Chapter Three THE LOWER CLASS

The young girl 'downstairs' (maybe a lovely looking parlour maid) who has been raped by the Lord's son and falls pregnant --- does not stand a chance ! The young master of the house is never going to admit to such a thing and, even though the other servants know that it is true, the young girl is sacked, thrown out with no "character" (work reference) and her life is literally ruined. The gentry "hid" this type of thing well and what could the young girl do in her defence 'back then' ?  It didn't seem to play on the young master's conscience that this young girl could end up in the work-house or worse, try an illegal abortion. Either way, her life was going to be cut short. A dramatic story ? Not according to the history books.
Life for the lower classes was just as hard where morals were concerned, as it was for the gentry. The only difference was that the gentry could 'hide' their sins, mainly through money (bribes, for example) whereas the lower class often just had the clothes on their backs. The Legal System was very different in the Edwardian Era.

Those born into the lower class had a very hard life. They had to work all their lives, often for very little money or gratitude. Often, families worked for the same Lord for generations. For example, a farmer may have taken over the farm from his father, still serving the same Lord, the two families being in partnership for hundreds of years. This also applied to the indoor staff. A young maid may have worked her way up to be the housekeeper, working in the same house for over fifty years. There was no benefit System back then, so these poor people had to try to save money or rely on the generosity of the Lord and Lady they worked for. This is possibly why a position in "Service" was always looked up to. Once employed, the servant had clothes (a uniform --- often paid for by themselves, especially the women), a bed (often sharing a room) and at least one good meal a day. The work was non-stop, the hours very long and the servant would get paid once a year, which eventually changed to quarterly payments. This way the servant could send a little money home and save a little. With only one afternoon off a week and being paid quarterly --- what else could he or she do ?

The money system back then was quite different when compared to today. They used the old Imperial System which was pound, shilling and pence. It is quite difficult to compare the wages back then to today. In 1910, the wages were :
The Butler  £50-£100 @year
The Housekeeper  £40-£70 @year
The Cook / Chef  £18-£500 @year
The Valet  £35-£50 @year
The Lady's Maid  £20-£32 @ year
1st Footman  £30-£40  @year
2nd Footman £20-£30 @year
1st Housemaid  £28-£30 @year
2nd Housemaid £22-24  @year
Kitchen maid  £20-£24 @ year
Scullery maid  £10-£14 @year.
Have you noticed that the men got paid more than the women and the ones who possibly worked the hardest got less money (the kitchen and the scullery maids) ? Yet many parents encouraged their sons and daughters to go into Service --- it was highly respectable employment.