Housekeepers

[Monty]

Hi all,

I require confirmation.

Whilst Im no expert, it is my belief that Housekeepers were a female form of Bulter. Depending on the status of the home, they were incharge of certain members of the household.

Now if the household staff was small, would the Housekeeper take on those extra duties, such as laundry, cooking, cleaning etc?

Also, am I correct in thinking that the Housekeeper resided in the home she was keeping? Or did she housekeep remotely?

And info on this matter would be gratefully recieved.

Cheers
Monty

[Adam Went]

As far as I am aware, I believe you've got it just about right. Quite often the cook and the housekeeper were two different people, with the cook's role being obvious and the housekeeper being responsible for cleaning and maintenance.
However, if the staff was smaller, the housekeeper may be required to perform other tasks, whereas some houses had their own valets, gardeners, messenger-boy's, etc. I remember Walter in "My Secret Life" going into a fair amount of detail on the activities the servants of the house performed (and not just involving him. )

Also, long term housekeepers almost always resided in the hope they were housekeeping, with their own lodgings and pre-arranged days and times off work (like now, usually over the weekends and specifically Sundays.)

Cheers,
Adam.

[John Savage]

Hi Monty,

I cannot really answer your question, but I guess the best person to ask might be Mrs. Beeton.

Perhaps this link will help:

https://www.victorianlondon.org/publications7/beeton-02.htm

Rgds
John

[Monty]

Adam,

Yep, thats pretty much my understanding.

John,

Already checked that out, makes for fascinating reading in itself.

I really appreciate the input from you both, many thanks chaps.

Monty

[Rubyretro]

There are also the books 'Below Stairs' and 'Climbing the Stairs' by Margaret Powell (1907-1984).

She spent 10 years in service as a young girl, rising from kitchen made to cook. Her books are chatty autobiography rather than 'serious study' -yet they contain a wealth of detail on life as a servant, and 'straight from the horses mouth'.

Obviously, she was working at a later date than the Victorian period -yet reading the fascinating Mrs Beeton piece, I don't think that much had changed -not least because some of her employers were old and traditional
and still did things as they had in their youth -or had learn't from their parents.

The books are available second hand and very cheaply from Amazon.