In the 19th century, the middle class was already wealthy enough to hire servants. The servant was a symbol of well-being, she freed the mistress of the house from cleaning or cooking, allowing her to lead a lifestyle worthy of a lady. It was customary to hire at least one maid - so at the end of the 19th century, even the poorest families hired a "step girl" who cleaned the steps and swept the porch on Saturday mornings, thus catching the eyes of passers-by and neighbors. Doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals kept at least 3 servants, but in rich aristocratic houses there were dozens of servants. The number of servants, their appearance and manners, signaled the status of their masters.

Some Statistics

In 1891, 1,386,167 women and 58,527 men were in the service. Of these, 107167 girls and 6890 boys aged 10 to 15 years.
Examples of incomes at which servants could be afforded:

1890s - Assistant teacher primary school- less than 200 pounds per year. Maid - 10 - 12 pounds per year.
1890s - Bank manager - £600 a year. Maid (12 - 16 pounds a year), cook (16 - 20 pounds a year), a boy who came daily to clean knives, shoes, bring coal and chop wood (5d a day), a gardener who came once a week (4 shillings 22 pence).
1900 - Lawyer. Cook (£30), maid (£25), housemaid (£14), shoe and knife-shine boy (£25/week). He could also buy 6 shirts for £1 10s, 12 bottles of champagne for £2 8s.

Main classes of servants

Butlers as a class seem to grow less and less like anything human in proportion to the magnificence of their surroundings. There is a type of butler employed in the relatively modest homes of small country gentlemen who is practically a man and a brother; who hobnobs with the local tradesmen, sings a good comic song at the village inn, and in times of crisis will even turn to and work the pump when the water supply suddenly fails.
The greater the house the more does the butler diverge from this type. Blandings Castle was one of the more important of England's show places, and Beach accordingly had acquired a dignified inertia that almost qualified him for inclusion in the vegetable kingdom. He moved--when he moved at all--slowly. He distilled speech with the air of one measuring out drops of some precious drug.

Housekeeper (housekeeper) - responsible for the bedrooms and servants' rooms. Supervises the cleaning, looks after the pantry, and also monitors the behavior of the maids in order to prevent debauchery on their part.

The chef (chef) - in rich houses is often French and takes very expensive for his services. Often in a state of cold war with the housekeeper.

Valet (valet) - the personal servant of the owner of the house. Takes care of his clothes, prepares luggage for the trip, loads his guns, serves golf clubs, (drives angry swans away from him, breaks his engagements, saves him from evil aunts and generally teaches the mind to reason.)

Personal maid / maid (lady's maid) - helps the hostess comb her hair and dress, prepares a bath, looks after her jewelry and accompanies the hostess during visits.

Footman - helps bring things into the house, brings tea or newspapers, accompanies the hostess during shopping trips and wears her purchases. Dressed in livery, he can serve at the table and give solemnity to the moment with his appearance.

Maids (housemaids) - sweep in the yard (at dawn, while the gentlemen are sleeping), clean the rooms (when the gentlemen are having dinner). As in society as a whole, the "world under the stairs" had its own hierarchy. At the highest level were teachers and governesses, who, however, were rarely ranked as servants. Then came the senior servants, led by the butler, and so on down. The very same Wodehouse describes this hierarchy very interestingly. In this passage, he talks about the order of eating.

Kitchen maids and scullery maids eat in the kitchen. Chauffeurs, footmen, under-butler, pantry boys, hall boy, odd man and steward "s-room footman take their meals in the servants" hall, waited on by the hall boy. The stillroom maids have breakfast and tea in the stillroom, and dinner and supper in the hall. The housemaids and nursery maids have breakfast and tea in the housemaid's sitting-room, and dinner and supper in the hall. The head housemaid ranks next to the head stillroom maid. The laundry maids have a place of their own near the laundry, and the head laundry maid ranks above the head housemaid.

Hiring, Paying and Position of Servants

The fair went something like this: people looking for work,
broken lines lined up in the middle of the square. Many of them are attached to
hats are small symbols that show the world what kind of work they know
sense. The shepherds wore shreds of sheep's wool, the carters tucked
a strand of a horse's mane, interior decorators - a strip
intricate Hessian wallpapers, and so on and so forth. Boys
wishing to become apprentices crowded like a bunch of timid sheep into
in the middle of this human whirlpool.
- You just go and stand there. And then someone comes up and
offers to take you on as an apprentice,” Lezek said in a voice that
managed to banish notes of some uncertainty. - If he likes your look,
certainly.
- How do they do it? Mor asked. - That is, how they look
determine whether you qualify or not?
“Well…” Lezek paused. Regarding this part of the Hamesh program,
gave him an explanation. I had to strain and scrape through the bottom of the internal
warehouse of knowledge in the field of the market. Unfortunately, the warehouse contained very
limited and highly specific information on the sale of livestock wholesale and in
retail. Realizing the insufficiency and incomplete, shall we say, relevance of these
information, but having nothing else at his disposal, he finally
made up my mind:
“I think they count your teeth and all that. Make sure you don't
wheezing and that your legs are all right. If I were you, I wouldn't
mention a love of reading. This is disturbing. (c) Pratchett, "Mor"

In addition, a servant could be found through a labor exchange or a special employment agency. In their early days, such agencies printed lists of servants, but this practice declined as newspaper circulation increased. These agencies were often infamous because they could take money from the candidate and then not arrange a single interview with a potential employer.

Among the servants there was also their own "word of mouth" - meeting during the day, servants from different houses could exchange information and help each other find a new place.

To obtain a good place required impeccable recommendations from previous owners. However, not every master could hire a good servant, because the employer also needed some kind of recommendation. Since the favorite occupation of the servants was washing the bones of the masters, the notoriety of greedy employers spread quite quickly. Servants also had blacklists, and woe to the master who got on it! In the Jeeves and Wooster series, Wodehouse often mentions a similar list compiled by members of the Junior Ganymede club.

It's the valet club on Curzon Street, and I've been a member of it for quite some time. I have no doubt that the servant of a gentleman who occupies such a prominent position in society as Mr. Spode is also a member of it and, of course, told the secretary a lot of information about
its owner, which are listed in the club book.
-- As you said?
-- According to the eleventh paragraph of the statute of the institution, each entering
the club is obliged to reveal to the club everything that he knows about his owner. Of these
information is a fascinating reading, besides, the book suggests
reflections of those members of the club who conceived to go into the service of the gentlemen,
whose reputation can not be called impeccable.
A thought struck me, and I shuddered. Almost jumped up.
- What happened when you joined?
- Excuse me, sir?
"Did you tell them all about me?"
“Yes, of course, sir.
-- As everybody?! Even the case when I ran away from Stoker's yacht and I
did you have to smear the face with shoe polish to disguise it?
-- Yes, sir.
-- And about that evening when I came home after Pongo's birthday
Twistleton and mistook a floor lamp for a burglar?
-- Yes, sir. On rainy evenings, club members enjoy reading
similar stories.
“Oh, how about with pleasure?” (c) Wodehouse, Wooster family honor

A servant could be fired by giving him a month's notice of dismissal or by paying him a monthly salary. However, in the event of a serious incident - say, the theft of silverware - the owner could dismiss the servant without paying a monthly salary. Unfortunately, this practice was accompanied by frequent abuses, because it was the owner who determined the severity of the violation. In turn, the servant could not leave the place without prior notice of departure.

In the middle of the 19th century, a mid-level maid received an average of £6-8 a year, plus extra money for tea, sugar and beer. The maid who served directly to the mistress (lady's maid) received 12-15 pounds a year plus money for additional expenses, a livery footman - 15-15 pounds a year, a valet - 25-50 pounds a year. In addition, servants traditionally received cash gift under Christmas. In addition to payments from employers, servants also received tips from guests. Usually, when hiring, the owner told the servant how often and in what quantities guests were received in this house, so that the newcomer could calculate what tips he could count on. Tips were distributed at the departure of the guest: all the servants lined up in two rows near the door, and the guest handed out tips depending on the services received or on his social status (i.e., a generous tip testified to his well-being). In some houses, only male servants received tips. For poor people, tipping was a living nightmare, so they could decline the invitation for fear of appearing poor. After all, if the servant received too stingy tips, then the next time he visited the greedy guest, he could easily arrange a dolce vita for him - for example, ignore or alter all the orders of the guest.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, servants were not entitled to days off. It was believed that when entering the service, a person understood that from now on every minute of his time belongs to the owners. It was also considered indecent if relatives or friends came to visit the servants - and especially friends of the opposite sex! But in the 19th century, masters began to allow servants to receive relatives from time to time or give them days off. And Queen Victoria even gave an annual ball for palace servants at Balmoral Castle.

By setting aside savings, servants from wealthy households could accumulate a significant amount, especially if their employers remembered to mention them in their wills. After retirement, former servants could go into trade or open a tavern. Also, servants who lived in the house for many decades could live out their lives with the owners - this happened especially often with nannies.

The position of the servants was ambivalent. On the one hand, they were part of the family, they knew all the secrets, but they were forbidden to gossip. An interesting example Bekassin, the heroine of comics for Semaine de Suzzette, is such an attitude towards the servants. A maid from Brittany, naive but devoted, she was drawn without a mouth and ears - so that she could not eavesdrop on the master's conversations and retell them to her girlfriends. Initially, the identity of the servant, his sexuality, as it were denied. For example, there was a custom when the owners gave the maid a new name. For example, Mall Flanders, the heroine of Defoe's novel of the same name, was called "Miss Betty" by the owners (and Miss Betty, of course, gave the owners a light). Charlotte Brontë also mentions the maids' collective name, "abigails." With names, things were generally interesting. The servants of a higher rank - like a butler or a personal maid - were called exclusively by their last name. A vivid example of such treatment we find again in the books of Wodehouse, where Bertie Wooster calls his valet "Jeeves," and only in The Tie That Binds do we recognize the name of Jeeves - Reginald. Wodehouse also writes that in conversations between servants, the footman often spoke of his master in a familiar way, calling him by name - for example, Freddie or Percy. At the same time, the rest of the servants called the said gentleman by his title - Lord such and such or Earl such and such. Although in some cases the butler could pull the speaker up if he thought that he was "forgetting" in his familiarity.

The servants could not have a personal, family or sexual life. The maids were often unmarried and without children. If the maid happened to become pregnant, she had to take care of the consequences herself. The percentage of infanticide among the maids was very high. If the father of the child was the owner of the house, then the maid had to remain silent. For example, according to persistent rumors, Helen Demuth, the housekeeper in the family of Karl Marx, gave birth to a son from him and kept silent about it all her life.

A uniform

Of course, the double standards were obvious. The ladies themselves did not shy away from lace, feathers, or other sinful luxury, but they could reprimand or even fire the maid who bought herself silk stockings! The uniform was another way to show servants their place. However, many maids, in a past life girls from a farm or from an orphanage, would probably feel out of place if they were dressed in silk dresses and seated in a living room with noble guests.

So, what was the uniform of the Victorian servants? Of course, both the uniform and the attitude towards it were different among the female and male servants. When a maid entered the service, in her tin chest - an indispensable attribute of a maid - she usually had three dresses: a simple cotton dress, which was worn in the morning, a black dress with a white cap and apron, which was worn in the afternoon, and a dress for the evening. Depending on the size of the salary, there could be more dresses. All the dresses were long, because the maid's legs must always be covered - even if the girl washed the floor, she had to cover her ankles.

The very idea of ​​a uniform must have driven the hosts into frenzied delight - after all, now it was impossible to confuse the maid with the young miss. Even on Sundays, during a trip to church, some owners forced the maids to put on caps and aprons. And the traditional Christmas present for the maid was... a raise? No. New detergent to make it easier to scrub the floor? Also no. The traditional gift for the maid was a piece of fabric so that she could sew another uniform dress for herself - with her own efforts and at her own expense! The maids had to pay for their own uniforms, while the male servants received their uniforms at the expense of the masters. The average cost of a maid dress in the 1890s was £3 - i.e. half a year's salary of an underage maid just starting to work. At the same time, when a girl entered the service, she already had to have the necessary uniform with her, and yet she still had to save money for it. Consequently, she had to either pre-work, for example, in a factory in order to save up a sufficient amount, or else rely on the generosity of relatives and friends. In addition to dresses, the maids bought themselves stockings and shoes, and this item of expenditure was just a bottomless well, because of the incessant running up and down the stairs, shoes wore out quickly.

Nanny traditionally wore White dress and a magnificent apron, but did not wear a cap. For walking attire, she wore a gray or dark blue coat and matching hat. When accompanying children for walks, nursemaids (nursemaids) usually wore black straw caps with white strings.

It is interesting to note that although female servants were forbidden to wear silk stockings, male servants were required to do so. During ceremonial receptions, lackeys had to wear silk stockings and powder their hair, because of which they often thinned and fell out. Also, the traditional uniform of footmen included knee-length trousers and a bright frock coat with coattails and buttons, which depicted the family coat of arms, if the family had one. Footmen were required to buy shirts and collars at their own expense, everything else was paid for by the owners. The butler, the servant king, wore a tailcoat, but of a simpler cut than the master's tailcoat. The coachman's uniform was especially pretentious - polished to a shine knee-high boots, a bright coat with silver or copper buttons, and a hat with a cockade.

Servants quarters

The staircase has become an integral part of Victorian folklore. Take only expressions Upstairs, Downstairs, Belows Stairs. But for the servants, the ladder was a real instrument of torture. After all, they had to rush up and down it, like the angels from Jacob's dream, and not just rush, but carry heavy buckets of coal or hot water for the bath.

Attics were the traditional residence of servants and ghosts. However, the lower level servants were found in the attic. The valet and maid had rooms, often adjacent to the master bedroom, the coachman and the groom lived in rooms near the stables, and the gardeners and butlers could have small cottages. Looking at such a luxury, the lower-level servants must have thought, "Lucky for some!" Because sleeping in the attic was a dubious pleasure - several maids could sleep in one room, who sometimes had to share a bed. When gas and electricity became widely used in homes, they were rarely taken to the attic, because, in the opinion of the owners, this was an unacceptable waste. The maids went to bed by candlelight, and on a cold winter morning they found that the water in the jug was frozen and to wash well, you would need at least a hammer. The attic rooms themselves did not spoil the residents with special aesthetic delights - gray walls, bare floors, lumpy mattresses, darkened mirrors and cracked shells, as well as furniture in various stages of dying, handed over to the servants by generous owners.

Servants were forbidden to use the same bathrooms and toilets that their masters used. Before the advent of running water and sewerage, maids had to carry buckets of hot water for the master bath. But even when the houses were already equipped with hot tubs and cold water, the servants could not use these facilities. The maids still continued to wash in basins and tubs - usually once a week - and while hot water was being carried from the basement to the attic, it could easily cool down.

But it's time to get down from the attic and get to know the basement. Here were various office premises, including the heart of any home - the kitchen. The kitchen was vast, with a stone floor and a huge stove. There is a heavy kitchen table, chairs, and also, if the kitchen simultaneously served as a human one, several armchairs and a wardrobe with drawers where the maids kept personal belongings. Next to the kitchen was the pantry, a cool room with a brick floor. Butter and perishable food were stored here, and pheasants hung from the ceiling - the maids liked to intimidate each other with stories that pheasants can hang for too long, and when you start carving them, worms crawl up your arms. Also next to the kitchen was a closet for coal, with a pipe going outside - coal was poured into the closet through it, after which the hole was closed. In addition, a laundry room, a wine cellar, etc. could be located in the basement.

While the gentlemen dined in the dining room, the servants dined in the kitchen. Food, of course, depended on the income of the family and on the generosity of the hosts. So in some houses, the dinner for the servants included cold poultry and vegetables, ham, etc. In others, the servants were kept from hand to mouth - this was especially true for children and adolescents, for whom there was no one to intercede.

Labor and rest

The work of the servants was hard and tedious. After all, they did not have vacuum cleaners at their disposal, washing machines and other joys of life. Moreover, even when these advances appeared in England, the owners did not seek to buy them for their maids. After all, why spend money on a car if a person can do the same job? Servants even had to make their own cleaning products for mopping floors or cleaning pots. Corridors in large estates stretched for almost a mile, and they had to be scraped by hand, kneeling. This work was done by the lowest-ranking maids, who were often girls 10 to 15 years old (tweenies). Since they had to work early in the morning, in the dark, they lit a candle and pushed it in front of them as they moved along the corridor. And, of course, no one warmed the water for them. From constant kneeling, in particular, such a disease as prepatellar bursitis developed - a purulent inflammation of the periarticular mucosal sac. No wonder this disease is called housemaid's knee - the maid's knee.

The duties of the maids who cleaned the rooms (parlourmaids and housemaids) included cleaning the living room, dining room, nursery, etc., cleaning silver, ironing, and much more. The nurse's assistant (nursemaid) got up at 6 am to light the fireplace in the nursery, make tea for the nurse, then bring the children breakfast, clean the nursery, iron the linen, take the children for a walk, darn their clothes - like her colleagues, she got to bed exhausted like a lemon. In addition to the basic duties - such as cleaning and washing - the servants were also given rather strange tasks. For example, maids were sometimes required to iron the morning paper and staple the pages down the center to make it easier for the owner to read. The paranoid masters also liked to check on the maids. They put a coin under the carpet - if the girl took the money, then she was dishonest, if the coin remained in place, then she did not wash the floors well!

In houses with a large staff of servants, there was a distribution of duties among the maids, but there was no worse fate than that of the only maid in a poor family. She was also called maid-of-all-work or general servant - the latter epithet was considered more refined. The poor thing woke up at 5-6 in the morning, on the way to the kitchen she opened the shutters and curtains. In the kitchen she was kindling a fire, the fuel for which had been prepared the night before. While the fire flared up, she polished the stove. Then she put the kettle on, and while it boiled, she cleaned all the shoes and knives. Then the maid washed her hands and went to open the curtains in the dining room, where she also needed to clean the grate and light the fire. This sometimes took about 20 minutes. Then she wiped the dust in the room and scattered yesterday's tea on the carpet, so that later she would sweep it away with the dust. Then it was necessary to take care of the hall and the hallway, wash the floors, shake the carpets, clean the steps. This was the end of her morning duties, and the maid hastened to change into a clean dress, white apron and cap. After that, she set the table, cooked and brought breakfast.

While the family was having breakfast, she had time to eat breakfast herself - although she often had to chew something on the go while she ran to the bedrooms to air out the mattresses. The Victorians were obsessed with airing bed linen, as they believed such measures prevented the spread of infection, so the beds were aired every day. Then she made the beds, wearing a new apron that protected the linen from her already dirty clothes. The hostess and the daughters of the hostess could help her with the cleaning of the bedroom. When she finished with the bedroom, the maid returned to the kitchen and washed the dishes left after breakfast, then swept the floor in the living room from bread crumbs. If on that day cleaning of any room in the house was required - the living room, dining room or one of the bedrooms - then the maid immediately set to work on it. Cleaning could last all day, with breaks for preparing lunch and dinner. In poor families, the mistress of the house often took part in cooking. Lunch and dinner followed the same procedures as breakfast - set the table, bring food, sweep the floor, etc. Unlike breakfast, the maid had to serve at the table and bring the first, second and dessert. The day ended with the maid laying fuel for tomorrow's fire, closing the door and shutters, and turning off the gas. In some houses, the silverware was counted in the evening, put in a box and locked in the master bedroom, away from the robbers. After the family went to bed, the exhausted maid trudged to the attic, where she most likely fell into bed. Some girls from overwork even cried in their sleep! However, the maid could get a scolding from the hostess for not cleaning her own bedroom - I wonder when she could find time for this?

When their exploiters left for country houses, the servants still did not have peace, because it was the turn of the general cleaning. Then they cleaned carpets and curtains, rubbed wooden furniture and floors, and also wiped the ceilings with a mixture of soda and water to remove soot. Since the Victorians loved stucco ceilings, this was not an easy task.

In those houses where the owners could not support a large staff of servants, the working day of the maid could last 18 hours! But what about rest? In the middle of the 19th century, servants could go to church as a rest, but they had no more free time. But by the beginning of the 20th century, servants were entitled to one free evening and several free hours in the afternoon every week, in addition to free time on Sunday. Usually half of the day off began at 3 o'clock, when most of the work was done and lunch was taken away. However, the hostess could consider the work unsatisfactory, force the maid to redo everything, and only then let her go on a day off. At the same time, punctuality was very much appreciated, and the young maids had to return home at a strictly appointed time, usually before 10 pm.

Relationship with hosts

It was considered bad manners to discuss and criticize servants in their presence. Such vulgarity was condemned. For example, in the poem below, little Charlotte claims that she is better than her nanny because she has red shoes and is generally a lady. In response, my mother says that true nobility is not in clothes, but in good manners.

"But, mamma, now," said Charlotte, "pray, don't you believe
That I "m better than Jenny, my nurse?
Only see my red shoes, and the lace on my sleeve;
Her clothes are a thousand times worse.

"I ride in my coach, and have nothing to do,
And the country folks stare at me so;
And nobody dares to control me but you
Because I "m a lady, you know.

"Then, servants are vulgar, and I am genteel;
So really, "tis out of the way,
To think that I should not be better a deal
Than maids, and such people as they. "

"Gentility, Charlotte," her mother replied,
"Belongs to no station or place;
And there's nothing so vulgar as folly and pride,
Thought dress "d in red slippers and lace.

Not all the fine things that fine ladies possess
should teach them the poor to despise;
For "tis in good manners, and not in good dress,
That the truest gentile lies."

In turn, the servants were required to perform their duties diligently, to be neat, modest and, most importantly, inconspicuous. For example, numerous Christian societies published pamphlets for young servants, with such promising titles as Present for a Servant Maid, The Servant's Friend, Domestic Servants as They Are and as They Ought to Be, etc. These writings were full of advice, from cleaning floors before interacting with guests In particular, the following recommendations were given to young maids: - Do not walk in the garden without permission - Noisy is bad manners - Walk quietly around the house, your voice should not be heard unnecessarily Never sing and don't whistle if the family can hear you.--Never speak to ladies and gentlemen first, except when it is necessary to ask an important question or to communicate something. Try to be laconic.--Never talk to other servants or with children in the living room in the presence of ladies and gentlemen. If necessary, then talk very quietly. - Do not talk to ladies and gentlemen without adding Ma "am, Miss or Sir. Name the children in the family Master or Miss. - If you need to take a letter or a small package to family or guests, use a tray. “If you have to go somewhere with a lady or gentleman, follow a few paces behind them. “Never try to get involved in a family conversation or offer any information unless you are asked. The last point brings to mind the Wodehouse saga - Jeeves rarely gets involved in Wooster's conversation with his crazy friends or relatives, patiently waiting until Bertie begins to appeal to a higher mind. Jeeves seems to be very familiar with these recommendations, although they are intended mainly for inexperienced girls just starting out in the service.

Obviously, the main purpose of these recommendations is to teach the maids to be inconspicuous. On the one hand, this may seem unfair, but on the other hand, their salvation is partly in invisibility. Because attracting the attention of gentlemen - especially gentlemen - for a maid was often fraught. A young, pretty maid could easily become a victim of the owner of the house, or a grown-up son, or a guest, and in the event of pregnancy, the burden of guilt fell entirely on her shoulders. In this case, the unfortunate woman was expelled without recommendations, and therefore she had no chance of finding another place. She faced a sad choice - a brothel or a workhouse.

Fortunately, not all relations between servants and masters ended in tragedy, although exceptions were quite rare. About love and prejudice tells the story of lawyer Arthur Munby (Arthur Munby) and maid Hannah Cullwick (Hannah Cullwick). Mr. Munby apparently had a particular affinity for working-class women and sympathetically described the fate of ordinary maids. After meeting Hannah, he dated her for 18 years, all the time in secret. Usually she walked down the street, and he followed behind until they found a place away from prying eyes to shake hands and a couple of quick kisses. After Hanna hurried to the kitchen, and Arthur retired on business. Despite such strange dates, both were in love. In the end, Arthur told his father about his love, throwing him into shock - of course, because his son fell in love with the servant! In 1873 Arthur and Hanna got married in secret. Although they lived in the same house, Hanna insisted on remaining as a maid - believing that if their secret was revealed, her husband's reputation would be greatly tarnished. Therefore, when friends visited Munby, she waited at the table and called her husband "sir." But alone, they behaved like husband and wife and, judging by their diaries, were happy.

As we could observe, the relationship between masters and servants was very unequal. However, many servants were loyal and did not seek to change this state of affairs, because they "knew their place" and considered masters to be people of a different sort. In addition, there was sometimes an attachment between servants and masters, which Wodehouse's character calls a tie that binds. Sources of information
"Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England", Kristine Hughes
"A History of Private Life. Vol 4" Ed. Philippe Aries Judith Flanders, "Inside the Victorian House"
Frank Dawes

Statistics :

In 1891, 1,386,167 women and 58,527 men were in the service. Of these, 107167 girls and 6890 boys aged 10 to 15 years.

Examples of incomes at which servants could be afforded:

1890s - Primary teacher's assistant - less than £200 a year. Maid - 10 - 12 pounds per year.
1890s - Bank manager - 600 pounds a year. Maid (12 - 16 pounds a year), cook (16 - 20 pounds a year), a boy who came daily to clean knives, shoes, bring coal and chop wood (5d a day), a gardener who came once a week (4 shillings 22 pence).
1900 - Lawyer. Cook (£30), maid (£25), housemaid (£14), shoe and knife-shine boy (£25/week). He could also buy 6 shirts for £1 10s, 12 bottles of champagne for £2 8s.

A uniform

Of course, the double standards were obvious. The ladies themselves did not shy away from lace, feathers, or other sinful luxury, but they could reprimand or even fire the maid who bought herself silk stockings! The uniform was another way to show servants their place. However, many maids, in a past life girls from a farm or from an orphanage, would probably feel out of place if they were dressed in silk dresses and seated in a living room with noble guests.

So, what was the uniform of the Victorian servants? Of course, both the uniform and the attitude towards it were different among the female and male servants. When a maid entered the service, in her tin chest - an indispensable attribute of a maid - she usually had three dresses: a simple cotton dress, which was worn in the morning, a black dress with a white cap and apron, which was worn in the afternoon, and a dress for the evening. Depending on the size of the salary, there could be more dresses. All dresses were long, because the maid's legs must always be covered - even if the girl washed the floor, she had to cover her ankles.

The very idea of ​​a uniform must have driven the hosts into frenzied delight - after all, now it was impossible to confuse the maid with the young miss. Even on Sundays, during a trip to church, some owners forced the maids to put on caps and aprons. And the traditional Christmas present for the maid was... a raise? No. New detergent to make it easier to scrub the floor? Also no. The traditional gift for the maid was a piece of fabric so that she could sew another uniform dress for herself - with her own efforts and at her own expense! The maids had to pay for their own uniforms, while the male servants received their uniforms at the expense of the masters. The average cost of a maid dress in the 1890s was £3 – i.e. half a year's salary of an underage maid just starting to work. At the same time, when a girl entered the service, she already had to have the necessary uniform with her, and yet she still had to save money for it. Consequently, she had to either pre-work, for example, in a factory in order to save up a sufficient amount, or else rely on the generosity of relatives and friends. In addition to dresses, the maids bought themselves stockings and shoes, and this item of expenditure was just a bottomless well, because of the incessant running up and down the stairs, shoes wore out quickly.

The nanny traditionally wore a white dress and a puffy apron, but did not wear a cap. For walking attire, she wore a gray or dark blue coat and matching hat. When accompanying children for walks, nursemaids (nursemaids) usually wore black straw caps with white strings.

It is interesting to note that although female servants were forbidden to wear silk stockings, male servants were required to do so. During ceremonial receptions, lackeys had to wear silk stockings and powder their hair, because of which they often thinned and fell out. Also, the traditional uniform of footmen included knee-length trousers and a bright frock coat with coattails and buttons, which depicted the family coat of arms, if the family had one. Footmen were required to buy shirts and collars at their own expense, everything else was paid for by the owners. The butler, the servant king, wore a tailcoat, but of a simpler cut than the master's tailcoat. The coachman's uniform was especially pretentious - high boots polished to a shine, a bright frock coat with silver or copper buttons, and a hat with a cockade.

In the 18th century, there was no uniform as such, but in the 19th century it became the main attribute of the maid. On the left - Gainsborough, "The mustard," on the right - Jean Raffaelli, "Maid by the road"

Maid uniform, from left to right: chambermaid, lady's maid, parlourmaid

Livery footman and dress maid - feel the difference.

Coachman

A whole staff of servants

Servants quarters

The staircase has become an integral part of Victorian folklore. Take only expressions Upstairs, Downstairs, Belows Stairs. But for the servants, the ladder was a real instrument of torture. After all, they had to rush up and down it, like the angels from Jacob's dream, and not just rush, but carry heavy buckets of coal or hot water for the bath.

Attics were the traditional residence of servants and ghosts. However, the lower level servants were found in the attic. The valet and maid had rooms, often adjacent to the master bedroom, the coachman and the groom lived in rooms near the stables, and the gardeners and butlers could have small cottages. Looking at such a luxury, the lower-level servants must have thought, "Some are lucky!" Because sleeping in the attic was a dubious pleasure - several maids could sleep in one room, who sometimes had to share a bed. When gas and electricity became widely used in homes, they were rarely taken to the attic, because, in the opinion of the owners, this was an unacceptable waste. The maids went to bed by candlelight, and on a cold winter morning they found that the water in the jug was frozen and to wash well, you would need at least a hammer. The attic rooms themselves did not spoil the residents with special aesthetic delights - gray walls, bare floors, lumpy mattresses, darkened mirrors and cracked shells, as well as furniture in various stages of dying, handed over to the servants by generous owners.

Servants were forbidden to use the same bathrooms and toilets that their masters used. Before the advent of running water and sewerage, maids had to carry buckets of hot water for the master bath. But even when the houses were already equipped with hot and cold water baths, the servants could not use these facilities. The maids still continued to wash in basins and tubs - usually once a week - and while hot water was being carried from the basement to the attic, it could easily cool down.

But it's time to get down from the attic and get to know the basement. Here were various office premises, including the heart of any home - the kitchen. The kitchen was vast, with a stone floor and a huge stove. There is a heavy kitchen table, chairs, and also, if the kitchen simultaneously served as a human one, several armchairs and a wardrobe with drawers where the maids kept personal belongings. Next to the kitchen was the pantry, a cool room with a brick floor. Butter and perishables were kept in here, and pheasants hung from the ceiling - the maids liked to scare each other with stories that pheasants could hang for too long, and when you start carving them, worms crawl up your arms. Also next to the kitchen was a closet for coal, with a pipe going outside - coal was poured into the closet through it, after which the hole was closed. In addition, a laundry room, a wine cellar, etc. could be located in the basement.

While the gentlemen dined in the dining room, the servants dined in the kitchen. Food, of course, depended on the income of the family and on the generosity of the hosts. So in some houses, the dinner for the servants included cold poultry and vegetables, ham, etc. In others, the servants were kept from hand to mouth - this was especially true for children and adolescents, for whom there was no one to intercede.

human

The servants are having lunch

"Let them call themselves!" Caricature by George Cruikshank.

Labor and rest

The work of the servants was hard and tedious. After all, they did not have vacuum cleaners, washing machines and other joys of life at their disposal. Moreover, even when these advances appeared in England, the owners did not seek to buy them for their maids. After all, why spend money on a car if a person can do the same job? Servants even had to make their own cleaning products for mopping floors or cleaning pots. Corridors in large estates stretched for almost a mile, and they had to be scraped by hand, kneeling. This work was done by the lowest-ranking maids, who were often girls 10-15 years old (tweenies). Since they had to work early in the morning, in the dark, they lit a candle and pushed it in front of them as they moved along the corridor. And, of course, no one warmed the water for them. From constant kneeling, in particular, such a disease as prepatellar bursitis developed - a purulent inflammation of the periarticular mucosal sac. No wonder this disease is called housemaid's knee - the maid's knee.

The duties of the maids who cleaned the rooms (parlourmaids and housemaids) included cleaning the living room, dining room, nursery, etc., cleaning silver, ironing, and much more. The nanny's assistant (nursemaid) got up at 6 am to light the fireplace in the nursery, make tea for the nanny, then bring the children breakfast, clean the nursery, iron the linen, take the children for a walk, darn their clothes - like her colleagues, she got to bed exhausted like a lemon. In addition to the basic duties - such as cleaning and washing - the servants were also given rather strange tasks. For example, maids were sometimes required to iron the morning paper and staple the pages down the center to make it easier for the owner to read. The paranoid masters also liked to check on the maids. They put a coin under the carpet - if the girl took the money, then she was dishonest, if the coin remained in place, then she did not wash the floors well!

In houses with a large staff of servants, there was a distribution of duties among the maids, but there was no worse fate than that of the only maid in a poor family. She was also called maid-of-all-work or general servant - the latter epithet was considered more refined. The poor thing woke up at 5-6 in the morning, on the way to the kitchen she opened the shutters and curtains. In the kitchen she was kindling a fire, the fuel for which had been prepared the night before. While the fire flared up, she polished the stove. Then she put the kettle on, and while it boiled, she cleaned all the shoes and knives. Then the maid washed her hands and went to open the curtains in the dining room, where she also needed to clean the grate and light the fire. This sometimes took about 20 minutes. Then she wiped the dust in the room and scattered yesterday's tea on the carpet, so that later she would sweep it away with the dust. Then it was necessary to take care of the hall and the hallway, wash the floors, shake the carpets, clean the steps. This was the end of her morning duties, and the maid hastened to change into a clean dress, white apron and cap. After that, she set the table, cooked and brought breakfast.

While the family ate breakfast, she had time to eat breakfast herself - although she often had to chew on something on the go while she ran to the bedrooms to air out the mattresses. The Victorians were obsessed with airing bed linen, as they believed such measures prevented the spread of infection, so the beds were aired every day. Then she made the beds, wearing a new apron that protected the linen from her already dirty clothes. The hostess and the daughters of the hostess could help her with the cleaning of the bedroom. When she finished with the bedroom, the maid returned to the kitchen and washed the dishes left after breakfast, then swept the floor in the living room from bread crumbs. If on this day cleaning of any room in the house was required - the living room, dining room or one of the bedrooms - then the maid immediately set to work on it. Cleaning could last all day, with breaks for preparing lunch and dinner. In poor families, the mistress of the house often took part in cooking. Lunch and dinner followed the same procedures as breakfast - set the table, bring food, sweep the floor, etc. Unlike breakfast, the maid had to serve at the table and bring the first, second and dessert. The day ended with the maid laying fuel for tomorrow's fire, closing the door and shutters, and turning off the gas. In some houses, the silverware was counted in the evening, put in a box and locked in the master bedroom, away from the robbers. After the family went to bed, the exhausted maid trudged to the attic, where she most likely fell into bed. Some girls from overwork even cried in their sleep! However, the maid could get a scolding from the hostess for not cleaning her own bedroom - I wonder when she could find time for this?

When their exploiters left for country houses, the servants still did not have peace, because it was the turn of the general cleaning. Then they cleaned carpets and curtains, rubbed wooden furniture and floors, and also wiped the ceilings with a mixture of soda and water to remove soot. Since the Victorians loved stucco ceilings, this was not an easy task.

In those houses where the owners could not support a large staff of servants, the working day of the maid could last 18 hours! But what about rest? In the middle of the 19th century, servants could go to church as a rest, but they had no more free time. But by the beginning of the 20th century, servants were entitled to one free evening and several free hours in the afternoon every week, in addition to free time on Sunday. Usually half of the day off began at 3 o'clock, when most of the work was done and lunch was taken away. However, the hostess could consider the work unsatisfactory, force the maid to redo everything, and only then let her go on a day off. At the same time, punctuality was very much appreciated, and the young maids had to return home at a strictly appointed time, usually before 10 pm.

Division of labor - the footman carries letters, and the maid drags heavy coal.

If you look at these faces, the maids seem very young. This is not surprising, given the practice of hiring maids from shelters for minimal pay. Very often, these girls had a difficult fate, because they were defenseless in front of the owners - after all, if they tried to return back to the orphanage, they would have been met unkindly there. After enduring both physical and sexual abuse, many fled from their owners and ended up on the street.

Relationship with hosts

It was considered bad manners to discuss and criticize servants in their presence. Such vulgarity was condemned. For example, in the poem below, little Charlotte claims that she is better than her nanny because she has red shoes and is generally a lady. In response, my mother says that true nobility is not in clothes, but in good manners.

"But, mamma, now," said Charlotte, "pray, don't you believe
That I "m better than Jenny, my nurse?
Only see my red shoes, and the lace on my sleeve;
Her clothes are a thousand times worse.

"I ride in my coach, and have nothing to do,
And the country folks stare at me so;
And nobody dares to control me but you
Because I "m a lady, you know.

"Then, servants are vulgar, and I am genteel;
So really, "tis out of the way,
To think that I should not be better a deal
Than maids, and such people as they. "

"Gentility, Charlotte," her mother replied,
"Belongs to no station or place;
And there's nothing so vulgar as folly and pride,
Thought dress "d in red slippers and lace.

Not all the fine things that fine ladies possess
should teach them the poor to despise;
For "tis in good manners, and not in good dress,
That the truest gentile lies."

In turn, the servants were required to perform their duties diligently, to be neat, modest and, most importantly, inconspicuous. For example, numerous Christian societies published pamphlets for young servants, with such promising titles as Present for a Servant Maid, The Servant's Friend, Domestic Servants as They Are and as They Ought to Be, etc. These writings were full of advice, from cleaning floors before interacting with guests.In particular, young maids were given the following recommendations:

• Do not walk in the garden without permission
• Noisy is bad manners
• Walk quietly around the house, your voice should not be heard unnecessarily. Never sing or whistle if the family can hear you.
• Never speak to ladies and gentlemen first, except in cases where you need to ask an important question or communicate something. Try to be laconic.
• Never talk to other servants or children in the drawing room in the presence of ladies and gentlemen. If necessary, speak very quietly.
• Do not talk to ladies and gentlemen without adding Ma "am, Miss or Sir. Call the children in the family Master or Miss.
• If you need to take a letter or a small package to family or guests, use a tray.
• If you need to go somewhere with a lady or gentleman, follow a few steps behind them.
• Never try to jump into a family conversation or offer any information unless asked.

Obviously, the main purpose of these recommendations is to teach the maids to be invisible. On the one hand, this may seem unfair, but on the other hand, their salvation is partly in invisibility. Because attracting the attention of gentlemen - especially gentlemen - for the maid was often fraught. A young, pretty maid could easily become a victim of the owner of the house, or a grown-up son, or a guest, and in the event of pregnancy, the burden of guilt fell entirely on her shoulders. In this case, the unfortunate woman was expelled without recommendations, and therefore she had no chance of finding another place. She faced a sad choice - a brothel or a workhouse.

Fortunately, not all relations between servants and masters ended in tragedy, although exceptions were quite rare. About love and prejudice tells the story of lawyer Arthur Munby (Arthur Munby) and maid Hannah Cullwick (Hannah Cullwick). Mr. Munby apparently had a particular affinity for working-class women and sympathetically described the fate of ordinary maids. After meeting Hannah, he dated her for 18 years, all the time in secret. Usually she walked down the street, and he followed behind until they found a place away from prying eyes to shake hands and a couple of quick kisses. After Hanna hurried to the kitchen, and Arthur retired on business. Despite such strange dates, both were in love. In the end, Arthur told his father about his love, throwing him into shock - of course, because his son fell in love with the servants! In 1873 Arthur and Hanna got married in secret. Although they lived in the same house, Hanna insisted on remaining as a maid - believing that if their secret was revealed, her husband's reputation would be greatly tarnished. Therefore, when friends visited Munby, she waited at the table and called her husband "sir." But alone, they behaved like husband and wife and, judging by their diaries, were happy.

As we could observe, the relationship between masters and servants was very unequal. However, many servants were loyal and did not seek to change this state of affairs, because they “knew their place” and considered masters to be people of a different sort. In addition, there was sometimes an attachment between servants and masters, which Wodehouse's character calls a tie that binds. The book of the same name by this author ends with this dialogue between Jeeves and Wooster:

-For I may hope, may I not, sir, that you will allow me to remain permanently in your service?
- You may indeed, Jeeves. It often beats me, though, why with your superlative gifts you should want to.
- There is a tie that binds, sir.
- A what that whats?
-A tie that binds, sir.
- Then heaven bless it, and may it continue to bind indefinetely.

If you are assembling a doll house with your family, you will also need a servant. Not a single decent family of the Victorian era in England (and in Russia) could do without servants. So often with doll families - small porcelain dolls for miniature doll houses - dolls of nannies, governesses, butlers, cooks, etc. are also sold.

I collect photos of such dolls - porcelain servants - in this article. And also - more about what kind of servant was, and what role each performed.

Butler (butler) - responsible for the order in the house. He has almost no responsibilities associated with physical labor. Usually the butler looks after the male servants and polishes the silver.

The housekeeper is in charge of bedrooms and servants' quarters. Supervises the cleaning, looks after the pantry, and also monitors the behavior of the maids in order to prevent misbehavior on their part. Probably, for the role of the housekeeper, one should look for a female doll of an older age.

The chef (chef) - in rich houses is often French, he takes very expensive for his services. Often in a state of enmity with the housekeeper.

Valet (valet) - a personal servant of the owner of the house. She takes care of his clothes, prepares his luggage for the trip, loads his guns, serves golf clubs, teaches the worldly mind to reason. Most likely, there should be a doll - more precisely, a doll - of an older age, not a boy.

Personal maid / maid (lady "s maid) - helps the hostess comb her hair and dress, prepares a bath, looks after her jewelry and accompanies the hostess during visits. The girl was usually wearing up to fifteen layers of undershirts, skirts, bodices and corsets, which she could not get rid of without the help of a maid.

Footman - helps bring things into the house, brings tea or newspapers, accompanies the hostess during shopping trips and wears her purchases. Dressed in livery, he can serve at the table and give solemnity to the moment with his appearance. This may be a young man, a teenage boy, although not necessarily.

Maids (housemaids) - sweep the yard (at dawn, while the gentlemen are sleeping, so as not to interfere), clean the rooms (when the gentlemen are having dinner, again, so as not to interfere). These are dolls of a girl and a woman, there may be several in the house.

Governess doll.

Governesses continued to educate children after nannies - if nannies were always adored, then poor governesses were rarely loved. Nannies usually chose their fate voluntarily and remained with the family until the end of their lives, being, as it were, a member of the family, and they became governesses by the will of circumstances. In this profession, educated middle-class girls, the daughters of penniless professors and clerks, were most often forced to work in order to help their ruined family and earn a dowry. Sometimes governesses were forced to become the daughters of aristocrats who had lost their fortune. For such girls, the humiliation of their position did not allow them to enjoy their work. They were lonely, and the servants tried to express their contempt for them. The more noble the family of the poor governess was, the worse they treated her in the house - such an injustice. For the role of a governess, you can buy dolls - young girls - stately and beautiful, in very modest clothes. Often, French and German women were invited as governesses to teach French and German to their daughters.

English noble girls learned from governesses in different ways, for example, dancing, music, needlework, and the ability to stay in society. In many schools, as a test before admission, the task was to sew on a button or overcast a buttonhole. Russian and German girls were much more educated and usually spoke three or four languages ​​perfectly, while in France the girls were more refined in their manners. These are the testimonies of historians and contemporaries.

The maids woke up the girls of the family, dressed them, served them at the table, the ladies made morning visits accompanied by a lackey and a groom, they were at balls or in the theater with mothers and matchmakers, and in the evening the maids undressed them and helped them to bed. During the ball, the matchmaker relentlessly turned her head in all directions so that her ward remained in sight, without missing her for a minute. Two dances in a row with the same gentleman attracted the attention of everyone, and the matchmakers began to whisper about the engagement. Only Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were allowed three in a row.

The girls were almost never left alone, never. Until the age of 17-18, girls were considered invisible. They were present at parties, but did not have the right to say a word until someone addressed them. They - all the younger daughters - continued to be dressed in similar simple dresses, so that they do not attract the attention of suitors intended for their older sisters. No one dared to jump their turn, how did it happen With younger sister Eliza Bennet in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. When their hour came and they became "marriageable", all attention was immediately paid to her as to a blossoming flower, she was dressed in best dresses and outfits so that she takes her rightful place among the brides and can attract the attention of profitable suitors.

If the miss was out of sight for even just an hour, then bad assumptions were already being made that "something could have happened." From that moment on, it was more difficult for her to find a groom. So the important task of domestic servants is to always look after the daughters of the owners. Therefore, if the daughters of your doll family go for a walk, they must be accompanied. So, it turns out that there should be more dolls of servants in the house than family members. :-) At least if your doll family is rich.

A servant of a higher rank - a butler or a personal maid - called only by last name. So come up with names and surnames for your dolls! The servants could not have personal, family life. The maids were usually unmarried and without children. If the maid happened to become pregnant, she had to take care of the consequences herself, it is unlikely that anyone helped her here. If the father of the maid's child was the owner of the house, then the maid had to remain silent all her life.

Servant clothes

Sometimes it's easier to buy a "undressed" porcelain doll and clothes to go with it, or sew clothes yourself. There were rules for the clothes of maids and other servants.

Both the uniform and the attitude towards it were different among the female and male servants.

When a maid came to work in the house, in her tin chest - an indispensable attribute of a maid - she usually had three dresses: a simple cotton dress, which was worn in the morning, a black dress with a white cap and apron, which was worn during the day, and a weekend dress. Depending on the size of the salary, she could have more dresses. All dresses were necessarily long, because the maid's legs must always be covered - even if the girl washed the floor, she had to cover her ankles.

The nanny traditionally wore a white dress and a puffy apron, and did not wear a cap. As walking clothes there was a gray or dark blue coat and a matching hat. When accompanying children for walks, nursemaids (nursemaids) usually wore black straw caps with white strings.

doll cook

During ceremonial receptions, lackeys had to wear silk stockings and powder their hair. The traditional uniform of lackeys included knee-length trousers and a bright frock coat with coattails and buttons, which depicted the family coat of arms, if the family where he served had one. Footmen were required to buy shirts and collars at their own expense, everything else was paid for by the owners.

The butler, the king of domestic servants, wore a tailcoat, but of a simpler cut than the master's tailcoat.

The coachman's uniform was especially beautiful and pretentious - high boots polished to a shine, a bright frock coat with silver or copper buttons, and a hat with a cockade.

There were schools for servants, where girls of 12-16 years old entered. They were called "Schools for girls who enter the service." The training was strict, so the pupils were prepared for all the hardships of working for housewives, who sometimes had a capricious and absurd character. In addition to the usual skills, the girls were taught to endure, to be silent, to endure. After graduating from such schools, young servants were divided into four categories, according to which employment opportunities were determined.

Girls aged 16 who had good performance behavior. They received a five-pound uniform that they could keep if they continued to work in the same place for a year. After that, for good work, they received a gift from the owners.

Girls who often showed bad character, laziness, disobedience, insolence, if they realized mistakes and corrected, could be assigned to the second category and receive a uniform worth three pounds and 10 shillings if after a year of work they received a good review.

Girls who continued to show their own will, disobedience, insolence, received a uniform worth three pounds, which was deducted from their salary. If within two years they failed to prove themselves positively, then they often lost their jobs and, having no good advice, could not get a job again.

Many students did not even have handkerchiefs, which indicated a lack of education, but all competed with the size of crinoline skirts and the number of underskirts.

While in the service, the girls had to forget about fashion and wear black, blue or brown woolen dresses with white aprons and caps.

The life of a housemaid depended to a large extent on how wealthy the family where she was hired. If people had wealth and could hire other servants, then her duties were reduced mainly to cleaning. However, in most houses the maid did all the work, which was usually divided between the cook, footman, gardener, etc.

Here approximate circle her duties: to rise before everyone else, at about 4.30, and before preparing breakfast, sweep and dust all the lower rooms. Then free the fireplaces from the ashes, apply coal and kindle a fire. Bring water (often from a pump on the street), put a large vat to boil. Take the coal upstairs to the bedrooms and light the fires. Wake up family members, bring warm water upstairs, prepare baths or basins for washing. Make a breakfast. Lay the table. Serve food and serve the hosts during breakfast, then clean up and wash the dishes. Go up to the bedrooms and make the beds, put things in order. If after breakfast the hostess did not instruct her to run to the post office, to the shop, to the market and did not ask her to take a walk with the children or the dog, taking this work upon herself, then she cooked dinner and fed the whole family, again serving at the table. The owner most often worked near the house and came for lunch. By five o'clock she had tea ready, by seven she had supper, then re-lighted the fireplaces in the bedrooms, preparing them for the night, carried water upstairs for evening washing, and finally at 10.00, when all the work was finished, she fell asleep if her services were no longer required. . In her free time, from 2 to 6 pm, she did the following work:

Monday. Laundry, cleaning the yard, cleaning all mops, brushes, combs

Tuesday Washing windows, cleaning fireplaces, general cleaning in the living room.

Wednesday. General cleaning of bedrooms and dressing room.

Thursday. Cleaning of all silverware, dishes and moldings, gardening.

Friday. Cleaning in the toilet, corridors, stairs and hall.

Saturday. Tidying up the kitchen and your room, darning clothes for family members.

Sunday. Half day free.

The girl could only sit down when she was eating or cleaning silver. Sunday is a day of rest, when she was allowed to get up half an hour later and go to bed half an hour earlier. Sometimes she was allowed to go home for half a day. In 1860, the salary of such a servant was 10 pounds a year.

In 1999, an experiment was conducted in England, when an ordinary family was settled in a Victorian house, equipped with all the innovations of that time. For several months, the husband, wife and two children continued to live their usual lives, work, study, look after the house, but they dressed in the costumes of that era, ate only what was possible in the 19th century, and traveled on the transport that existed then , and even in their own hygiene were limited by the same limits (shampoo, gels, hair sprays, deodorants, electric shaver, etc. are not allowed). To help his wife, a maid was hired for all the work, a young girl who was also limited in funds. No detergents, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, etc. The easiest way to adapt to new conditions is children who, if they were bored without a TV, computer and mobile phones, yet rejoiced at how much more time their parents spent with them, reading aloud to them and playing with them in the evenings. The husband, who cycled to work, did not particularly notice the difficulties of life in other conditions. However, the wife and maid for all the work appreciated everything that they lost in the new conditions. The gas lighting was too dark and smoky, the ash from the fireplace littered the carpets, the smell of vinegar, which was used to clean everything from stains on upholstery to window panes and mirrors, followed everywhere. Cooking took way too long. Chickens and ducks had to be plucked and singed, vegetables had to be washed, bread had to be baked. And washing by hand, especially bed linen, women were horrified. During the experiment, they were never able to perform even half of the work that the hostess and maids performed under similar conditions in the 19th century. Of course, if they had carried out this experiment in Russia, the result would have been completely different, but there is no doubt that the life of a maid for all jobs was not sweet!

Where several maids worked, they specialized in cleaning the living rooms and front rooms, cleaning the house and utility rooms, keeping the kitchen clean. The highest position of them was occupied by maid ladies. They were not loved by the lower female servants for their affectation and swagger, because they looked down on everyone, and also because they were, as they said in the circle of servants, too close to the mistress's ears. The housemaids were jealous of them and knew that they had too little chance of taking the place of the maid mistress. It was every maid's dream. Not only because The Lady's Maid - that was the name of this privileged person, dressed not in a uniform, like them, but in beautiful dresses inherited from her mistress, but also because she was with her in places where the lower servant never dreamed of visiting, and could breathe in the heavenly air the lives of the rich. The governess, who stood somewhat higher than the mistress's maid, also disliked the maid, and she reciprocated. However, both life was not sweet, as they depended on the mood of the owners, on their whims and quirks.

The lady's maid had to be ready to render her mistress the kind of service that modern women prefer to do it themselves and do not need witnesses. Washing her, dressing her, squeezing blackheads, powdering pimples, smoothing out wrinkles, freshening her breath when there was no toilet - putting a night vase and emptying it, and much more. She was required to be always healthy in order to perform her duties well. Otherwise, how could she take care of her mistress, who quite often complained of feeling unwell. “She is suffering, even if her illness is only in her imagination, and it is your duty to offer her sympathy and help,” wrote the book of duties for the lady's maids. Help could consist of reading aloud, or cutting off calluses, or applying leeches, or cleaning the mistress's tongue with a silver scraper. She had to do everything she could to alleviate the suffering, and, in addition, keep the cause of the mistress's illness a secret from other servants. At the same time, "should never forget how lucky the servants are, that their health is always better than their masters."

The maid lady played a huge role in the life of the hostess, and the girls were selected very carefully for this position. Preference was given to tactful, helpful and quick-witted. In addition, submissive, healthy, to stand for hours, waiting for his mistress; honest to look after her jewels; virtuous enough not to succumb to the persuasion of lackeys; tolerant, so as not to be annoyed by the constant mess left by Miss or Mrs.; who, in spite of everything, was always in a good mood, so that if the hostess began to mope, cheer her up; educated enough to read to her. From the maid lady was also expected the ability to perfectly comb and style hair, skill in embroidery and sewing, and even familiarity with the basics of chemistry. She was responsible for how the hostess looked, and knew that white powder should be avoided in case of swollen eyes, as this will only aggravate the picture. In addition, it was believed that it absorbs the smell of liver and garlic, and therefore it is better not to cover your face with it before dinner. And some types of powder were simply unsafe: they caused a rash on the skin, acne, loosened teeth.

The maid's book of duties also warned against hair dyes made from unhealthy substances, such as silver nitrate, which dyed black but "burned through the skin like a hot iron" if applied carelessly. In addition, after a while, the hair turned from black to purple. The paint could be bought in a store for a shilling or made by a maid for a few pence with the help of the same smart book. Most of the lady's care products were made by the maid herself. She dissolved metal particles in vinegar, crushed musk with amber, mixed slaked lime with yellow and white lead and bear fat, that is, she dealt with harmful substances all the time, not in order to poison or harm her mistress, on the contrary, all these means were recommended in the book for making hair oil, cologne or special masks. The recipes were complex and labor intensive. Alum alone required three calf hooves, three melons, three cucumbers, four fresh eggs, a piece of pumpkin, a pint of skim milk, a gallon rose water, a quart of water lily juice, a pint of plantain and wild tansy juice, and half an ounce of boron.

From the freckles and blackheads that appeared on the lady, her caring maid used ox bile, with which the maids around the house cleaned dirty marble, not without success. Sunburns were alleviated with human milk, which was also used in the preparation of a facial tincture, which gave the hostess's skin a pleasant pink color. When buying the necessary ingredients for creams, tonics and lotions, the maids did not rely on the honesty of the merchants, fearing that the goods could be diluted or replaced. They knew how to check its quality. When testing musk, they first pulled a silk thread several times through the head of garlic, and then through the purchased product. If the smell of garlic fought back, then the product was of high quality. And when checking the carmine used for red lipstick, the maids poured in the real powder and the one they intended to buy, weighed and compared. If the weight was equal, then the goods were worthwhile, but if its weight was greater, then this meant that red lead was added instead of carmine, which would undoubtedly harm the health of the hostess.

In preparing all these complex concoctions, the maid lady was often interrupted by the bell rung by the hostess and rushed to her room to give her a book that lay a meter away from her, or to remove a tight ring from her hand.

The maid also knew many other things: how to wind curls around the lady's hair so that it would not give her a headache, how to soothe a toothache, how to cut a poodle and bathe him in the master's bath, in which she was not allowed to wash herself. One of her main duties was to dress, undress, and change her mistress as many times a day as required by 19th-century propriety, as well as plans for the day.

The maid lady got up early to make sure that the housemaids had already lit a fire in the fireplace of the room where the hostess changed her clothes in the morning. Then she prepared her clothes, filled the bath with warm water and went to the young lady, so that, having informed what hour, to ask if she wanted to get up. To make it easier for the mistress to wake up, she parted the curtains and helped wash and comb her hair, and then went down to the kitchen to pick up a breakfast tray prepared for the hostess, who preferred to have breakfast in the bedroom. After that, the maid helped her with changing into home clothes. Only then did she go down to the housekeeper's room, where she had breakfast with the rest of the upper servants. Then, at the sound of the bell, she again went to her mistress to change her clothes for the exit, tidy up and leave with the mistress on business. When she returned, she changed her clothes for dinner and then waited for the departed gentlemen until they returned home in the middle of the night. All this time, she made sure that the fire in the mistress's room did not go out and that there was enough hot water in the kitchen for the evening wash. Waiting for the hostess to return, she prepared her dresses the next day, because if there were no guests and the mistress did not intend to leave the house anywhere, then in addition to the usual changing from night clothes into a dressing gown, and then into a home dress, at least three more were required, for each for eating and one for going out into the garden for a walk. A total of six toilets, which she had to nail in the evening.

To keep young girls from making mistakes, the rules written for maids said: “The rich pay for whatever they want. However, it would be wrong to say that they live in luxury solely for pleasure, they also have their own responsibilities, like every working person.

However, this is indeed a very serious matter! The main goal of their comfort and convenience is that they need to free their time and thoughts from worrying about their daily bread. A rich man has a trip, not because he likes to travel in a carriage, but because he needs to get from one place to another. A rich lady has so many servants, not because she likes to give orders, but because she needs to free her head to think about children, friends, books and other matters of which the servants have no idea.

The ladies' maids had enough time at their sewing to think about all this. And on this account there were necessary recommendations: “If your thoughts are free from duties, then, putting on a thimble, you will find many good thoughts behind your sewing. This is the best way to keep yourself from making mistakes for which you are responsible, such as persuading your mistress to help your relatives or asking for something for yourself.

Hiring a maid lady, the girls involuntarily copied their mistress in many ways, and their attitude towards everything that used to surround them also involuntarily changed. Rising in their position, many of them began to envy their mistress and desire the same comfort for themselves. This case was also provided for in the book for servants: “You must constantly remember that your present position in luxury and comfort, beautiful clothes, your own furnished room and a place in the master’s carriage is solely because you are in the service and in your services are needed. However, you shouldn't get used to it, as it can't last forever. Your heart should be among the poor, so that when you return to your former life after many years spent in the service, you do not feel offended or humiliated, but feel joy, as if you had returned home.

It was a direct hint that a lady's maid, no matter how close she was to her mistress in a friendly disposition, should not expect to remain with her until the end of her days. Ladies preferred to see their maids young, so that, looking at them, they themselves would feel younger. In addition, old servants were often overcome by illnesses about which the mistresses did not want to know anything, and they were no longer so agile and cheerful. Therefore, the older the maid lady became, the less she was paid. The percentage of unemployed servants was very high. In addition, during the service they limited themselves in everything and did not have the opportunity to start a family. If the poor things weren't lucky enough to get married immediately after finishing work, then most likely they remained old maids. After spinning in the master's environment, they expected too much from their chosen one, and their big disadvantage was that they did not know how to cook. Well, if they have risen to the rank of housekeeper and had the opportunity to save up enough money for a comfortable old age.

It is understandable that many maids would like to "hook" in the family. BUT better way, but to become a member, you can’t imagine! However, in the wise book, all cases of life were provided. “You must vigorously resist all temptations concerning the young gentlemen of the family. If you are attracted to any of them, think about the consequences that this may lead to, no matter how such a situation turns out. Think of the wound it will inflict on the family and society as a whole if you force a young man to marry you. Such marriages do occur, but they are very rarely, if ever, happy."

After a moralizing introduction, maids who felt attracted to the young gentleman were strongly advised to leave the job without giving a reason, since any hint and conjecture would be exaggerated and would tarnish her reputation. The maids were not allowed to have any admirers or suitors, not even servants. If winks with lackeys were noticed, the girls received a warning, and if things went further, the inevitable dismissal from the service.

“If before your eyes a young servant girl loses her respect so much that she allows a footman to flirt with her, then your lady should be brought to the attention of this in order to keep the lost sheep from falling even more. In this case, the mistress will try to protect you from the wrath of others for the fact that you were only doing your duty.

All thoughts, thoughts and desires of the maid lady should have been directed only to taking care of the mistress. To earn her full trust, she had to live by her interests. The maid cleaned up the personal letters of the hostess in the bureau, which could destroy the good name of the family if they fell into the wrong hands, she was present at secret meetings, secret secrets were shared with her. Her honesty, as well as her fidelity, could not be doubted, because along with secrets, she sometimes held in her hands the dowry of her mistress, taking out and putting all the jewelry of her mistress into the casket as ordered.

The book, written by Isabelle Beaton, taught not only duties. It also gave advice on how to keep the moral climate healthy. “While combing your mistress, when you stand for half an hour, running a comb through her curls, restrain yourself from flattery and compliments about the density and beauty of her hair, the whiteness of her teeth and the proportionality of her physique. Since vanity is a disease, feeding it is like warming a person who is rushing about in the heat. The teaching was reinforced by a moralizing example about a lady who, before going to bed, comprehended in her head everything that had been said at dinner about the relationship of the three great powers. Her lofty thoughts were interrupted by the maid, who chirped to her, “What wonderful hair you have, ma'am! If only they were a little longer!” For this insolence, the poor maid was sent to pack her things instead of putting her mistress to bed.

“It is absolutely essential that when dressing the mistress, you do not stoop to gossip about other servants. It is not good to deal with your enemies with the help of the owners. It was for this trait that the upper servants were not tolerated by the lower ones.

In such a service, there could be temptations of a completely different nature, for example, the shopkeeper paid the maid interest if she persuaded the lady to buy lace and ribbons in his shop. Two pounds ten shillings, if bought for the amount of 50 pounds in a year. In this case, the maid was warned that by doing so she would only bring harm to her masters, since in one form or another this amount would be deducted from their own account, and this is the same as if she herself had stolen from their bureau drawer.

Dishonest, prudent maids begged for their outfits in this way: “You, your grace, are a little pale in this satin dress, but dark blue suits you unusually!” After that, the pale satin dress passed to the maid, who wore it with pleasure, looking closely at the other outfits of the hostess, on which the sauce was then spilled with a loud exclamation: “A thousand apologies! I did not mean to! I don't know how it happened!"

After that, the elegant toilet again went to the maid. In the same way, fur got dirty, the shape of the hood deteriorated, ink poured onto blouses. All these clothes were then taken to special stores, which paid well for maids and jacks for the master's outfits.

The honest servant girl did her best to clean the ruined toilets herself, disguising the dirty places with embroidery or lace.

A feuilletonist described the following scene:

"Maid lady. Please ma'am, I want to leave!

Lady. Why, Betty, did you only join the service yesterday?

Maid lady. I I've looked through your entire wardrobe, ma'am, and haven't found anything I look good in!"

An obedient, God-fearing servant was highly valued, because in this case she did not need supervision. The method by which the mistresses checked the servants was very common; hiring her. A coin was placed under the carpet in the room. If she stayed there after cleaning, then the maid is lazy, if she disappeared, then she is dishonest.

“- Ma'am, look what I found under the carpet. Your husband must have dropped it!

- Thank you, Betty! You good girl. You should always remember that, perhaps, one day you will have to stand at the bedside of a dying mistress, and then it will be too late to repent of your sins that you did not save her. The servant will be asked in the highest court whether she performed her duties well!

On Monday, the servants read a prayer with these words: "Lord, please keep me from the temptation to spend my masters' money on myself." The ladies' maids added to the prayer: "Quiet in me the desire to dress up and the love of dresses! I ask for humility and patience in the showering of reproaches, and that I do not waste time that is not mine.

On Tuesday the servants offered thanksgiving prayers: “I thank You, Lord, for not letting my bad nature get the better of me, either when I wanted to pocket a few master’s shillings, or when I saw the master’s lost chicken and wanted to take it to mine, and most importantly, that it kept my sinful soul when a couple of vagabonds urged me to open the back gate at night so that they could sneak into the house and rob a little, then giving me my share. That was the hardest thing of all, because, Lord, you know how much good is here that lies everywhere. It is possible that no one would have noticed the loss, but I would have left for a rainy day!

In all the following days, all the servants, including the butler and the housekeeper, prayed for the fulfillment of their duties: "O Lord, help me to be a faithful servant of my masters, to be their hope and support." The male servant also asked to keep her from laziness, drunkenness and anger, and all entertainment should be moderate and legal.

How many servants fell under the bad, often hungover mood of the owners the next day after a strong feast, when they had to diligently ignore the insults that fell on them, and the poor fellows were happy if they managed to avoid poking, kicking, and even beatings. Moreover, the mistresses also often took out their irritation and displeasure on the maids, throwing dresses or underwear in the face of the maid while changing clothes, until she brought the right one. Sir Richard Steele, in his book on the subject, suggested that the behavior of servants is influenced by the behavior of their masters. He wrote that respect and love go hand in hand and the servant is judged by the master.

Lackey

“When a fashionable lady chose her footman only for the height, figure and shape of his calves,” wrote Mrs. Beaton, “it is not surprising that she soon discovered that the new servant was lazy, envious, greedy and is not compensation for any money promised to him. , not for the food spent on him.

When choosing a pair of lackeys, quite often, preference was given to prominent young people and the shape of their calves was considered more closely than character traits. In 1850, an advertisement was published in The Times in which a young man who was looking for a job as a lackey described himself as follows:

"Tall, good-looking, with broad shoulders and large calves, I prefer to work in Belgrave Square, on the north side of the park." Another added: "... six months a year I prefer to be in the city, and if I have to work in a place that is not very conveniently located, then as compensation, I ask you to add five guineas in addition to the salary."

The longer the lackey was in the service, the more difficult it was to find another servant who would match his physical parameters and look beautiful next to him when leaving, on both sides of the door or stairs. At the end of the century, salaries increased in proportion to growth. Charles Booth, in The Life and Work of Men in London, gives the following figures:

2nd footman

Height

Salary (pounds per year)

5 feet 6 inches

6 feet

1st footman

5 feet 6 inches

6 feet

Here one meter equals 39.4 inches and one foot equals 12 inches. 1 inch = 2.54 cm; 1 foot = 12 inches = 30.48 cm.

After the 18th century, when men still wore breeches and stockings, in many 19th-century houses, flashy clothes, previously the prerogative of aristocrats, became the highest chic and the height of respectability for servants. Embroidered frock coats and camisoles, powdered wigs, top hats were very popular at the beginning of Victoria's reign in very wealthy houses. However, at the end of the century, uniforms that replicated the clothes of gentlemen were preferred. Most of the masters ordered a livery of their own design for their servants, so that even when outside the master's house, the servants could always be recognized by their appearance and behave well.

Footmen were addressed by their first names, but not necessarily by their own. The owners did not want to bother remembering new ones, and most often the name was transferred along with the position. Charles, James, John are common names for lackeys, unless, of course, their owners were called differently.

Manuals, most likely never read by lackeys, taught them how to fold napkins in the shape of a lily when setting the table, how far from the edge to put cutlery, how much space to leave for each guest. It also said that when it snowed, the duty of the lackey was to clean the paths to the house, to break the ice on the pond in the estate in order to transfer it to the cellar. In large houses, footmen spent most of the day on their feet. However, the hardest job was to carry coal. Many mansions burned more than a ton of coal a day. And in some, this amount was used only in the kitchen. The rest of the time the footman cleaned the silver candlesticks. As soon as this work was completed, he would change into his uniform and stand outside the doors. Later, he served and carried dinner, waited at the table, and at the end of the day, he extinguished candles and lamps.

However, much more strenuous and physically more difficult was the work of a running footman or runner, as they were called in Russia. Such a servant had two duties: to urgently deliver messages and to run ahead of the carriage in which the owner or members of his family were sitting.

The role of such lackeys was extremely great in the 18th century, but by the beginning of the reign of Victoria, this was already an endangered type of service, which the old-fashioned proud aristocrats still did not want to give up. The Prince of Lauderdale, while in his castle and arranging dinner there, was informed that there were not enough plates for guests. Hearing this, he ordered a runner to be sent to his other estate, which was fifteen miles away. The footman ran for the missing family dishes and managed to bring them to the beginning of the dinner party. Another aristocrat one evening ordered his runner to run to Edinburgh on some very important business. As the earl descended the stairs from the private quarters the next morning, he saw his servant sleeping on the floor in the middle of the front hall. The indignant owner was about to punish the lazy man for his disobedience when he explained that he had already carried out the order by running thirty-five miles in one direction and returning back.

The English writer fkon O "Keefe described his observation of a running lackey, which he remembered from his youth: “He looked so agile and airy, like Mercury, he, without understanding the road, always ran the most shortcut and with the help of his pole, it seemed to fly perfectly over pits, roadside bushes and small streams. The main qualities of this servant are loyalty, endurance and agility!”

The running footman, ahead of his master, was a messenger, informing about the importance of the arriving guest, thereby providing him with a worthy reception. Now this is achieved with just a phone call from a secretary, assistant or administrator, who, being in another place, cannot follow how preparations are being made for the meeting of an important guest, which in turn was done by a running footman. Each of them was ready to cover a distance of more than sixty miles a day, at an average speed of 6-7 miles per hour. No wonder the name "lackey" in English literally translates as a man on his feet. (footmen). It is clear that in this case, preference was given to young, healthy youths who understood that they would not be able to stay in such a well-fed place until old age.

John MacDonald, already mentioned earlier, tells in his notes how his childish naive worldviews changed during the service.

“I thought,” John wrote, “that if I read the Bible, I wouldn’t go to hell! If someone died within a mile or two of the owner's house, I was sent to sit with the dead. You could always find me at the wake."

When a carriage with six horses in a team was not required, he had little work. And Lady Anne Hamilton sent him to school. The groom was glad, because he believed that John was disturbing the horses with his prayers.

Lady Anne soon wanted to make John her personal lackey and was very unhappy to learn that he had already found a place for himself as the Earl Crawford's coachman. She was especially annoyed that she needlessly worried about John's education. True, he soon returned to the estate to his former owners, but already as a servant of John Hamilton.

Defining the scope of his duties, he admitted: “I was everything that the owner wanted me to be: butler, steward, housekeeper, head cook and footman. I picked out groceries, kept house books, kept the keys to all the chests of drawers in the house, I even taught the maid how to season Scottish dishes.”

At this time, gentlemen considered it below their dignity to notice their servants, not only in their own house, but also when they unexpectedly met on the street. “If he met me on the streets of Dublin and I raised my hat in salute, he did the same, but no more!” Once, going on a trip with the owner, at an inn in Holland, John, along with other servants, dined in the kitchen. One footman refused to eat with everyone and, taking his piece of meat and putting it on bread, went to the living room to eat in the presence of his hosts, talking with them about the upcoming trip and the state of the roads.

It made an indelible impression on John MacDonald! He laughed at the thought that he, a lackey, would allow himself not only to eat, but even to sit in the presence of his gentleman! His master was so proud that even while riding, he preferred only the company of his horse. However, despite all this, the servants tried to imitate their masters in everything. McDonald was no exception. When he managed to secure a very profitable job, he threw a ball for his friends, at which forty people took part only in the preparation of supper and drinks. His guests were mostly servants like himself. He gave them a first-class meal, ordered an orchestra, and spent everything, including a tip for the waiters, £5 10s, the annual salary of a maid in the village.

The desire to splurge is a human trait, independent of class and literacy. By the way, competent servants were very rare. Not every gentleman could boast that his servant read to him in the evenings. Even such proud and wealthy aristocrats as the Earl of Bedward, although he had a dozen male servants, all of them could only put crosses under their names. When a well-known aristocrat accidentally opened a letter written by his lackey to his beloved, he was struck by the style and beauty of the presentation and said to his servant: “James. You will be a big person! This letter should be printed in a magazine." And it was printed with comments about how surprised the owner was to learn that his servant not only had deep feelings, as was evident from his letter, but also had the talent to express them in such a romantic style. However, this example once again proved that, having discovered a letter from his servant, the gentleman did not think to ask how he would react to the fact that his private life would be put on display. After all, only the wishes of the owner were taken into account!

Having written his memoirs, John Macdonald not only left behind a historically important document of the life of the 18th-19th centuries, but also took the opportunity to tell his former owners what he thought of them. He reproached them that when the master ignores the efforts of an honest servant, he thereby blocks his desire to try further. What pride can he feel for a master who favors only his dog?

Despite the fact that all his life John was a servant, he, fortunately, did not acquire the traits of a toady and a sycophant, and his entire book shows that under the livery of a silent, patient servant, a proud and independent heart beat.

Most often, MacDonald left the service for own will. Now it became unbearable for him to constantly wait with the owner of his lady, then he envied the jack, whose opinion his master reckoned with. But sometimes he was driven away. Once he was calculated because he failed to get a deck of cards in time. Another time, when he and his owner returned from dinner at a famous house...

“I, as usual, helped him undress, twisted his hair into curlers, and then took his boots in my left Hand and hung his coat on the same hand to take to the dressing room. When the owner saw this, he said:

"You hold my coat like you've never seen a decent dress before!"

I could not resist and replied:

“Sir, many times in my life I have held in my hands clothes much better than yours!”

As a result, he drove me first from his room, and then from the service. For one stupid word, I lost a good place and later regretted it very much.

In search of work, he suffered one setback after another, sometimes coming too well dressed for the required position, sometimes too poorly. But on the whole, unemployment did not greatly interest him, although at this time more than two thousand lackeys were prowling around London in search of work. One of its owners was a banker, who for a month was looking for a good servant to comb his hair in the morning, and has already turned down twenty candidates. The problem was that he wore a wig over his own hair, and when MacDonald took over this duty, the banker's hair was always in order.

One day his owner caught a fever. “I didn’t take off my clothes for sixteen nights while caring for him. Every night I kept the fire going and kept the lamps warm to heat whatever he wanted!” The servant's devotion was rewarded. His salary reached 40 guineas a year, and together with his master he traveled to India, Portugal and Spain. He was considered one of the best servants, because he had only three hours to get ready and he was ready to go anywhere and do anything! By the middle of the century, it became fashionable to do without two lackeys in the carriage, and take only one with you. His presence was necessary not only to lower the steps of the carriage and help the lady down, but also to drive away beggars and other dirty people. Then he followed his mistress at some distance, so that at any moment, if she wanted to send him on some mission, he would be at hand. While shopping, he had to open doors for his lady and wait patiently for her to finish choosing goods, so that later she would carry all the purchases made by her. On Sundays, he followed her to church, carrying her Bible and prayer book. If the lady made visits, then, approaching the house, he should overtake her, so that, having time to knock on the house, he would force the servants to open the door for her. Often the coachman provided the owner with a noisy arrival, and then the footman banged the ring so hard that the impression of the importance of the person who had stopped by was inevitably formed. “Although he (the lackey) emphasized the importance of the visitors by how much noise he made at the same time, he still had to take into account the nerves of the owners of the house and the peace of the neighbors.”

Hierarchy of servants in large houses

Readers of historical novels are familiar with those who were hired as servants in large houses. These people did all the necessary work and kept the house clean and tidy. On the estates of some people there were whole armies of servants who worked on the plot (gardeners, huntsmen, grooms), and the same army of household staff.

In the Victorian era, not only aristocrats had servants. The bourgeoisie of the middle class appeared in the cities. The presence of servants was a sign of respectability. However, the lower middle class, who had less money, could only afford one maid - maid who did all the work.

Victorian era author Mrs Beeton in her bestselling book "Home Management Book" pities such a maid: “The common maid, or the maid for all work, is the only one of the whole class who deserves compassion. She lives the life of a hermit, is lonely and her work is never done.”

The male staff was higher in rank than the female and non-livery servants. Those who did not wear a uniform were ranked above those who were required to be in uniform.

I must say, the clothes of servants in the 18th century were somewhat more individual. Black dress, the white apron, and the white bonnet worn by maids in the 19th century were invented in the Victorian era to hide the personalities of the staff.

highest status among the male servants (who were in a sense more of a professional than really a servant) possessed estate manager. Some managers were also trustees of their owners, lived in separate houses and ran their own business. The estate manager hired and fired workers, settled tenant complaints/grievances, oversaw the harvest, collected rent, and kept all financial records. Wealthy landowners who owned more than one estate had several managers.

Some rich houses had butlers. The Butler also acted as a manager. In particular, he was responsible for the keys. Only he had access to buffets where food was stored, wine cellars and pantries. Those who needed access to these rooms should ask for his permission. He let them into the pantries and then locked the door again. In addition, he was responsible for repairing the premises and for hiring seamstresses and laundresses.

Next in status among the male servants was butler. Butler duties varied depending on the size of the house. He was in charge of the wine cellars, responsible for silver and gold dishes, chinaware and crystal. His duties included cleaning valuable silver and gold instruments and guarding them from thieves. As time went on, the position of the butler became more and more prestigious, until he reached the top rung of the hierarchy in the Victorian era. Although the butler did not wear a livery, his clothes changed only slightly during working hours: for example, he wore a black tie, not a white one. Thus, the butler could not be mistaken for a gentleman.

After the butler, next in status was valet. He looked after the clothes of the master of the house, cleaned his shoes and boots, cut his hair and shaved his beard and looked after appearance gentleman in general. The valet was supposed to look good, but at the same time not overshadow his master. When a gentleman went shopping or on a journey, a valet accompanied him, as some men literally could not get dressed or undressed without assistance.

A high status among domestic staff was also footmen. The footman did a lot of housework, both inside and outside. In the house, he set the table, waited at the table, served tea, opened the door for guests and helped the butler. In addition, he carried luggage, accompanied the lady when she went to visit, carried a lantern to scare off thieves when the owners went out into the street at night, carried and brought letters.

Page was a servant's apprentice. He performed various tasks and assignments. Sometimes a dark-skinned boy was taken to the pages, who was dressed in a deliberately bright livery and who was treated more like a piece of furniture.

Women were not valued as highly as men and their wages were lower despite the fact that often their work was much harder. While the footman carried the letters, the maid often had to climb ladders with baskets of coal for the fireplaces or canisters of water for the bath.

For the lady of the house ordinary deed to change the name of the maid, if it seemed too pretentious to her, more suitable name like Mary or Jane.

senior in status among the female staff housekeeper. She kept the keys to the pantries, she supervised the work of the maids and the cook. She was right hand butler. She kept records and budgeted for the upkeep of the house, ordered food and other supplies. By and large, she led the practical part of the economy.

The next in status was personal maid, or maid. She helped the lady dress and undress, cleaned, ironed and mended her clothes, cleaned her hair. In the Victorian era, when clothing was very heavy and layered (with buttons and laces down the back), women literally couldn't dress and undress themselves. The maids also looked after the decorations and served as a companion and trusted hostess.

Cook valued more if taught by a male cook. Many were looking for just such a cook, since not everyone had enough money to hire a male cook. The cook had many assistants who helped her cope with the amount of work that needed to be done. There were always dishwashers in the kitchen (they were lower in status than all other women), whose duties included cleaning pots and pans. The girls worked all day, dipping their hands in hot water and hard soda to wash dishes. After a big party, hundreds of greasy pots and pans could be left to clean out before going to bed.

There were other maids: they made beds, cleaned cabinets and the like. These women swept the floor, dusted, polished surfaces, cleaned, washed, brought and carried away from early morning until late at night. The work schedule for the maids was from 6:30 am to 10 pm, and they were supposed to have half a day off a week. They were cleaning the house and polishing the furniture without being able to use anything that could make cleaning easier. For example, there was no such thing as a ready-made polishing solution. The polish was made from linseed oil, turpentine and beeswax.

Carpets had to be brushed by hand or taken outside and slapped. Lamps had to be cleaned and filled, fires had to be lit and maintained. The duties of the maids also included lifting containers of coal up the stairs to all the fireplaces in the house. One can imagine how many fireplaces there were in a huge estate that was not equipped with central heating.

The maids had two kinds of dresses. In the morning, when most of the hard work was done, they wore patterned cotton dresses and aprons. Later in the day they changed into black dresses with a white pleated apron and caps with ribbons.

The servants worked in an intensive schedule: in fact everyone woke up at 5 a.m. and didn't go to bed until their master went to bed.

The era of large estates with many servants ended after the First World War. For a long time, the job of a maid was considered the only respectable job a young woman could get, but with the availability of work in offices and factories, few were willing to spend long hours at work for little pay and little or no personal control. life. The emergence of new jobs, a decrease in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bhouses and the appearance of devices that facilitate work, put an end to a huge number servants hired on estates.