Servants were in vogue during the 19th
century, and even a middle-class family like the Secord’s had two day servants
at their disposal: a married couple named Flow (AKA “Fanny”) and George.
Servants
were often hired by families based on personal recommendations from others. In
fact, because the turnover rate for servants was so fast (most only served 2-3
years in one household) servants relied on written characters and word of mouth
to obtain new jobs.1 These written characters were so valuable that
if a servant were to forge a letter of recommendation “The Servants’ Characters
Act of 1792 made it quite clear that he (or she) who is found guilty of making
up a reference will ‘be convicted of such offence in manner aforesaid, every
such servant … shall thereupon be discharged and … all penalties and
punishments to which at the time of such information given.’”2
However, Registry
Offices were also developed as places where someone could find and employ a
servant without advertising, as advertising could prove to be expensive.3
There were three types of registry offices: an office where both servant and
employer paid for the services of the office, where the employer paid, and a
registry system for foreign servants.4
"Image
of a Registry Office taken from “Downstairs in Downtown Abbey.”
Servants were
not just a status symbol during the 19th century, they were a
necessity. With 21st century washing machines and Swiffer mops, it
may be difficult to conceive why families during the 19th century
would require the use of servants. But servants were expected to do the
laundry, cook, clean and take care of children (just to name some duties), and
for families like the Secord’s who had seven children, these tasks could be
daunting for just one person. Larger households would have both male and female
live-in staffs, and just like the strict social hierarchies found during the Regency
period, there were also strict servant hierarchies: The head male servant was
termed a “Butler” and was responsible for supervising the footmen, the wine
cellar and would be responsible for introducing guests to the man and lady of
the house.5 A housekeeper was the head of the female staff and was
in charge of the house maids, kitchen maids and scullery maids. A housekeeper’s
other duties included making preserves, keeping household accounts and washing household
linens.6 Larger homes would also have outdoor servants like
gamekeepers, stable men etc.
Being a servant
could be very profitable, as it was possible to work one’s way up this
hierarchy, as “a good and reliable servant was a prized commodity.”7
But one of the most difficult jobs that faced servants was to remain invisible
to the family that employed them, to remain seen and yet unseen because, even
though these servants were valuable, they occupied the lower rungs of Regency
social and economic hierarchies.8 For this reason, most households
had a separate entrance for their servants.9
There was even a
bell system established to call servants, each bell having a different tone to
alert the servants which room they were needed in.10
Obtaining a
career of a servant was sometimes a necessity and provided other opportunities for
young people. For example, children were often considered “economic burdens,”
especially those living in the country.11 Becoming a domestic servant,
for example, was often a great way for a female child to earn money for their
family and also obtain an education, as often times young girls who were hired
as domestic servants would receive the same education as the children of the
household they served.
It’s funny to
think that often times in historic films and period pieces the servants are
often in the background. So much so, that we as viewers may not even register
their presence. But hopefully this blog has shed some light onto the very
important and interesting roles servants played in the Regency world.
1.
“Hiring Servants in the Regency
Era and Later.”
2.
As cited in “Hiring Servants in
the Regency Era and Later.”
3.
“Hiring Servants in the Regency
Era and Later.”
4.
“Hiring Servants in the Regency
Era and Later.”
5.
Pool, 220.
6.
Pool, 220.
7.
“Downstairs in Downtown Abbey.”
8.
“Downstairs in Downtown Abbey.”
9.
“Downstairs in Downtown Abbey.”
10.
“Downstairs in Downtown Abbey.”
11.
“Hiring Servants in the Regency
Era and Later.”
References
Pool, Daniel. “Servants” In What Jane Austen Ate and What Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox
Hunting
to Whist The Facts and Daily Life of 19th Century England, 218-224. New York:
Simon
& Schuster, 1993
“Downstairs in Downtown Abbey,” Jane Austen’s World,
January 5, 2011,
http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/downstairs-in-downtoNabbey-the
servants/
“Hiring Servants in the Regency Era and Later,” Jane
Austen’s World, March 27, 2009,
http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/hiring-servants-in-the-regency-era
and-late/
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