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.
Did servants eat leftovers?
Servants did often gather together and eat leftover food.
What was a typical Victorian meal?
Popular foods included beef, mutton, port, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread, potatoes, rice, porridge oats, milk, vegetables, flour, sugar, treacle, jam and tea. Breakfast might consist of stoneground bread smeared with dripping or lard, with a large bunch of watercress.
What did the servants eat in Downton Abbey?
Everyone had breakfast: There were scrambled eggs, bacon, and kedgeree for the family, and this meal was eaten in the breakfast room rather than the dining room. Married ladies took breakfast on a tray in bed. The servants sometimes ate porridge (oatmeal) but toast, jam, and cups of strong tea was the norm.
When did servants eat in Victorian times?
midday
The main meal – ‘dinner’– was taken at around midday, while ‘tea’ was a very light meal served at around 4 o’clock. ‘Supper’ was usually taken at 9 o’clock, after most of the work had been finished.
Were servant 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.
What did Victorian servants drink?
In the 18th century, servants drank beer with breakfast, a practice which continued in some houses into the 19th century. Tea and sugar remained expensive in the mid-19th century, and were not always supplied by the mistress.
What was a typical Victorian breakfast?
The Victorian breakfast was usually a heavy meal: sausages, preserves, bacon and eggs, served with bread rolls. The custom of afternoon tea served before dinner, with milk and sugar, became well-established in Britain in the early 19th century.
What are five foods that poor Victorians were given?
For many poor people across Britain, white bread made from bolted wheat flour was the staple component of the diet. When they could afford it, people would supplement this with vegetables, fruit and animal-derived foods such as meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs – a Mediterranean-style diet.
What did wealthy Victorians eat?
Victorians with more money enjoyed mutton, bacon, cheese, eggs, sugar, treacle and jam as part of their meals. Breakfast may involve ham, bacon, eggs and bread. People who lived near to the sea often ate a lot of fish too. Dishes like kedgeree were very popular.
What was a typical meal for a peasant?
The average peasant’s diet in Medieval times consisted largely of barley. They used barley to make a variety of different dishes, from coarse, dark breads to pancakes, porridge and soups. After a poor harvest, when grain was in short supply, people were forced to include beans, peas and even acorns in their bread.
What time did the aristocracy eat dinner?
In the UK the heyday of dinner was in the Middle Ages. It was known as “cena”, Latin for dinner. The aristocracy ate formal, outrageously lavish dinners around noon.
What does the queen eat for her lunch?
Lunch. It is worth noting that the Queen is particularly fond of a gin and Dubonnet cocktail before she tucks into her lunch. Following this, it is reported that Queen Elizabeth is fond of some grilled fish or chicken, and tends to stay away from starch for her meal at lunch.
Did servants get Sundays off?
By the 1880s, servants were given a half-day off on Sundays, starting after lunch (and only if all their chores for that morning had been completed), and they were usually given one day off each month, starting after breakfast, and again, their chores all had to be finished first.
What age did girls go into service?
They were usually recruited between the ages of 10 and 13, after they had been through some elementary schooling. Many employers hoped for the servants they hired to have at least some elementary literacy and numeracy.
How many hours did Victorian servants work?
Servants worked from 15 to 18 hours a day, with only half a day off per week. Meals and lodging were included, but pay was low.
What were female servants called?
A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker.
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.
What did a ladies maid do?
A lady’s maid’s specific duties included helping her mistress with her appearance, including make-up, hairdressing, clothing, jewellery, and shoes. A lady’s maid would also remove stains from clothing; sew, mend, and alter garments as needed; bring her mistress breakfast in her room; and draw her mistress’s bath.
Where did servants sleep in Victorian times?
Living accommodation was spartan and in Victorian times, highly segregated. Maids were traditionally housed in the attic, with the housekeeper’s own quarters at the end of their passage, while male staff were lodged in the basement.
What did female servants wear in Victorian times?
Most women, nevertheless, worked as maids-of-all-work for the middle and lower-middle classes and wore a print dress with a cap and a rough apron in the morning to do heavy-cleaning duties followed by a black dress and a more delicate white cap and apron in the afternoon to welcome guests and perform lighter tasks.