Ancestors in domsetic service.

[PrawnCocktail]

One of my grandmothers was in service. She really wanted to be a teacher, but had to leave school to go into service at 13, as her family couldn't afford her to stay on at school. But home wasn't somewhere she wanted to stay, as her father became an alcoholic. She had two jobs well away from home - one was for the Govenor of Preston Gaol and then in Wales, with a family who was wealthy enough for their daughter to be presented at Court (Gran had a button off her dress as a keepsake). Then she got a job nearer to her older sister as a housekeeper in Hartford in Cheshire (sister was also in Hartford). Which is where she met my grandfather, and got married at the age of 28.

So intelligent, and with a home that wasn't comfortable. Excellent reasons to take jobs away from home.

[coombs]

My great gran, the one who moved from Oxford to Bexhill (Via a training convent in Hackney) had a brother who was in service in Cranbrook in Kent and an aunty in service in Brighton in 1891. Seems Kent and Sussex was desirable for my Oxford lot.

[melba_schmelba]

My great gran, the one who moved from Oxford to Bexhill (Via a training convent in Hackney) had a brother who was in service in Cranbrook in Kent and an aunty in service in Brighton in 1891. Seems Kent and Sussex was desirable for my Oxford lot.

Easy to get to the beaches at holiday time ?? Thanks for this thread, it is an interesting to see so many examples of servants in the big houses originating so far away. I have several examples of family members who went from provincial towns or villages who went into service in the nearest big city (London). I suppose it was partly it was easier to get work as there were so many more households looking for servants in a city and probably a high turnover, with families moving in and out all the time.

[coombs]

My great gran, the one who moved from Oxford to Bexhill (Via a training convent in Hackney) had a brother who was in service in Cranbrook in Kent and an aunty in service in Brighton in 1891. Seems Kent and Sussex was desirable for my Oxford lot.

Easy to get to the beaches at holiday time ?? Thanks for this thread, it is an interesting to see so many examples of servants in the big houses originating so far away. I have several examples of family members who went from provincial towns or villages who went into service in the nearest big city (London). I suppose it was partly it was easier to get work as there were so many more households looking for servants in a city and probably a high turnover, with families moving in and out all the time.

In 1911 my great gran lived just half a km from the sea at Cresswell House in Bexhill. By 1917 she was near Southend in Essex, again a seaside resort on the Thames Estuary.

[bearkat]

I was told that people in big houses preferred not to employ local girls for fear of gossip about the 'goings on' would get back the local people.

[coombs]

I was told that people in big houses preferred not to employ local girls for fear of gossip about the 'goings on' would get back the local people.

Yes that was one major reason, as well as the gentry/business people etc who had servants did not want them to just go back home if times got tough. I know trains made travel easier and faster in the 1840s but the servant would have to buy a few of tickets to make a whole journey home. Say if she worked in service in Brighton but was from Norwich in Norfolk originally.

 

[coombs]

Only just noticed my own typo in the title "Domsetic" instead of "domestic".  Cannot edit after 24 hours.

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I was aware of this thing of having servants from all over the country, but I just checked two of the "big houses" that I knew as a child. In 1891, they both had upper and middle servants from various counties, but the youngest menials were local. A 13 year old scullery maid, 17 year old footman, and 16 year old page in one house were from three nearby villages, and in the other house, only the 14 year old page, and a 21 year old groom were local, although in that case from several miles away. (I don't think I knew that fairly modest country houses had pages, but I suppose that was nearly the peak of servant keeping.)
   I guess most of the older servants started off in their own local mansions.

[Nanna52]

Just checked.  My great grandmother at 16 was a servant in a local house in 1851.  The head was a widow, house proprietor.  Interesting description.  The house consisted of head, her brother, a surgeons assistant, my great grandmother and another 16 year old servant.
On September 25th she married my great grandfather and came out to Australia.