The Victorian era was the height of prosperity in Britain, and the class structure of society meant that those at the top were wealthy to such an enormous amount it cannot be compared to today in the same way. There are still the hyper-wealthy today, but in the late Victorian era upper-class families were a primary driving force of the economy.
This immense wealth expanded the industry of domestic service to become the second largest occupational role after only agriculture, and the largest for women. While almost every middle class and above family would employ at least one servant, some of the largest households (those of the landed gentry and nobility) would usually employ dozens of full time servants.
Here I have tried to categorise and sort the jobs found in a standard, albeit very large household. Smaller households would skip over the less important and more specialised roles in favour of more general staff.
Hyperlinks to sections:
Management Staff
The house is split into four departments: the family support, the kitchen, the household and the grounds. Each department is headed by a manager who directly reports to the family.
Butler ♂
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Head of the household staff
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All male staff report to him
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Responsible for the pantry, wine cellar and dining room
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May also be the valet
Chef ♂♀
Head of the culinary staff
Responsible for the kitchen
Employed with subordinate cooks
Housekeeper ♀
Responsible for the house and its appearance
All female staff report to her
The lead servant in the household
Estate Manager ♂
In charge of the maintenance and care of the grounds, landscaping and outbuildings
All grounds staff report to him
Skilled Staff
Staff under the butler who are in direct contact with the family, serving their direct needs and orders.
Chauffeur ♂
Driver for the master and his family
Motor vehicle and coach driver
Valet ♂
Personal servant of the master
Lady's Companion ♀
Retainer for the lady
Someone of education to accompany the Lady, only for the richest houses
Lady's Maid ♀
Personal servant of
the lady
Often French, expected to understand current fashion and etiquette
Therefore also known as the "French Maid"
Governess ♀
Teacher and trainer for the family children
Employed for the children's schooling ages
Nanny ♀
Child carer for the family children
Academic Tutor ♂
Provides higher tutelage to the children on higher education
Usually temporary and specialised
Household Staff
Household staff under the butler, mostly male. Generally for serving and waiting on the family or specialised domestic roles.
Footman ♂
Male domestic servants
Tends the family during dinners. Fills glasses, placing/removing dishes
Does not wait on the family directly
Hall Boy ♂
A young servant under the other servants
Used to complete extra tasks from the male servants
Waits on senior servants during meals
Never directly interacts or even should be seen by the family
Also called a houseboy
Houseman ♂
Ranked between the hall boys and footmen in seniority
Completes general domestic tasks
Also called a useful man
Boot Boy ♂
A specific type of hall boy, responsible for the household's shoes
Polishing, cleaning and caring for boots and shoes
Page Boy ♂
A specific type of hall boy, responsible for messaging
A young and fit servant
Used to send messages throughout the household between servants, the family will send messages through higher servants and then onto the pages
Seamstress ♀
Tailors and makes custom clothing for the women of the house
Master of handsewing, comes into direct contact with the family
Cook ♂♀
Works under the chef (if there is one)
In charge of cooking meals
Maids
Maids are the female domestic workers. Generally unspecialised working to maintain the house without direct contact with the family.
There are two primary types of maids:
Upstairs Maids: Work upstairs in the house with the family.
Downstairs Maids: Work downstairs in the house in the servant areas.
Head Maid ♀
The senior maid, all house maids report to her
Operates both upstairs and downstairs
Lady's Maid ♀
A senior role waiting on the Lady directly
See above in "support staff" for details
Works upstairs, does not report to the head maid unlike all other maids
House Maid ♀
General term for upstairs maids
In charge of cleaning, tidying, serving tea
Parlour Maid ♀
A house maid that cleans and tidies living and reception areas
Works primarily in the morning, cleaning for the day and lighting fires
Help footmen with attending to family needs and serving
Chamber Maid ♀
A house maid that cleans and tidies bedrooms
They may be required to wake up the family in the morning and light the fire
Work primarily after morning when the bedrooms are unoccupied
Responsible for supplying hot water to the rooms
Laundry Maid ♀
A downstairs maid that maintains bedding, towels and clothes
Does the washing, drying and ironing of clothes for both the family and servants
Under House Maid ♀
A downstairs maid in charge of cleaning and tidying duties for the servant areas
May work upstairs as a general parlour maid sometimes
Nursery Maid ♀
An upstairs maid that works in the children's nursery
Cleans, tidies and maintains the fires
Reports to both the head maid and nanny
Head Kitchen Maid ♀
A senior downstairs maid, all kitchen maids report to her
Takes instruction from the cooks and chef, and organises the maids under her
Kitchen Maid ♀
Assists in cooking and running the kitchen
Takes instruction from the cooks and head kitchen maid
Peels and cuts vegetables and dishes and presents finished meals for serving
Still Room Maid ♀
In charge of the pantry and still room (alcohols, cosmetics, medicines, preserves)
Takes instructions from any servant requiring anything
Scullery Maid ♀
The lowest rank of maid, works solely downstairs
Responsible for washing cutlery, crockery and glassware, scrubbing the floors and minding ovens
The female equivalent to the hall boys, works under and often for the higher maids
Between Maid ♀
A scullery maid that serves as a servant for the servants
Waits on the butler,
housekeeper and chef/cooks
Grounds Staff
Maintenance of the grounds exterior to the household. Almost always male due to the strength required.
Head Gardener ♂
Responsible for the grounds and gardens
Controls the employment of temporary gardeners or farmhands
Responsible for the vegetable and herb gardens, and in charge of the planting and harvesting
Stablemaster ♂
Responsible for the horses' stables and the horses' health and care
Has direct contact with the family when they ride
Often in charge of the dogs as well
Gamekeeper ♂
Tends to and maintains the game of the grounds. Pheasants, grouse, cocks, rabbits
Organises the hunts and culls and feeds the game
Gardener ♂
Maintains the gardens under the direction of the head gardener
Responsible for grass mowing, hedge trimming, weed pulling and planting
May be seasonal
Groundskeeper ♂
Maintains the general grounds
Sometimes the same role as a gardener, but focussed on the non-garden areas such as larger lawns, drives, ponds and woods
Stablehand ♂
Helps the stablemaster with the horses
Responsible for cleaning, mucking, feeding and bridling the horses
