These establishments were unregulated during the Regency so not always reliable, but it was another option both for the servant seeking a job and the employer seeking a worker. if unable to secure employment through the preferred methods above, might advertise in a newspaper, but more likely went to one of the “servant registry” offices scattered about where, for a fee, the office proprietors matched clients. Servants with experience and special skills - such as a governess, lady’s maid, valet, etc. References written for a worthy servant who may be relocating or simply wish to attain an improved position were not required from the employer, but often given. Starting as a scullery maid at that age, with hopes to rise in the ranks, was viewed as a golden opportunity. If one’s maid was reliable, and she had a younger sister, viola! Girls routinely took jobs at 12 or 13 years of age. Servants were typically discovered via recommendations from friends and relatives. Another willing person could easily be found. Conversely, a poor or untrustworthy worker could be swiftly discarded at the whim of the master. An exceptionally good worker could bargain for a higher salary or seek better employment. Staff sleeping quarters might be another level down, or in the attic.Įxcellent domestic help was in high demand. Masters and mistresses established rules as they deemed proper and circumstances varied widely. As a small aside, it was not forbidden for domestic help to be married. The grass may well be greener in another house! Plus, with the majority being female, marriage with resulting children (or just the child without the benefit of a husband, as often happened) further upset the staff roster. Yet even in a stable household, the long hours, backbreaking labor, and exacting standards led to poor health or injuries and dissatisfaction with the job. Upheavals in the family situations - death, marriage, changes in fortune, etc. Turnover of personnel was far more common than we imagine. Typically room and board were covered, clothing provided (uniforms and possibly cast-offs), monetary tips for special work or from guests of the house, left-over food, and the social benefit of employment in an upper-class house. Wages were meager, compared to some other jobs, but the perks worth the lower pay. Whatever the exact statistics, the point is that servants accounted for an enormous slice of the working class. From 1775 to 1801, servants accounted for anywhere between 1 in 10 to 1 in 5 persons in the UK. If one played by the rules and wasn’t afraid of rough work!Įstimates based on census results from the first decade of the 1800s say domestic servants (household staff) numbered around 910,000 with some 110,000 being male. In a world of harsh working conditions and strict social divides, gainful employment on an estate provided an excellent salary, security, and prestige a job to be proud of and possibly evolve into a professional career. Service to an English estate, particularly for an esteemed aristocrat or respected gentry class family was considered a prime occupation. The greater the responsibilities and closer the association with the master or mistress of the household, the higher a servant’s standing. A definite hierarchy existed, servants acutely aware of rank and class distinctions amongst themselves. Grand estate servants and staff were divided into inside and outside personnel, and the inside staff divided again into upper and lower levels. “The sensible master and the kind mistress know, that if servants depend on them for their means of living, in their turn they are dependent on their servants for very many of the comforts of life and that, with a proper amount of care in choosing servants, and treating them like reasonable beings, and making slight excuses for the shortcomings of human nature, they will, save in some exceptional case, be tolerably well served, and, in most instances, surround themselves with attached domestics.” ~ Mrs. L -> R: 3 housemaids, footman, lady’s maid, butler, housekeeper, valet, footman, 3 housemaids.
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