Lower Servants: They included: Footmen; Under-Butlers; Housemaids; Nursery-Maids; Still-room Maids; Kitchen Maids; Scullery Maids; Laundry-Maids; Dairymaids; Kitchen Men; Baker and Helpers. Some of their jobs will be undertaken by your class!!
How were servants treated in Victorian times?
Servants in Victorian England were a small step up from abject poverty as they generally had quarters and food from the household they looked after, but they generally lived a difficult life of constant work and servitude.
Did Victorian middle class have servants?
Middle-class homes in Victorian Britain would not have survived without servants to do the work. Some homes only had a single, over-worked maidservant, while others employed a whole army, from housekeeper and butler to lowest-paid kitchen maid.
Did they have servants in the 1800s?
In England and America in the 19th century, housework was incredibly laborious. If you could afford it, you got a servant. A household with just one servant had what was called a “Maid-of-all-Work,” a lone woman that was responsible for all the cooking, cleaning, and general maintenance of the members of the household.
Did rich Victorian children have servants?
It would take lots of servants to keep the house in good order, so there was plenty of work in domestic service for those who wanted it. Also having servants was a way of showing other people how rich and important you were and so if you had lots of money you might choose to have servants, even if you didn’t need them!
How did husbands treat their wives in the Victorian era?
Women’s rights were extremely limited in this era, losing ownership of their wages, all of their physical property, excluding land property, and all other cash they generated once married. When a Victorian man and woman married, the rights of the woman were legally given over to her spouse.
When did ladies maids stop?
Such loyalty and long-standing employment between a lady’s maid and the lady of the house was common. The early 20th century started to see a decline in the use of a lady’s maid though the contrast of the lives of the staff and family on these estates still intrigues.
Were ladies maids allowed to marry?
A great majority of female domestic servants did get married, of course. On the average, they were about 25 years old when they married. By the time of marriage, they had, on average, been in service for some twelve years, and had been placed in between three to five situations.
When did we stop having servants?
The numbers of servants continued to dwindle in the 20th Century, particularly for the middle classes, and World War I and II had a profound effect.
What did Victorian servants eat?
The servants had their dinner at midday , in contrast to the family’s lunch served at one. This midday-meal consisted of roast or boiled meat served with vegetables, followed by a dessert of apple tart, plum pudding, or cake.
Could Victorian servants marry?
In Victorian times, romance and marriage between servants in the same house was rare – it was considered disruptive to work – but it became more common in the Edwardian era when servants were harder to keep and therefore more indulged.
How much did a Victorian maid get paid?
Her salary was usually £5-£10 less than the butler’s (£2100-£2400) per year. Their main job was to be a private servant for the lady or master of the house assisting them with dressing, caring for their clothes, being a general companion and even performing secretarial duties.
Where did ladies maids sleep?
Under-servant Bedrooms: Male and female domestics had separate servant bedrooms for sleeping. Female domestics were usually provided with bedrooms either in the attic, uppermost story, or over servant offices, which were accessible by a back stairway.
How did poor Victorians earn money?
By the end of the Victorian era in 1901, electricity was available and rich people could get it in their homes. Poor people could work in mines, in mills and factories, or in workhouses. Whole families would sometimes have to work so they’d all have enough money to buy food.
Where did Scullery Maids sleep?
attic floor
Housemaids, scullery maids and kitchen maids slept on the attic floor of the house. Two to a room, in some houses they even shared beds.
What jobs did girls do in Victorian times?
Women and work in the 19th century
Most working class women in Victorian England had no choice but to work in order to help support their families. They worked either in factories, or in domestic service for richer households or in family businesses.
Did Victorian couples love each other?
Even where love was honored, it was often not over emphasized. “Couples were not to put their feelings for each other above more important commitments, such as their ties to parents, siblings, cousins, neighbors, or God. Victorian Couples, c. late 1800s.
What was the average weight of a woman in the 1800s?
The 1847 article continued: “When the weight of the body has reached its average maximum, men weigh 139 pounds, women 112 pounds.” Fifty years later the numbers remained about the same.
How were girls treated in the Victorian era?
They were viewed as only supposed to be housewives and mothers to their children. The women during this era were only viewed as people that should only concern themselves with keeping a successful household. However, during this time women were forced into working positions outside of the household.
Were servants balls a thing?
The servants’ ball has had a long tradition in the country house estates of Britain and only really died out with the onset of the Second World War. They were a cultural melting pot where popular music of the day would be performed alongside traditional country dance tunes.
How did Victorian maids wear their hair?
Victorian ladies often styled their hair in simple chignons or coiled or interwoven plaits. (Petit Courrier des Dames, 1861.) A simple chignon or “bun” was another option for the Victorian lady of more moderate means. All that was needed was a handful of pins.