Big changes for market shoppers
THEY WERE members of the 4,000-strong hidden army that kept one of England’s most historic estates running for 250 years.
Now, the secret stories of those who worked at Chatsworth House between 1700 and 1950 have been uncovered by three PhD students at the University of Sheffield.
They have examined a wealth of documents from the Derbyshire estate’s archive, including thousands of letters, diaries and correspondence from servants and staff, to reveal what it was really like to work at the “real life Downton Abbey”.
The study, conducted by Lauren Butler, Fiona Clapperton and Hannah Wallace from the University’s School of English, has uncovered previously unknown stories about the lives of some of the staff, including dairy maids, gardeners, upholsterers and governesses – and they were very different to those portrayed by
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Stories uncovered from the archive show that the Duke of Devonshire and his family were rarely in residence at Chatsworth, so it was the servants and staff who lived and worked on the estate and played previously unknown roles in the local community.
Among those were Elizabeth Bickell, who was hired by the sixth Duke from a Buxton hotel following the death of popular housekeeper Mrs Hannah Gregory. Her appointment did not go down well with her peers, with the archive documents showing one of the nieces of Mrs Gregory was expected to be given the position by many of the staff.
The researchers found that Elizabeth bought silk dresses for the maids in a bid to win their loyalty, but this marked the beginning of her developing a reputation for reckless spending.
Her final undoing came in 1846 when there were rumours that she had been entertaining friends at Chatsworth unknown to the Duke and Duchess.
When the Duke found out that Elizabeth had reportedly cut orange flowers from the gardens, made other servants wait on her guests at the dinner table, and “worst of all”, hosted musical “soirees” in the Duke’s private apartments, he flew into “a most terrific rage”.
Ms Butler said: “The bundles of documents that survive from the case of Miss Bickell provide a fascinating glimpse into the community that worked at Chatsworth, as the scandal of the housekeeper that was too fond of company involved servants at every level. More widely, it sheds light on fears about upsetting the social order. The idea that Elizabeth was trying to fill the position of Duchess came up several times, as did concerns about the ‘tag rag’ people she brought into the house.”
Among the other stories were that of upholsterer Ralph Trotter, who was one of the highest paid servants in the late 18th century, earning £80 a year, who earned extra cash playing music at balls on the estate; and Jane Booth, a Victorian cook, who continued to work well into her 70s.
Ms Wallace said: “Many of them had their own lives outside of the house – some were musicians that played in villages nearby while others had their own families away from Chatsworth which they worked on the estate to support. The Duke and his family were often away from the house as part of their duties, so the servants and staff lived and worked at Chatsworth to maintain the estate throughout the year.”
The researchers have developed an interactive database that is free to use on the Chatsworth website.
Customers are being promised a department store experience in contrast to the cheap and cheerful image shoppers might expect when a new market opens next month.
The Glass Works shopping and leisure complex is opening on Friday, November 2, with Barnsley Council promising a facility “more akin to a department store”, which is set to provide a contrast to the dated old market. An official opening ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 3.