 |
Smaller middle class households usually had one full time servant called a "maid of all work', or 'general' servant. Many girls started in service at the age of 12 or 13. It was often a lonely life with no other servants for company. For a wage of 5 shillings a week (£10 a year) plus keep, they were expected to rise at 6, light fires, clean rooms and make beds, cook and wait at table, sew, look after the children, and be constantly on call until bed time. They had one afternoon off a week, and one day a month. Better off families with an income of more than £300 a year, could employ other servants such as a cook and nurse. Only very rich families employed mail servants, for example a butler. |
Three families in the Foster history were influenced by servants.
• Ellen Parkin began her early years as one of three maids in a large household.
• Thomas Smith kept a servant at his tavern in Norway, East York.
• Richard Smith employed two servants in his household in Emerson, Manitoba.
 |
The Victorian Parlour A typical Victorian parlour is shown on the left, with patterned carpet, upholstered chairs, and draped mantelpiece. To us, these rooms may seem cluttered with over-decorated furniture and ornaments. But Victorian families would have recognised in the careful arrangement of these objects evidence of the owner's good taste. |