An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. They may have several purposes, typically as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other types of aprons may be worn as a decoration, for hygienic reasons, as part of a uniform, or as protection from certain dangers such as acid, allergens or excessive heat. It can also be used at work stations to hold extra tools and pieces or protect from dust and unwanted materials.
A nursemaid is a mostly historical term for a female domestic worker who cares for children within a large household. The term implies that she is an assistant to an older and more experienced employee, a role usually known as nurse or nanny. A family wealthy enough to have multiple servants looking after the children would have a large domestic staff, traditionally within a strict hierarchy, and a large house with nursery quarters.
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, also published as Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book, is an extensive guide to running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton and first published as a book in 1861. Previously published in parts, it initially and briefly bore the title Beeton's Book of Household Management, as one of the series of guidebooks published by her husband, Samuel Beeton. The recipes were highly structured, in contrast to those in earlier cookbooks. It was illustrated with many monochrome and colour plates.
A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly dependents, and other household errands. The term "'domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service".
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance. A butler is usually male and in charge of male servants while a housekeeper is usually a woman and in charge of female servants. Traditionally, male servants were better paid and of higher status than female servants. The butler, as the senior male servant, has the highest servant status. He can also sometimes function as a chauffeur.
A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom and the Gilded Age in the United States.
A cook or private chef is a household staff member responsible for food preparation.
A housekeeper is an individual responsible for the supervision of a house's cleaning staff. The housekeeper may also perform the cleaning duties themself.
Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running and maintaining an organized physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as cleaning, tidying/organizing, cooking, shopping, and bill payment. These tasks may be performed by members of the household, or by persons hired for the purpose. This is a more broad role than a cleaner, who is focused only on the cleaning aspect. The term is also used to refer to the money allocated for such use. By extension, it may also refer to an office or a corporation, as well as the maintenance of computer storage systems.
The servants' hall is a common room for domestic workers in a great house, typically referring to the servants' dining room.
A between maid was a female junior domestic worker in a large household with many staff. The position became largely defunct in the 20th century, as few households needed or could afford great retinues of domestic workers with the elaborate hierarchy of the past.
In great houses, scullery maids were the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female domestic servants and acted as assistants to a kitchen maid.
The hall boy or hallboy was a position held by a young male domestic worker on the staff of a great house, usually a young teenager. The name derives from the fact that the hall boy usually slept in the servants' hall.
The still-room maid is a female servant who works in the still room, a functional room in a great house. She made preserves, including pickled eggs and vegetables, dried fruit, dried herbs and flowers, spice preparations, chutnetys, marmalades, and jams; beverages, such as tea, bottled drinks, and beer; and perfumes, candles, and home remedies. She also prepared and served afternoon tea; not just the beverages, but sandwiches and cakes.
Sarah Moffat, also known as Sarah Delice and Clémence Dumas, is a fictional character in the ITV drama 'Upstairs, Downstairs' and its spin-off Thomas & Sarah. She was portrayed by Pauline Collins.
Servants' quarters are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic offices and staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the early 20th century, they were a common feature in many large houses. Sometimes they are an integral part of a smaller house—in the basements and attics, especially in a town house, while in larger houses they are often a purpose-built adjacent wing or block. In architectural descriptions and guidebooks of stately homes, the servants' quarters are frequently overlooked, yet they form an important piece of social history, often as interesting as the principal part of the house itself.
Margaret Powell was an English writer. Her book about her experiences in domestic service, Below Stairs, became a best-seller and she went on to write other books and became a television personality. Below Stairs was an impetus for Upstairs, Downstairs and the basis of Beryl's Lot, and is one of the inspirations of Downton Abbey.
Ruth Mott was an English domestic servant who became a television cook and personality. Mott spent most of her life working in country houses with her television work not beginning until the age of 70, when her knowledge of a working Victorian kitchen was used for the television show The Victorian Kitchen.
