"UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS"

The whole concept of one Family living "Upstairs" and being cared for by a whole team of servants "Downstairs" is a world away from the present generation. Yet, in the Edwardian era, it seemed to be the only "way of living." To get a job as a kitchen maid, living-in, with 3 good meals a day and being paid wages, was a good alternative to the "workhouse" or to begging on the streets. 

For the Family living "Upstairs," it seemed, that they lived a very "easy" life with the servants doing every little task, from helping the ladies to dress, drawing the master's bath and opening the doors, and so on.

Those living "Upstairs" and those living "Downstairs" had very different lives. We learn from the 1911 census that 1.3million people worked 'below stairs'. With millions of families living in complete poverty, going into "Service" was a much sought-after alternative to near starvation but it was not an easy life.

The "domestic servant" was at the beck and call of the Family every hour of the day. While the Family ate 9-course meals, the servants were "treated" to the leftover cold cuts, and while the Family organized their social calendar, the servants were lucky to get one day off a month.

Yet, a careful and sensible 'servant' could have a steady life and a decent old age.