The recording is in two parts, the first being an informal chat with Mary, the second a more formal talk with other participants. There is some repetition.
Starting at Shipton Court
Before moving to work at Shipton Court, Mabel worked as under house maid for Lord and Lady Latimer at Shipton Lodge. She was in her early 20’s and had come back home to Milton in 1923 after working away during the war. Then she started work at Shipton Court when she was aged 26, firstly working for Mrs Graeme Thomson and then for Colonel and Mrs D’Arcy Hall who bought the Court in 1932.
Servants and Staff at Shipton Court
Mabel is asked how many servants there were at Shipton Court. She explains that there were nine, three in each department. That is: butler, footman and hallboy; cook, kitchen maid and scullery maid; head housemaid, second housemaid and under housemaid. She was a live-out maid and came in daily. She was asked if the work was hard and she agreed the staff were kept busy but at the same time there was clearly a camaraderie and they were looked after with good accommodation, food and so on.
Mabel was asked about other staff at the Court, and she explained that at one time there were 10 gardeners, reduced later to six. The grounds were extensive, and the men were responsible for the cricket ground, the wild garden and for growing all the vegetables and fruit as well as the traditional lawns and gardens. She recalled that the head gardener wore a top hat signifying his prestige position.
Shipton Court Layout and Accommodation
Much of the recording is taken up with Mabel’s recollection of the layout of rooms of Shipton Court in her days in service. They talk about the servant’s hall, gun room, library, schoolroom or ballroom and the winter garden. They also discuss the entrances and exits and who would use each. Mabel is asked where the various workers lived, and she explains that unmarried cowmen would live in the bothy in the courtyard with the married herdsman living in the Dower House. The head gardener and groomsman lived in other cottages on the estate.
Recruitment and Work Activity
Mabel is asked how staff were hired at Shipton Court. Some were local village people, but she feels sure that others came through the agencies that supplied staff to such houses at that time. A housemaid’s duties included general cleaning and the working day started around 6am. When the early jobs (such as cleaning out fireplaces) had been done, the staff would sit down in the servant’s hall for their own breakfast. This was often egg and bacon with plenty of local milk and (‘very good’) bread baked in the Shipton bakery just along the road. Maids wore long dresses with white pinafores and mobcaps, washed and starched in the laundry by someone from the village.
A Note on the Porch
Mary was very keen to find out who had taken down the porch at Shipton Court as she had a photo showing it. Mabel was able to tell her that Mrs Hall had removed it when she was the owner because it was a later, rather jarring addition and she wanted to restore the Court to its original appearance.
CHB Nov 2023
