how much did servants get paid downton abbey

Its been an amazing magic carpet ride for all of us, she said. Someeven became proprietors of public houses. The neighbours are selling up their own stately home, while Lord Grantham seeks to cut back on servants after declaring that under-butlers are no longer affordable. During the Regency, both footmen and livery were taxed which added nto the expense of keeping footmen. Downton has none, a house that size should have two or more. Head of the female servants, she consults with her mistress daily about the meals, family plans, and any guests that are expected. In desperation employers dangled the carrot of prettier outfits but it made no difference. 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A favourite maid's name was Sarah. Servants - The True Story Of Life Below Stairs starts on BBC Two on September 28. Captain Button, as far as I understand it: Room, board and I think work-appropriate clothing (uniform, etc) came with the job along with salary. In two years of real time, DA has progressed eight years. The Butler: Jim Carter, who you may remember as Captain Brown from Cranford, portrays Mr. Carson, the butler, with grave dignity. Downton Abbey: How much did Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith and more make during the show? Only the butler may answer the bell. The servant bells behind William, the second footman. My fellow-Canadian and a resident of that historic hotbed of Socialism and socialized medicine called Saskatchewan has turned on me! A lot of people here think of it as soapy entertainment. with any luck. Downton Abbey: 10 Upstairs Memes That Will Have You Cry-Laughing, Downton Abbey: 10 Couples That Would Have Made A Lot Of Sense (But Never Got Together), Downton Abbey: 10 Most Hated Supporting Characters Of All Time, Downton Abbey: 10 Hidden Details About Edith Crawley's Costume You Didn't Notice, Downton Abbey: 10 Actors You Forgot Were On The Show. We often see servants in the background, coming and going, whose names and positions we dont know. Each napkin likewise. In 2017, Variety estimated hour-long dramas (like Downton Abbey) cost $5 to $7 million dollars per episode to make. We saw some gamekeepers in the shooting episode in which Mary was accompanied by Sir Richard. Scullery maids, cleaned and washed up in the separate scullery area. The year is 1925 and there are already the first rumblings of the economic storms that will blight the end of the decade. Oddjob mandoes heavy lifting in the house, replaces oil in lamps, carries logs for the parlormaids to make fires in the main floor fireplaces, carries logs for the chambermaids to look after the fireplaces in the family and visitor bedrooms, can help maids carry up hot water for baths (piped hot water was so rare as to practically never happen). Passing her mistress on the stairs a servant was expected to "give room", which meant face the wall. Tweenies who help the parlormaids and the scullery maids- Downton has none. I tend to rationalize it that there are lots of other servants that we never see, just as high school dramas only focus on a handful of students and neglect the other 98%. In fact as a new BBC series reveals their lot could be miserable, degrading and exhausting. Always keep outer doors fastened. One housemaid (to perform the duties of both Chambermaid and Parlor maid). Every British tourist attraction sells little guidebooks published by the Pitkin company. Inquiring readers, from now until the U.S. airing of Downton Abbey, this blog will explore the facets of living in an English country house during the Edwardian era, and drawing upon the similarity and differences between the Edwardian and Regency eras. Lucy Lethbridge, author of "Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times," joined Antonio Mora on the Jan. 6, 2014 edition of Consider This. MORE:Downton Abbey star Maggie Smith looks incredible at start of career - see the gorgeous snaps. Michelle Dockery stars as eldest daughter Lady Mary and is also said to be worth $4million. The neglected tombstone found in an overgrown burial ground. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Vic said: Downstairs in Downton Abbey: The Servants: Jane Austen's World http://t.co/8ufFL50 [], Very informative, thank you! Which would mean female servants would have to be celibate or very careful. The House Maid: (Rose Leslie) Young Gwen is a housemaid with a goal that of becoming a typist. Credit: Courtesy of Carnival Film & Television Limited for MASTERPIECE. Luckily, he was far kinder and more capable than his aunt ever was. Sophie McShera as Daisy, Kitchen Maid. Following the end of the series, she landed starring roles in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Disney's live-action Cinderella and Yesterday. In some instances, links will be removed from comments as well. :). The castle has been one enormous character as well.. Downton Abbey wouldn't survive without all the downstairs staff who work tirelessly day in and day out. There are also hallboys and other maids whose names we dont know. I suppose they are buying them as needed from the shops rather than having them made to match, or even expecting the maids to sew their own to a matching pattern. But, although her personal life is often in shambles, it rarely gets in the way of her work at Downton. The following is a list of the staff of Downton Abbey, past and present. Oh Woe! Just like Lark Rise to Candleford, which I must admit, is a much better show. Thats a good question. Neame said: They approached me because of the reach. Yet while their employers dined on nine-course meals costing up to six times a maid's annual wage employees were treated to the leftovers in the kitchen. Credit: Courtesy of Carnival Film & Television Limited for MASTERPIECE. I think it was the limits on social and sexual life which made many females turn from domestic service to that in offices and shops. That is more than worked on the land or in factories. In real life, during World War I, the 5th . Where they just fired and thrown out? At the very least, Mrs. Patmore would have needed a permanent person in the scullery, and other assistants to help maintain order in the kitchens. Too old to work? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. While she was constantly working hard in her position, her past became an ultimate roadblock. It was not uncommon for a scullery maid to be promoted to kitchen maid and eventually up to a cook. More than a million embark on a tour of historic buildings each year, spending inexcess of 1bn. The Crawleys Manchester house was well furnished (what we saw of it) and fashionably furnished, so they redecorated within the last 5/10 years, they still had all their tea sets and china and silver. How many servants would a house like Downton Abbey have? The Crawleys of Manchester I think are recently upper middle class, Doctor Crawley must have been middle middle class along with Mrs. Crawleys Doctor father, as Matthew is a solicitor they must have moved up in the world and bought a bigger house but not a bigger staff, they had a cook and two maids, if you listen to Mrs. Bird she says shes always had one kitchen maid and gotten on perfectly well. It just gets its catastrophically wrong. The Regency Court Gown: Regency Fashion, Pride and Prejudice Economics: Or Why a Single Man with a Fortune of 4,000 Per Year is a Desirable Husband, A Portrait of a 19th C. Artist by an UnknownArtist. Ok, look, a house that size would have had a staff of hundreds of servants. Read the full article in The Sunday Times. ), I love this post. However, we do accept and keep books and CDs to review. Male servants were paid more than female servants (because some were expected to support a wife and children) and footmen were something of a luxury and therefore a status symbol even among the servant-employing classes. He often has pitfalls, most recently so speaking out of turn in the presence of the King and Queen. Thomas is constantly rising in status in his role, eventually even taking on the duties of Butler come the end of the series. Copyright Statement: Jane Austen's World blog, 2009-2022. A chauffeur not only drove the family around, but he was also its mechanic, keeping the car in top shape, acquiring parts when they were needed, and making sure there was enough petrol on hand to satisfy the familys needs. Id noticed before the maids uniforms dont quite match. NCIS star Mark Harmon has a very famous niece, NCIS: LA teases long-awaited return of fan favorite character in upcoming episode ahead of finale, The Rookie's Titus Makin Jr. the real reason why he left the show. Carson is one of the few characters almost any viewer can get behind. ), Anna (Head maid) and Gwen (house maid) in their room. It became fashionable for the up-and-coming middle classes to mimic the aristocracy and hire cooks, maids and housekeepers and tens of thousands of young people flocked from the countryside to work in town houses. The fact that Bates the valet was expected to fill in at even a small dinner is not something that would normally be case. Labour-saving devices such as the appearance of the first motorised vacuum cleaners made housework easier. Gareth Neame, the series executive producer, said: I think Downton Abbey secured Highcleres future., Peter Fincham, ITVs director of television, recalls the moment when Highclere was booked. A major part of the season concerns the end of the "large household" and how many of the staff are seeking alternate employment. So, how much did slavery impact England? When the Downton Abbey producers first approached Highclere in 2009, the family faced a near 12m repair bill, with urgent work priced at 1.8m. Credit: Courtesy of Carnival Film & Television Limited for MASTERPIECE. Matt is an alumni of Portland State University with a degree in English and Film Studies. A newspaper reports that leading actors including Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern have been given three-year deals worth 1million each. 'Supper' was usually taken at 9 o'clock, after most of the work had been finished. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. Due to SPAM, we will no longer accept comments on posts after 30 days of publication. She earned the job after the reference from Thomas but was soon embroiled in blackmail due to her past. How much does it cost to get married at Downton Abbey? The only time that the servants might be visible to family or guests was when they cleaned and polished the main halls and stairway. Has anybody read P.G. In the big country houses or the great London mansions servants were crammed into shared bedrooms and beds with no bathroom or lavatory facilities. Daisy, the kitchen maid, lays a fire in the library. A rule of thumb was that an income of at least 1,000 pounds per year was required, or the income from at least 1,000 acres of land. Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. As the driver, he took all of the family to and from the main house and around the countryside. Click on image. They were better-paid jobs, less demeaning and didn't require the wearing of the hated servant's uniform of starched cap and apron. How much did Downton Abbey servants make? Tatton Park, Baron Egerton's home in Knutsford, Cheshire, had some 40 indoor servants in the 1890s, while at Eaton Hall near Chester the Duke of Westminster employed 300 indoor and outdoor servants, among them more than 40 gardeners. Credit: Courtesy of Carnival Film & Television Limited for MASTERPIECE. Not only that, but she remains a great, yet tough, mentor to those assigned under her. Invisibility and segregation were part of their job. While the servants of Downton Abbey are shown to be loyal and proud of their positions, the Punch cartoon below shows a group of shiftless servants who are slow to respond to their masters summons. Domestic service, novelist and broadcaster JB Priestly declared in 1927, was "as obsolete as the horse" in an era of motor cars. Fox Refuses to Worry Publicly About Idol or XFactor, Domestic Servant Hierarchy and Wage Scale, Project Runway Season 10: The Wrong Ones Leave, Downton Abbey Season 5: As Jolly As You Like, Downton Abbey Season Two: Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time, http://files.stv.tv/img/galleries/downton-abbey-series-one/590331/DOWNTON_ABBEY_EP1_43.jpg, How 'Downton Abbey' Shows Income Inequality Doesn't Matter | Acton PowerBlog, DOWNSTAIRS AT DOWNTON: THE MEN | D.E. The earliest rising servant was the scullery maid, or tweeny, who sat lowest on the pecking order. Alas and alack! Archived post. You would think a big house like Downton would provide them, but perhaps not. For example, the poet Lord Byron had a valet named James Brown. The only kind of television show that was economically able to have such a large cast of regular actors (those with speaking parts, let alone character arcs) were the soap operas of the 1960s-1980s. This chauffeur can also read and has been given permission by the earl to check books out of his library. Would that be analogous to, say, a mid-range hotel manager today, in status and income? It is now broadcast in 250 countries. The Only Running Footman; Sources . Servants' thoughts have rarely been recorded, slaves' even less so. Eventually, when he felt called to pursue bigger dreams, he did so without a ton of fanfare or fuss. Housekeepers, as Jane Austen famously showed in Pride and Prejudice, served as tour guides when the family was absent. Yet Gwen represents the future, in which political and socio-economic changes for women will end their dependency on the men of their family and force many to start fending for themselves. I recently rewatched the second season of Upstairs, Downstairs, and I have some general questions/want to check if I understand things right. A modern view? Young, fresh-faced, and just starting out, William misses his loving family. Forget the polished image of Downton Abbey, life below stairs was sadistic and miserable. If all you could afford was a girl a couple days a week, you got one. Thanks to the teachings of Mrs. Patmore, she soon is prepped to take on the role of lead cook one day. Many of us today cannot understand why servants in country manors such as Downton Abbey would consider catering to the whims of others as a desirable occupation. Marvelous Mrs Maisel: will Lenny Bruces death be depicted in season 5? So true, I believe they had well over 20 servants, you tend to see them in the background carrying sheets and other household items, and they did have a land agent prior to Mathew, he resigned over a disagreement with Lord G, and him following Mathews advice, the land agent actually took over for his father and grew up on the estate. The show portrays a butler, two footmen, a valet, and a chauffeur. They are: Click on their names to enter their own blogs. I've been watching the final season of Downton Abbey. The Table cloths in the servants hall , the butlers room and the housekeepers parlor would not be washed as frequently but would add to the workload. The staff of Downton Abbey work for the Crawley family. Gentle readers: Please feel free to post your comments and continue the conversation! Housekeeping was hard physical labor before central heat and air made houses cleaner; and standards of dustfree shining cleanliness were higher, not to mention the only way to have food was to cook from complete scratch every day and many households still made at least some of their own clothing. At the turn of the 20th century when the population of Britain was only 36million there were 1.5million servants. Anna has often received the worst cards in life. Im only on episode one, but as an African American who majored in history but focused mainly on ancient history and African American history, Im curious about the differences in England. There are many things about Downton Abbey that evoke a bygone erathe costumes, of course, and the cars, not to mention the clipped diction, the proper manners, and the attitudes toward sex and class. In theory, even when servants had finished with their duties and were finally sitting down to eat their breakfast, they were subject to be called at a moments whim. The hierarchy among the servants was strictly defined. What happened to servants when they got too old to work? No servant is to take any knives or forks or other article, nor on any account to remove any provisions, nor ale or beer out of the hall. Downton only has 2-3 housemaids/maids of all work, thus is both understaffed and staffed at a lower level. That portrays the true relationship betweem servant and master. His dedication to Downton was arguably stronger than even the family who lived in it. It [Downton Abbey] is iconic for expressing Britishness. Mrs. Patmore is one of the most skilled cooks that the series ever confronts. Downton has no laundry maids, adding to the burden on the undersized staff. Unlike their poorly paid counterparts, servants were housed and fed by their masters. Read the review of the book at this link. The Housekeeper: Phyllis Logan as Mrs. Hughes is Mr. Carsons counterpart. While loud ideals and spirited nature can become a roadblock at times, the house would suffer without her hard work. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. [] workers, actually earn more than the median U.S. worker. Visitor numbers doubled, to 1,200 a day, as Downton Abbey, scripted by Julian Fellowes, came to be screened around the world after becoming a hit in the UK in 2010 and then in the US. Hall boyto take cards in the hall, polish shoes and boots of visitors. Im going to have servants when Im rich so thanks for educating me on their duties and names. In addition, the sheets of the family would be changed several times a week, as would those of any guests. RELATED:Downton Abbey: 10 Most Hated Supporting Characters Of All Time. The main meal - 'dinner'- was taken at around midday, while 'tea' was a very light meal served at around 4 o'clock. Events include special Downton-themed receptions at British embassies. Our image of this under-class is based on television programmes such as Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs. In the lower common area, servants were summoned by the family via a system of bells connected to each room. VisitBritain estimates that nearly 30% of foreign visitors, or nearly nine million people, include castles and historic houses on their. Mr. Carson was not only in charge of the male servants, but also of the wine cellar and the butlers pantry, which contained the family plate and silver. THE CASTLE REALLY DID OPERATE AS A HOSPITAL DURING WORLD WAR I. He is as protective towards the Crawley family as he would have been to his own. Mrs. Hughes ran a tight ship with her staff, creating a culture of strong work ethic as well as personal respect. Unfortunately, I don't know that we know much about how servants and slaves in England viewed each other. In addition to the main house, servants worked in the service buildings, such as the stables, garage, dairy, bakehouse, laundry, gun room, and pantry. Maggie Smith will be playing a 120 year old by the time this show wraps production. I looked up wage information, and found that a common yearly salary for a Butler like Carson would be roughly 55-70 (several sources - The Victorian Domestic Servant Hierarchy and Wage Scale and Mrs. Beeton's Household Management).

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