Below Stairs – Servants’ Lives in the Age of Victoria
Nick Marshall, historian, will give a talk on “Below Stairs – Servants’ Lives in the Age of Victoria” at the Hoby & District Local History Society on Wednesday 15th November, 7.30pm, Hoby Village Hall (LE14 3DT). All are welcome; the price for non members is £2.00 (pay on door) or visit www.hobyanddistricthistory
Below Stairs Servants’ lives in the age of Victoria.
This is one for fans of Downton Abbey or Upstairs, Downstairs.
The talk looks at the working lives of servants in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It covers the large country house estates of the upper classes down to modest households of the middle classes. Looking at the differences between the indoor and outdoor staff, the talk explains the hierarchy of the servants and how it was more rigid than that of their employers. Finally, it examines the reasons for the end of widespread domestic service in the 1920s and 1930s.
Nick’s lifelong interest in history is more practical, he has been doing historical re-enactment since 1978, covering several periods from 300 AD to 1962 AD. He has worked for Leicestershire Museum Service for 25 years, firstly at Donnington-le-Heath Manor house and then as a Museum Educator doing sessions for schools and other groups which he still does. Currently he works for the County Library service.
The Hoby & District Local History Society is a voluntary organisation. The Society brings together people from all walks of life who are interested in the local history of the Leicestershire villages of Hoby, Rotherby, Ragdale and Brooksby and the District around them. The society was founded in 2013 as part of a village First World War research project for which it received a National Lottery Grant.
