Spittle, Scorey and Smith, lynch pins in the Bevan household

Up to the early 20th century, domestic service was a significant area of employment for women, slightly less so for men.  Many of us have become familiar with the idea of servants in a large household from programmes such as Upstairs Downstairs and the many period dramas shown on television.  But what was life really like for servants and how dependent were families on them?

 

Throughout most of the 19th century, a family with an income of over £150 would employ a servant.  Many would live in, but some did not and came to work every day.  Domestic work was labour intensive in an era before electricity and all the modern appliances we take for granted today. Laundry was time consuming and many families who could afford it sent laundry out.   A recent BBC programme, The Victorian Farm, showed that it took a total of four days to soak, wash, dry and iron the laundry for three people.  Owning certain items, such as a wringer, made it quicker to dry clothes, but not any easier to wash them.

 

In the era before central heating open fires were often lit in more than one room, and, in the kitchen, a range needed to be kept going year round for cooking purposes. Coal was the preferred fuel – it burns well, gives a good heat, and lasts some time.  A large household could expect to get through tons of coal every year. These devices, together with oil lamps, candles and gas lighting were dirty, creating a lot of dust, soot and ash as coal was brought around to the fires, combustion products were produced, fireplaces cleaned and waste removed. As the image below illustrates, grates and ranges were ‘blacked’[1] to maintain their looks and keep them from rusting.  This was all heavy dirty work, delegated to the most junior servants in a large house, or the maid of all work in a smaller one.

 

In a large household, there was a hierarchy among the servants.  Perhaps the two most important were the housekeeper (always spoken of as 'Mrs' by the other servants, regardless of her marital status) and the butler.  The housekeeper managed the female servants, dealt with tradesmen and generally managed the house.  The butler managed male servants and had particular responsibility for the wine cellar, the plate and the family silver.

 

In the letters between Louisa and Sylvanus Bevan and their son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Charlotte, servants are mentioned regularly.  Charlotte tells Richard in a letter of 21 June 1834 that “I got a note from Spittle Wednesday night- she said Smith was getting on as fast as possible with the windows”, referring to the windows damaged by hail in a storm and how the servants were coping with it. In an earlier letter, of 21 August 1824, Louisa tells Charlotte and Richard of how Scorey was attacked by a bull – he was “so much hurt that he was under Medhursts hand, four days confined to his bed” – and her relief “that Scorey's life and services are continued to his loving Master”.

 

The respect and concern shown by the Bevan family to their servants and more generally concern for servants became increasingly less widespread as the 19th century passed.  Spittle sounds like the housekeeper for the Brighton house and both Scorey and Baugh (mentioned by Charlotte) may be the equivalent of footman or valets.  The housekeeper would be important for a householder, as she would see the house was kept secure, and in the case of a storm breaking a large number of windows, would ensure that they were repaired.

 

Life in domestic service was not easy.  The work was hard and accommodation, though provided, could be a bed in the basement.  But it was a position that ensured you did have a bed, food and a wage, along with a clothing allowance.  Some servants had an education.  Spittle could write letters to her mistress, but perhaps the best known servant of this time is William Tayler, who kept a diary[2] of his life in 1837.

The image below, showing a series of advertisements for servants placed in The Sussex Advertiser newspaper in 1828, is taken from newspapers held in The Regency Town House archive.

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