not a fan of Josh Groban's voice.  I think he sounds like a male Snow White.


COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
Developing a discipline of personal Bible study can make a huge impact on your life.  The first step to getting started is easy:  pick it up.

THE HIERARCHY OF BRITISH SERVANTS

I'm a big fan of the television show Downton Abbey.   Among some of the things that fascinate me about this show are the hierarchy of the servants in the household and the various 'dress' for the various meals.   This post will be on the hierarchy of the servants in what was called a "Great House" back in the day.   A Great House was considered to be a large and stately residence with a large household and ground staff.   We'll look at the dress for the meals in a future post.

Today I will just be looking at some of the main members of the household staff.   A rigid set of rules dictated the lives of the household servants in the 1800's and 1900's.    For example, mealtimes.  The Upper servants (Steward, Butler, Valet, Housekeeper, Lady's Maid) either ate separately or in this particular pattern:  The Butler sat at the head of the table with the Housekeeper at the opposite end.  The male servants sat in order of position on one side with the female servants sitting in order of position on the other side.

Here's a look at some of the members of the domestic servants of a "Great House" and some of their duties.   Pictures are of corresponding characters from Downton Abbey.   Whether your watch the show or not, it is interesting to learn the details.


STEWARD

-employed only in larger households
-manages household and household bills
-would not be considered servant but professional employee ( like a lawyer)
-manages all hiring and firing of staff



THE BUTLER

-referred to by last name.   (i.e. Mr Carson to his staff and Carson to his employer)
-Head of the household staff.  Top on the Hierarchy list as far as staff.
-in charge of pantry, dining room and wine
-typically hired by the master of the house but reported to the lady of the house
-responsible for ringing 'dressing bell' to let guests know it was time to dress for dinner
-last duty of the day was to check that all fires damped out and doors locked



THE HOUSEKEEPER

-senior female servant
-though usually a spinster, she was accorded the title of 'Mrs' out of respect (i.e. Mrs. Hughes on Downton Abbey)
-supervised hiring and firing of female staff
-met daily with the lady of the house to go over books and preside over Servant's Tea
-usually wears black uniform and set of keys at waist
-last duty of the day would be to oversee the washing and storing of the china



LADY'S MAID

-addressed by her surname by her employer and Miss by junior servants.  (i.e.  O'Brien, Miss O'Brien,  Braithwaite on Downton Abbey.  Anna is a Lady's Maid but her husband, Bates is the valet.  If both called by their surname there would be 2 Bates so Anna is called by her first name by her Ladyship)
-main duties were attending to her Ladyship's dressing, grooming, laying out of clothes, packing  (Lady of the house could often spend 4-5 hours a day dressing for various meals)
-companion for her Ladyship
-served breakfast each morning by Second Housemaid
-often resented by other female staff
-allowed to wear her mistress' cast off clothing 
-last duty was to wait up until her Ladyship retired for the evening to assist in undressing and brushing of hair

VALET

-what the lady's maid is to the lady of the house the valet is to the master of the house except he is paid more

-laying out clothing, keeping shoes and hats clean

-standing behind his employer at dinner

-running employers bath

-shave the master

-referred to by surname by his employer and Mr. by junior servants ( i.e. Bates/Mr. Bates on Downton Abbey)

-last duty of the day was to wait up for his Lordship to retire for the evening to assist in undressing

COOK

-supervised large staff to cook up to four elaborate meals a day

-met daily with lady of the house to discuss menu

-only extremely rich families could afford a male cook and the ultimate status symbol was a French chef

-last duty of the day would be preparing the Family dinner

FOOTMAN

-responsible for carrying coal, cleaning silverware , announcing visitors and waiting tables
-tall footman earned more than short 
-First Footman served as Valet to oldest son of the house
-Second Footman would have done more mundane tasks like cleaning staff boots and emptying male chamber pots and attend to younger sons of the family
-first footman would act as Butler in Butler's absence
-last job of the day was to clear and clean the china.


HOUSEMAIDS

-kept estate immaculate
-kept bedrooms supplied with water for washing and bathing
-tended fireplaces in the rooms
-scrub & empty chamber pots, turn down beds, drew curtains, dusted
-scrubbed floors by hand
-served Housekeeper her morning tea
-last job of the day was filling hot water bottles in Family and Upper Servant's beds to warm them



KITCHEN MAID

-prepare breakfast trays of Upper Servants
-assist cook in meals
-makes all breads, sauces and vegetable dishes
-prepares light meal for children of the house
-only allowed upstairs once a day for compulsory prayers
-last duty of the day is to store leftover food



SCULLERY MAID

-assistant to kitchen maid
-considered lowest servant in the house
-usually in teens
-first duty of the day was to stoke the kitchen fires
-empty all chamber pots of female staff (fun, fun)
-assist Lower Servants in serving Upper Servants breakfast

===============

TRIVIA ANSWER:
The Pyramids of Giza

BRAIN RIDDLE ANSWER:
A cold


Until next time…….