The fascinating world of servants who lived and worked in a grand country mansion will be the subject of a special exhibition from 11 November – 20 December at the National Trust’s Petworth House in West Sussex.
The extensive servants’ quarters at Petworth have changed very little from Victorian times. Opened to the public in 1995, they feature a splendid copper batterie de cuisine as well as many other original items and rooms that help to recreate a very accurate picture of life as a servant.
The new exhibition, as well as a series of accompanying events, will really bring the Petworth Servants’ Quarters to life with original items, not displayed before, plus photos of and recorded interviews with some of the Petworth servants.
Photographic and oral archives held by the National Trust, the donor family and the Sussex records office give a fascinating insight into what life ‘below stairs’ at Petworth was like. In an interview with Maurice Howard, who served as the butler at Petworth from 1949 – 1987, he says: 'To be a butler you have to methodical, sober and honest.'
He also remembers some of the more prominent house guests: 'The family had such wonderful guests so I was very lucky. Harold MacMillian came frequently as Lord Egremont (John Wyndham) was his private secretary. He used to keep everyone up until 4am talking, as long as there was a good bottle of port! He always called me ‘my dear boy’. He would never go out shooting; he would prefer to sit and read or listen to the radio.'
And in another interview Drusilla Greest, who came to Petworth as a housemaid in 1929, says: 'All I wanted to do was to work in a big house, right from when I was small… I went to a fortune teller who told me that I was going to live in ‘a big house with a flag flying where you will met a fair young man’. Petworth did have a flag flying over it when I first came and I did met my future husband!'
She also recalls parts of a typical day: 'Up at 6am – the night-watchman would call the maids and he would not move until the maids were up. All the rooms downstairs had to be cleaned by 8am. 8am – breakfast in housemaids sitting room; the footman had their own sitting room and they did not mix. 8.30am started work upstairs; all the bedrooms, landings, bathrooms, everyone had their own jobs.'
She continues: '12.15 mid-day meal in the Servants Hall, on benches – you had to sit up straight, the butler at the top of the table, housekeeper at the other end. That is the only time we met the other members of the staff. If there was a dinner on at night – extra work; check all the rooms when the family went up to dress. Dinner gong would go at 8pm. The maids would watch all the guests going down the grand stairs for dinner, and it was a grand sight. Then we would get the bedrooms ready; put cans of hot water in the rooms, brass cans covered over with a thick towel, turn down the beds ready. When we had finished that we would have supper at 9pm.'
To discover more about the servants at Petworth, including Maurice and Drusilla, visit the new exhibition during November and December.
For more information and for full details of openings times, please visit Petworth House or call 01798 342207.
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