Read Online The Real Life Downton Abbey by Jacky Hyams - Free Book Online

whenever he is summoned by a bell, he can reach his employer’s side as quickly as possible. His suite of rooms also includes a dining area for the upper servants, a butler’s pantry, where the silver plate is washed and polished and, nearby, a silver vault which stores the valuables; only the butler is permitted to have the key to this.
    He is the ultimate ‘front of house’ man. He opens the front door to visitors – or accepts a calling card if the family is not available. If the family has a phone, he takes the phone calls and messages. Within his suite he also has an office where he interviews prospective employees, draws up timetables for male staff, works out the duties of the day for the footmen, pores over the seating plans for lunch and dinner and coordinates the plans for big social events like the weekend shooting parties.
    His cellar duties include storing the wine bottles in their correct place, stocking up on the wines, champagne, port, sherry, brandy and liqueurs – and consulting with the master on which wines are to be served at mealtimes. (He might also be allowed to sell off the empty wine bottles as a little perk of the job.)
    His manners must be impeccable at all times. He needs to know every single like and dislike of his employer – and those of the many guests. If his employer insists on having his newspapers perfectly flat before reading, it is the butler who instructs the footman to toast and iron them in readiness for the breakfast table. If he hands a guest a drink, it must be their preferred tipple – they do not need to ask. His calm demeanour and attention to detail are second to none: like everything else in the house, his comportment is a reflection of his employer’s status. Everything must be perfectly organised – right down to the last detail.

THE HOUSEKEEPER
    Next in rank to the butler, the housekeeper is the most senior female servant and effectively the second-in-command, the other essential link in the chain making up a well-run household.
    In her stiff black dress, silk apron trimmed with beads, lace collar, small lace cap and belt jingling with keys (everything she is held accountable for, from spices to china and linen, must be locked up) she has a lot of responsibility. Though she must defer to the butler at all times.
    Her duties include the supervising, engaging and dismissing of female staff (with the exception of the nanny, lady’s maid and cook who are hired personally by the mistress of the house). The discipline and behaviour of the female staff is part of the housekeeper’s remit.
    She is called ‘Mrs’ even though she is usually unmarried, because the rank of a married woman is more important. She needs a good head for figures because her role involves keeping the accounts of the household expenditure, writing down all sums of money paid out, ordering goods from the tradesmen – perhaps getting a discount or ‘commission’ from regular suppliers – and, with the approval of her mistress, paying their bills as well as the accounts for all the other expenses of the house.
    It is the housekeeper’s role to allocate all the duties to be carried out by the female staff – and to make sure that all the tasks, the cleaning, dusting and polishing of all the rooms, are carried out properly. She keeps a detailed inventory and ensures that both family and staff have a clean supply of linen and bedding. All the household necessities, things like soap, sugar, flour, spices and candles, must be accounted for in her paperwork. This, of course, is carefully checked with the mistress of the house on a regular basis.
    The housekeeper’s quarters include a comfortable and well-furnished sitting room, where the lower servants sometimes wait on her. She has a bell pull which connects with one of the many bells located in the corridor outside to summon staff to her room. Her quarters are also used as a housekeeping storeroom, with huge tall cabinets containing the very