A Study In The Edwardian Era study two

The servants of a large house lived a very busy life. To get a position in "Service" in a large country estate was always considered a "step up on the ladder." Even the kitchen maid could eventually work her way up to becoming cook but it was extremely hard work, and I can't help thinking she had "earned" her place. To work as a servant in a large house was a complete way of life --- the servant lived in the house with the family, in a different part of the house, 'of course.' You were paid wages according to your "Position" within the servants hall --- the butler earned more than the footman / the housekeeper more than the parlour maid. Even 'downstairs' there were positions --- an interesting concept all of its own. As a servant in a large house you had good food, a bed to sleep in and a safe area in which to work. However, the work was extremely hard and the hours just as long, and one afternoon off a week may have been considered as generous. Quite a different way of life when compared to today!

We have to remember that the maids cleaned with different cleaning equipment when compared with today. Although electricity had been invented by this time, even those who could afford to have it installed were very slow to embrace the new invention. Most people were extremely nervous about using it. Lord Grantham, in the series, had electric lights installed in the dining room, sitting room, library, etc, but 'saw no need' for it to be installed downstairs in the servants area, for example, in the kitchen. This shows a very different way of thinking when compared with today. Of all the servants, the cook needs good light but she (or he, the chef) was a servant and, in the eyes of the Lord, could make do with candle light or gas light. I don't think Lord Grantham was being cruel, it was just the way he was taught to think of servants.

Although the hoover was invented by this time, very few embraced the new cleaning equipment, so the maids were forever using brooms and brushes, dustpans and so on. There were no washing machines, so a laundry room was essential. It wasn't just washing by hand --- a good knowledge of 'how' to wash and what cleaning fluids / soaps to use was needed as the fabrics back then were quite different to today. There is a scene, in one of the episodes, where one of the footman used the wrong solution to get a mark out of a dinner jacket and it burnt a hole in the material. Back then, it seemed that "knowledge" played a large part in getting on in "Service".