How you would like to work in a great house like we see every week in Downton Abbey? Well it might not be as glamorous as you might think! In this Project Downton discussion post we talk about the domestic staff.
In the Edwardian era which Downton Abbey is set, the domestic service was at its peak. WWI brought the decline of the domestic staff with most of the male staff being drafted to the Great War and the women replacing jobs previously held by men or working in machine factories helping the war effort.
The Victorian era in Britain saw a peak in the numbers of servants employed in households. All upper class houses had several servants, and most middle class households employed at least one or two servants. In 1871 over 4% of the population was employed ‘in service’, the vast majority of them women. Being “In Service” was considered by lower class and women, to be a highly coveted position for surprisingly long periods in history. Continue reading “Discussion: Women of the Downstairs Staff (A Project Downton post)”
For each of us the name Cleopatra conjures up many vivid images… sensuality, seduction, beauty, the exotic, wealth, excess, Elizabeth Taylor.
The Lit Bitch 