Gossip on the Stairs, Otto Erdmann (1834 - 1905)
Sapete ormai quanto ami il mondo che durante il periodo vittoriano ed edoardiano si muoveva 'Downstairs' ossia nei locali che erano collocati sotto le scale delle grandi, imponenti dimore situate nella campagna inglese ... forse perché mi è sempre apparso così gaio, vivace, sempre in fermento, ho sempre visto collaborazione e corporativismo tra i componenti la servitù, li ho sempre visti come se fossero, in fondo, componenti di una grande famiglia, poiché essendo tutti accomunati dall'essere lontano da casa era naturale che nascesse tra di loro un affetto particolare ... sì, mi sarebbe piaciuto, magari solo per qualche giorno, provare a vivere in una di quelle fastose dimore, ma magari come housekeeper - governante - o come cuoca, che, in ordine gerarchico, ad essa era immediatamente sottoposta, ma con davvero poche responsabilità in meno; la governante era il corrispettivo, tra i membri femminili, del butler - e non lo traduco con maggiordomo perché sarebbe riduttivo, non esiste la parola adeguata per me per descrivere in modo calzante le responsabilità ed i compiti amministrativi dell'intera casa che gravavano su di lui - analogamente al quale non aveva mansioni servili, bensì di ordine burocratico - gestionale ( a lei toccava dare gli stipendi ai dipendenti, ordinare le vettovaglie, sorvegliare su quanto veniva operato in cucina e nell'intera casa, dare ordini alla cuoca circa i voleri dei signori ).
La cuoca - cook - aveva la responsabilità di sostenere, con i piatti che preparava, la famiglia che le dava lavoro, senza far loro mancare nulla e senza chiedere denaro in più da spendere alla governante, doveva far fare a tutti i Signori che la mantenevano un figura decorosa in caso di feste o banchetti ed aveva 'sotto di sé' la plain cook, ossia colei che preparava piccoli pasti e spuntini per lo staff dei servi e la trained cook, ossia l'aiuto cuoca che le era di sostegno per i tocchi più sofisticati, magari esotici dei piatti da portare in tavola; le più giovani collaboratrici in cucina erano la kitchen maid e la scullery maid, poiché entrambe cominciavano a lavorare al compimento del quattordicesimo anno di età: la prima era addetta alla pulizia e alla mondatura delle verdure, oltre che alla pulizia dei locali tra la preparazione di un pasto ed un altro, mentre la seconda si occupava delle componenti meno impegnative delle portate da servire.
Consumavano abbondanti colazioni costituite da numerosi piatti - kedgeree, uova e pancetta, e cacciagione cui avrebbero poi fatto seguito spuntini a metà mattinata costituiti da uova sode e toast. Il pranzo, un pasto molto più pesante di quanto ci si aspetterebbe oggi, vi avrebbe seguito nel giro di due ore o giù di lì, e il tè del pomeriggio sarebbe stato un pasto sostanzioso in sé, con panini e torte e marmellate che il cuoco aveva preparato. La cena sarebbe constata di quattro o cinque portate, e più tardi la sera ci sarebbe stati panini a disposizione per tutti coloro che avvertivano un certo languorino. 1
Ovviamente queste esagerate quantità di cibo giocavano a discapito della salute dei benestanti che vedevano accorciarsi enormemente le loro aspettative di vita, anche se periodicamente trascorrevano giorni di cura presso le 'spa' e le stazioni termali del tempo e, per converso, significavano un'enorme mole di lavoro per chi doveva cucinare... di certo in cucina non vi era chi si annoiava !
Anche se noi siamo soliti pensare alla servitù come ad una realtà misera, triste, deprivata o quanto meno afflitta, era questo in Gran Bretagna un mondo di tutto rispetto, che esistesse o meno confidenza tra Signori e personale di servizio, tanto che molto spesso le giovani, di umile estrazione sociale, questo sì, partivano come donne di fatica per raggiungere traguardi talora insperati ed impensabili, dato che non dovevano sostenere spesa alcuna per mantenersi, poiché anche se le loro paghe non erano elevate e talora dovevano inviare denaro alla famiglia, riuscivano negli anni a metter da parte un bel ... tesoretto !
Figlia di un imprenditore di pompe funebri nacque a Leyton, in Essex e lasciò la scuola all'età di 12 anni per divenire una 'ragazza di fatica'; dopo quattro anni il caso volle che fosse richiesta presso la dimore di reali esiliati e così venne a far parte dello staff del pretendente al Trono Francese, Philippe, Conte di Parigi, dove ebbe l'opportunità di imparare la lingua e la cucina che stava dilagando e divenendo al tempo così famosa per sostituirsi a quella così sostanziosa tipicamente vittoriana.
Stiamo parlando di una ragazza intraprendente per cui ben potete immaginare che presto ella divenne Head Kitchen Maid, ossia domestica a capo delle cucine, che non avrebbe dovuto cucinare, ma che lo faceva occasionalmente per gli ospiti di riguardo, non ultimo il Principe di Galles, futuro Re Edoardo VII che la volle conoscere e che entrò in confidenza con lei divenendone 'amico' .... ( ricordate quel post che pubblicai non molto tempo fa in cui vi rendevo note le sue numerose ... debolezze ... se volete potete trovarlo qui METTERE LINK ).
Rosa si stabilì quindi presso la dimora di un altro esule, il Duca d'Orleans, e da allora si spostava da una residenza aristocratica ad un'altra quando era richiesta in occasione di banchetti o parties divenendo ormai conosciuta come THE QUEEN OF COOKS, ossia LA REGINA DI TUTTE LE CUOCHE.
Rosa stava a poco a poco venendo in contatto con i membri più autorevoli dell'aristocrazia europea che alloggiavano a Londra e nel 1902 fu in grado di acquistare i locali del Cavendish Hotel in Jermyn Street del quale divenne conduttrice senza interrompere la sua carriera di cuoca sopraffine sopravvivendo alle due guerre mondiali e ad almeno un infarto.
Ecco, questa in poche righe la prodigiosa vita di colei che venne da tutti soprannominata The Duchess of Jermin Street e divenne famosa al punto che negli anni settanta la BBC dedicò a questo personaggio unico una fiction ( The Duchess of Duke Street ) tratto dal romanzo Vile Bodies di Evelyn Waugh(1930).
Rosa in età matura ritratta con il suo cagnolino Kippy
Tornando alla gerarchia che secondo regole ferree governava il mondo 'Downstairs', di livello inferiore sia alle governante che alla cuoca era la lady's maid, equivalente al femminile del gentleman's valet: costei, che potremmo definire la cameriera personale della signora, probabilmente di estrazione sociale medio-bassa, doveva avere dei requisiti che generalmente non erano richiesti per coloro che lavoravano in cucina, ossia doveva essere generalmente di bell'aspetto e saper parlare correttamente e fluentemente - meglio se oltre l'inglese conosceva anche il francese ( di solito le lady's maid erano di origine francese o svizzera ) - essendo colei che accompagnava per tutto il giorno ed in ogni circostanza la Lady, ed era vestita o di grigio o di nero in accordo alla sobrietà di cui si faceva portatrice, essendo di fatto parte dell'immagine che al pubblico la Lady offriva di sé; essa la abbigliava per qualsiasi evento, la sera le scaldava gli indumenti per la notte prima che li indossasse, compiva le cosìdette 'calls', ossia le visite di cortesia con lei, viaggiando spesso anche per lunghe distanze al suo fianco, insomma della sua Lady era quasi l'ombra.
World of Dreams, Lady Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema, 1876.
Doveva inoltre avere delle competenze specifiche che potessero far sì che fosse all'altezza del suo ruolo, quindi faceva dei corsi che la rendevano capace nel preparare composti cosmetici, abile nell'acconciare la lunga capigliatura che connotava la Lady vittoriana, aveva competenze anche in fatto di cucito - se per esempio durante un viaggio si fosse sdrucito in parte l'orlo della sottana della sua Lady, ella avrebbe dovuto essere in grado di intervenire con successo - ed avere una certa resistenza fisica e costanza, poiché il dover essere sempre al fianco della Lady, per esempio quando si recava ad un ballo dal quale rincasava il primo mattino, significava andare a dormire quando gli altri si alzavano, se prima doveva svestire, lavare, abbigliare per il riposo e mettere a letto la propria signora stanca della sua giornata, per poi finalmente accasciarsi sul proprio letto, spesso collocato nella stanza a fianco di quella della Lady !
Maid with Flagon, William Powell Frith, 1858.
Ecco perché generalmente le lady's maid erano chiamate 'Miss', perché sovente lo erano davvero, non si addiceva per certo l'avere una famiglia ad una ragazza impegnata in cotal guisa e e che doveva lavorare con una tale dedizione.
Ed infine rappresentavano, sempre da un punto di vista gerarchico, un caso a sé sia le parlourmaids che la chambermaids che stavano a metà, anche da un punto di vista strettamente pratico, tra il mondo 'Downstairs' e quello 'Upstairs', essendo le prime responsabili delle stanze 'pubbliche 'della casa - la morning room, il drawing room, il parlour, la library, di cui pulivano i tappeti, le inferiate e lucidavano i mobili ed erano responsabili dell'ordine che vi doveva regnare,
The Secret, Wilhelm Amberg (1822 - 1899)
Femme de Chambre, Joseph Caraud, 1868.
mentre alle seconde competevano le camere da letto, dal momento in cui ne aprivano le imposte il mattino fino alla sera quando infine le riaccostavano: a loro spettava il compito di portare su il tè del mattino, la pulizia delle stanze ed il portare su per le scale acqua calda per lavare i padroni e gli eventuali ospiti.
Questo per quanto riguarda il mondo femminile, della servitù al maschile vi parlerò in una prossima occasione.
Vi giunga come sempre gradita la mia più sentita riconoscenza,
carissimi lettori ed amici,
e a voi che passate di qui per la prima volta
do il mio più caloroso benvenuto !
A presto 💕
![]()
![]()
FONTI BIBLIOGRAFICHE:
Judith Flanders, The Victorian House, Harper Perennial, 2004;
Pamela A. Sambrook, The Country House Servant, Sutton Publisher, 1999;
Duties of Servants: A Practical Guide to the Routine of Domestic Service
by Member of the Aristocracy.
CITAZIONI:
1 - Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2012, pag. 2012.
![]()
- picture 1 - Gossip on the Stairs, Otto Erdmann (1834 - 1905)
You know how much I love the world that during the Victorian and Edwardian age lived 'Downstairs', that is in the environments that were placed under the stairs of the large, stately homes located in the English countryside ... maybe because I've always seen it so cheerful, lively, always in turmoil, I always saw corporatism and collaboration between the members of the servitude, I have always seen them as if they were, after all, members of a large family, since, being them all united from being away from home, it was natural that it were born a special affection among them ... yes, I would have liked, if only for a few days, to try living in one of those lavish homes, but perhaps as a housekeeper or as a cook, that, in hierarchical order, was immediately subjected to her, but with very few responsibilities in less; the housekeeper was the corresponding, amongst female members, of the the butler similar to what she had not menial jobs, but bureaucratic - managerial ones (she had to give salaries to the employees, to order supplies, to monitor of what was practiced in the kitchen and throughout the house and to give orders to the cook about the wishes of the masters).
- picture 2
The cook had the responsibility to support, with the dishes she prepared, the family who gave her her work, without letting her masters leave anything and without asking for more money to spend for the meals at the housekeeper, she had to do everything that would maintained a dignified figure to her masters in the case of parties or banquets and had 'beneath her' the plain cook, that she was who had to prepare small meals and snacks for the staff of servants and the trained cook, ie the help cook who had to support her for more sophisticated touches in her preparations, maybe exotic dishes for special occasions; the younger helpers in the kitchen was the kitchen maid and the scullery maid, since both of them began to work at the age of fourteen: the first was involved in the cleaning and peeling of vegetables, as well as the cleaning of the rooms around the kitchen between the preparation of a meal and another, while the second took care of the less demanding components of the courses to be served.
- picture 3 on the left - The kitchen and the rooms connected to it were abuzz all hours of the day long, during the Victorian and Edwardian era, the costume ever wanted it to be the right time to prepare meals or snacks and the staff always had to be ready and willing, of course:
They ate very large breakfasts of numerous dishes - kedgeree, bacon and eggs, and game. There would then be mid-morning snzcks prepared for them, such as boiled eggs and toast. Luncheon, a much heavier repast than we would expect today,would followw within two hours or so, and afternoon tea would be a substantial meal in itself, with sandwiches and cakes and jams that the cook would have made. Dinner would be of four or five courses, and later in the evening there would be more sandwiches laid out for anyone who was feeling peckish. 1
Obviously these exaggerated quantities of food were playing at the expense of the health of the wealthy who saw their life expectancy greatly shorten, although regularly spent days of treatment at the spas of the time and, on the other hand, it meant an enormous amount of work for those who worked in the kitchen ... certainly there was not who he was bored there !
Although we usually think of servitude as such a miserable reality, sad, deprived or at least afflicted, this was in Britain a world of all respect, whether there were confidence or not between Masters and service personnel, so that very often young people, of humble social background, started their career as a 'fatigue girl' to achieve goals sometimes unexpected and unthinkable, given that they should not support any spending for living, because even if their wages were not high and sometimes had to send money to their family, with the passing of the times they could put aside a nice ... treasure!
- picture 4 on the right - Let me give you the example of Rosa Ovenden (1867 - 1952), better known with her surname Lewis which she assumed after her wedding.
Daughter of an undertaker Rosa was born in Leyton, Essex and left school at age 12 to become a maid of all works; after four years she happened to be required at the residences of royal exile from France and so she became part of the staff of the pretender to the French throne, Philippe, Count of Paris, where she had the opportunity to learn the language and the art of the 'cuisine' that was spreading and becoming at once so famous to replace, little by little that so nourishing typically Victorian.
We are talking about a resourceful girl so you can well imagine that soon she became Head Kitchen Maid, ie domestic head of the kitchens, that is that she should not have to cook, but she did it occasionally for important guests, not least the Prince of Wales, future King Edward VII, who wanted to know her, and who grew a so very close friend of hers to become on eof her lovers .... ( remember the post that I published not long ago in which I made you aware of his many 'weaknesses' ... if you want ... you can find it HERE - PUT LINK).
Rosa settled then at the home of another exile, the Duke of Orleans, and since then she moved from an aristocratic residence to another when she was required for banquets or parties now becoming known and named THE QUEEN OF ALL COOKS.
- picture 5
Rosa was gradually coming into contact with the most influential members of the European aristocracy who were staying in London and in 1902 she was able to buy the premises of the Cavendish Hotel in Jermyn Street which she managed without interrupting her career as a superfine cook surviving two world wars and at least one heart attack.
Here, in this few lines the prodigious life of the woman who was by all dubbed The Duchess of Jermin Street and became popular to the point that in the seventies the BBC devoted to this unique character a fiction (The Duchess of Duke Street) adapted from the novel Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (1930).
- picture 6 - Rose in her mature age with her little dog Kippy
Coming back to the hierarchy which according to strict rules governed the world 'Downstairs', at the lower level of the housekeeper and the cook there was the lady's maid, equivalent of the gentleman's valet: she, probably coming from medium-low class, must had the requirements that generally weren't necessary for those working in the kitchen, given she had to be generally good-looking and know how to speak correctly and fluently - better if besides English also knew French (usually the lady's maid were of French or Swiss origin) - being the one who accompanied the Lady throughout the day and in all circumstances, and she was usually dressed in gray or black according to the sobriety of which she was bearer, being in fact part of the image that at the public the Lady offered of herself; she dressed her for any event, the evening warmed her clothing for the night before she wore them, with her she did the so called 'calls', ie courtesy visits with her, often travelling for long distances at her side, in short, she was almost her Lady's shadow.
- picture 7 - World of Dreams, Lady Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema, 1876.
She also had to have have specific skills that made her deserve her position, that's why she did some courses that made her capable of preparing cosmetic compounds, skilled with arranging the long hair that connoted the Victorian Ladies, and also had responsibilities in terms of sewing - if for example during a journeyher Lady had torn in part the hem of her skirt, she would have to be able to intervene with success - and have a certain physical strength and constancy, since she always had to be at the side of her Lady, for example, when she went to a ball from which she came back home early in the morning, it meant going to sleep when the others got up, since she first had to undress her mistress, to wash her, to dress herlady tired for her day and then finally collapse on her own bed, often placed in the room next to the Lady's.
- picture 8 - Maid with Flagon, William Powell Frith, 1858.
That's why usually the lady's maid was called 'Miss', because often they really were not married, given such a busy life didn't suit for sure to a woman who had a family.
And finally, always from a hierarchical point of view, a special case was represented by the parlourmaids and the chambermaids who were between, also from a strictly practical point of view, the world 'Downstairs' and that 'Upstairs', being the first responsible for the 'public' rooms of the house - the morning room, the drawing room, the parlor, the library, of which they cleaned carpets, grates and polished all the furniture, and were responsible for order that was to reign there,
- picture 9 - The Secret, Wilhelm Amberg (1822 - 1899)
- picture 10 - Femme de Chambre, Joseph Caraud, 1868.
while the latter competed bedrooms, from the moment they opened the shutters in the morning until the evening when finally the closed them: they had the task of bringing upside the morning tea, of cleaning the rooms and bring up the stairs hot water to wash the masters and possible guests.
So much for the feminine world of servitude, about male servants I'm going to deal with it in a future occasion.
See you soon 💕
Judith Flanders, The Victorian House, Harper Perennial, 2004;
Pamela Horn, The Rise and Fall of the VICTORIAN SERVANT, Sutton Publishing LTD;
Pamela Horn, Life in the Victorian Country House, Shire Publisher, 2010;
Lee Jackson, Daily Life in Victorian London: an Extraordinary Anthology, Kindle Edition, 2011;
Lee Jackson, A Dictionary of Victorian London: An A-Z of the Great Metropolis, Anthem Press, 2006;
Trevor May, The Victorian Domestic Servant, Shire Publisher, 2008;
(qui ne trovate una breve anteprima)
Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2012;
Pamela Horn, Life in the Victorian Country House, Shire Publisher, 2010;
Lee Jackson, Daily Life in Victorian London: an Extraordinary Anthology, Kindle Edition, 2011;
Lee Jackson, A Dictionary of Victorian London: An A-Z of the Great Metropolis, Anthem Press, 2006;
Trevor May, The Victorian Domestic Servant, Shire Publisher, 2008;
(qui ne trovate una breve anteprima)
Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2012;
Emily Augusta Patmore, THE SERVANT'S BEHAVIOUR BOOK or Hints on Manners and Dress for Maid Servants in Small Households by Mrs. Motherly, Bell and Daldy, London, 1859
- disponibile on-line al seguente indirizzo
https://archive.org/details/servantsbehavio00patmgoog
- disponibile on-line al seguente indirizzo
https://archive.org/details/servantsbehavio00patmgoog
Pamela A. Sambrook, The Country House Servant, Sutton Publisher, 1999;
Duties of Servants: A Practical Guide to the Routine of Domestic Service
by Member of the Aristocracy.
CITAZIONI:
1 - Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2012, pag. 2012.
- picture 1 - Gossip on the Stairs, Otto Erdmann (1834 - 1905)
You know how much I love the world that during the Victorian and Edwardian age lived 'Downstairs', that is in the environments that were placed under the stairs of the large, stately homes located in the English countryside ... maybe because I've always seen it so cheerful, lively, always in turmoil, I always saw corporatism and collaboration between the members of the servitude, I have always seen them as if they were, after all, members of a large family, since, being them all united from being away from home, it was natural that it were born a special affection among them ... yes, I would have liked, if only for a few days, to try living in one of those lavish homes, but perhaps as a housekeeper or as a cook, that, in hierarchical order, was immediately subjected to her, but with very few responsibilities in less; the housekeeper was the corresponding, amongst female members, of the the butler similar to what she had not menial jobs, but bureaucratic - managerial ones (she had to give salaries to the employees, to order supplies, to monitor of what was practiced in the kitchen and throughout the house and to give orders to the cook about the wishes of the masters).
- picture 2
The cook had the responsibility to support, with the dishes she prepared, the family who gave her her work, without letting her masters leave anything and without asking for more money to spend for the meals at the housekeeper, she had to do everything that would maintained a dignified figure to her masters in the case of parties or banquets and had 'beneath her' the plain cook, that she was who had to prepare small meals and snacks for the staff of servants and the trained cook, ie the help cook who had to support her for more sophisticated touches in her preparations, maybe exotic dishes for special occasions; the younger helpers in the kitchen was the kitchen maid and the scullery maid, since both of them began to work at the age of fourteen: the first was involved in the cleaning and peeling of vegetables, as well as the cleaning of the rooms around the kitchen between the preparation of a meal and another, while the second took care of the less demanding components of the courses to be served.
- picture 3 on the left - The kitchen and the rooms connected to it were abuzz all hours of the day long, during the Victorian and Edwardian era, the costume ever wanted it to be the right time to prepare meals or snacks and the staff always had to be ready and willing, of course:
They ate very large breakfasts of numerous dishes - kedgeree, bacon and eggs, and game. There would then be mid-morning snzcks prepared for them, such as boiled eggs and toast. Luncheon, a much heavier repast than we would expect today,would followw within two hours or so, and afternoon tea would be a substantial meal in itself, with sandwiches and cakes and jams that the cook would have made. Dinner would be of four or five courses, and later in the evening there would be more sandwiches laid out for anyone who was feeling peckish. 1
Obviously these exaggerated quantities of food were playing at the expense of the health of the wealthy who saw their life expectancy greatly shorten, although regularly spent days of treatment at the spas of the time and, on the other hand, it meant an enormous amount of work for those who worked in the kitchen ... certainly there was not who he was bored there !
Although we usually think of servitude as such a miserable reality, sad, deprived or at least afflicted, this was in Britain a world of all respect, whether there were confidence or not between Masters and service personnel, so that very often young people, of humble social background, started their career as a 'fatigue girl' to achieve goals sometimes unexpected and unthinkable, given that they should not support any spending for living, because even if their wages were not high and sometimes had to send money to their family, with the passing of the times they could put aside a nice ... treasure!
- picture 4 on the right - Let me give you the example of Rosa Ovenden (1867 - 1952), better known with her surname Lewis which she assumed after her wedding.
Daughter of an undertaker Rosa was born in Leyton, Essex and left school at age 12 to become a maid of all works; after four years she happened to be required at the residences of royal exile from France and so she became part of the staff of the pretender to the French throne, Philippe, Count of Paris, where she had the opportunity to learn the language and the art of the 'cuisine' that was spreading and becoming at once so famous to replace, little by little that so nourishing typically Victorian.
We are talking about a resourceful girl so you can well imagine that soon she became Head Kitchen Maid, ie domestic head of the kitchens, that is that she should not have to cook, but she did it occasionally for important guests, not least the Prince of Wales, future King Edward VII, who wanted to know her, and who grew a so very close friend of hers to become on eof her lovers .... ( remember the post that I published not long ago in which I made you aware of his many 'weaknesses' ... if you want ... you can find it HERE - PUT LINK).
Rosa settled then at the home of another exile, the Duke of Orleans, and since then she moved from an aristocratic residence to another when she was required for banquets or parties now becoming known and named THE QUEEN OF ALL COOKS.
- picture 5
Rosa was gradually coming into contact with the most influential members of the European aristocracy who were staying in London and in 1902 she was able to buy the premises of the Cavendish Hotel in Jermyn Street which she managed without interrupting her career as a superfine cook surviving two world wars and at least one heart attack.
Here, in this few lines the prodigious life of the woman who was by all dubbed The Duchess of Jermin Street and became popular to the point that in the seventies the BBC devoted to this unique character a fiction (The Duchess of Duke Street) adapted from the novel Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (1930).
- picture 6 - Rose in her mature age with her little dog Kippy
Coming back to the hierarchy which according to strict rules governed the world 'Downstairs', at the lower level of the housekeeper and the cook there was the lady's maid, equivalent of the gentleman's valet: she, probably coming from medium-low class, must had the requirements that generally weren't necessary for those working in the kitchen, given she had to be generally good-looking and know how to speak correctly and fluently - better if besides English also knew French (usually the lady's maid were of French or Swiss origin) - being the one who accompanied the Lady throughout the day and in all circumstances, and she was usually dressed in gray or black according to the sobriety of which she was bearer, being in fact part of the image that at the public the Lady offered of herself; she dressed her for any event, the evening warmed her clothing for the night before she wore them, with her she did the so called 'calls', ie courtesy visits with her, often travelling for long distances at her side, in short, she was almost her Lady's shadow.
- picture 7 - World of Dreams, Lady Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema, 1876.
She also had to have have specific skills that made her deserve her position, that's why she did some courses that made her capable of preparing cosmetic compounds, skilled with arranging the long hair that connoted the Victorian Ladies, and also had responsibilities in terms of sewing - if for example during a journeyher Lady had torn in part the hem of her skirt, she would have to be able to intervene with success - and have a certain physical strength and constancy, since she always had to be at the side of her Lady, for example, when she went to a ball from which she came back home early in the morning, it meant going to sleep when the others got up, since she first had to undress her mistress, to wash her, to dress herlady tired for her day and then finally collapse on her own bed, often placed in the room next to the Lady's.
- picture 8 - Maid with Flagon, William Powell Frith, 1858.
That's why usually the lady's maid was called 'Miss', because often they really were not married, given such a busy life didn't suit for sure to a woman who had a family.
And finally, always from a hierarchical point of view, a special case was represented by the parlourmaids and the chambermaids who were between, also from a strictly practical point of view, the world 'Downstairs' and that 'Upstairs', being the first responsible for the 'public' rooms of the house - the morning room, the drawing room, the parlor, the library, of which they cleaned carpets, grates and polished all the furniture, and were responsible for order that was to reign there,
- picture 9 - The Secret, Wilhelm Amberg (1822 - 1899)
- picture 10 - Femme de Chambre, Joseph Caraud, 1868.
while the latter competed bedrooms, from the moment they opened the shutters in the morning until the evening when finally the closed them: they had the task of bringing upside the morning tea, of cleaning the rooms and bring up the stairs hot water to wash the masters and possible guests.
So much for the feminine world of servitude, about male servants I'm going to deal with it in a future occasion.
May it reach you welcome, as usual, my most heartfelt gratitude,
dear Readers and Friends,
and as for you who are passing by here for the first time
I give you my warmest welcome !
See you soon 💕
BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOURCES:
Judith Flanders, The Victorian House, Harper Perennial, 2004;
Pamela Horn, The Rise and Fall of the VICTORIAN SERVANT, Sutton Publishing LTD;
Pamela Horn, Life in the Victorian Country House, Shire Publisher, 2010;
Lee Jackson, Daily Life in Victorian London: an Extraordinary Anthology, Kindle Edition, 2011;
Lee Jackson, A Dictionary of Victorian London: An A-Z of the Great Metropolis, Anthem Press, 2006;
Trevor May, The Victorian Domestic Servant, Shire Publisher, 2008;
(qui ne trovate una breve anteprima)
Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2012;
Pamela Horn, Life in the Victorian Country House, Shire Publisher, 2010;
Lee Jackson, Daily Life in Victorian London: an Extraordinary Anthology, Kindle Edition, 2011;
Lee Jackson, A Dictionary of Victorian London: An A-Z of the Great Metropolis, Anthem Press, 2006;
Trevor May, The Victorian Domestic Servant, Shire Publisher, 2008;
(qui ne trovate una breve anteprima)
Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2012;
Emily Augusta Patmore, THE SERVANT'S BEHAVIOUR BOOK or Hints on Manners and Dress for Maid Servants in Small Households by Mrs. Motherly, Bell and Daldy, London, 1859
- disponibile on-line al seguente indirizzo
https://archive.org/details/servantsbehavio00patmgoog
- disponibile on-line al seguente indirizzo
https://archive.org/details/servantsbehavio00patmgoog
Pamela A. Sambrook, The Country House Servant, Sutton Publisher, 1999;
Duties of Servants: A Practical Guide to the Routine of Domestic Service
by Member of the Aristocracy.
QUOTATIONS:
1 - Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2012, p. 2012.