The Life Of A Ladys Maid (2024)

FAQs

What did ladies maids do all day? ›

A lady's maids' specific duties included helping her mistress with her appearance, such as make-up, hairdressing, clothing, jewelry and shoes.

A lady's maid's specific duties included helping her mistress with her appearance, including make-up, hairdressing, clothing, jewellery, and shoes. A lady's maid would also remove stains from clothing; sew, mend, and alter garments as needed; bring her mistress breakfast in her room; and draw her mistress's bath.

A Lady's Maid is a female valet who attends to the needs of the lady of the house. Lady's maid duties range from helping with dressing, make up and hair care to maintaining fine clothing, shoes, while keeping her room and study in perfect order.

Since servants must be at their lord and lady's beck and call, they slept in the servants' quarters, usually in the upper floors or attic, or on a pallet in the kitchen floor, and could be dragged out of bed without a second thought if their lord had need of them. Essentially, servants were married to their jobs.

The salary of a Gentleman's Valet or Lady's Maid will ultimately depend on their level of training and experience. However, you can expect an average annual wage of £40,000 to £60,000. Those with Royal Household experience will typically command higher rates of salary.

Duties include: care of the wardrobe and a Lady's private rooms, care, cleaning, pressing and mending of a Lady's clothes, preparation of clothes for packing. Today this role is still sought after and Marshall Harber have placed many successful lady's maids.

A lady might call her lady's maid Lastname if they had a formal relationship, especially if the maid was French or good enough to be called a “dresser” or “lady's” maid, rather than simply a maid or an abigail, although some people used those terms interchangeably.

Traditionally, a Lady's Maid oversees the maintenance of her employer's wardrobe, draws her bath, lays out her clothes, serves her meals when required, and keeps her client's quarters tidy; this role is also changing with the times.

The lady's-maid's duties are much as follows; she rises in good time, brings her mistress her early morning cup of tea, and arranges her room, prepares her bath— the housemaid bringing the cans of water, hot or cold— and lays in readiness everything which will be required for dressing, then she retires until rung for; ...

Domestic service dropped by more than half between 1940 and 1950. After the war, wages remained high. In a bid to sidestep labor laws, employers paid nannies and cleaners under the table instead of hiring servants full-time. Slowly, women began to take over housework themselves.

What is a lady's maid for a man? ›

A valet or "gentleman's gentleman" is a gentleman's male servant; the closest female equivalent is a lady's maid.

The vulnerability of female domestic servants to the sexual advances of their masters, their masters' sons, or their male fellow servants and others, has long been acknowledged. The very characteristics which distinguished female domestic servants made them particularly prone to sexual exploitation.

The servants had their dinner at midday , in contrast to the family's lunch served at one. This midday-meal consisted of roast or boiled meat served with vegetables, followed by a dessert of apple tart, plum pudding, or cake.

Young and timid but full of sturdy good sense and awakening sophistication, Lily Wilson arrives in London in 1844, becoming a lady's maid to the fragile, housebound Elizabeth Barrett. Lily is quickly drawn to her mistress's gaiety and sharp intelligence, the power of her poetry, and her deep emotional need.

In some households, there was only one servant, known as a maid of all work, often a young girl 'rescued' from the local workhouse. They had the most gruelling job of all, as they had to do all the chores for the house, often working from 6 in the morning until 10 at night, with very little time off.

The housemaid was responsible for keeping the house clean and in order. She was meant to do much of this out of view of the family and so had to rise very early in the morning to complete her work. It was also necessary to keep to a very strict routine to ensure that all the work was done.

She made preserves, including pickled eggs and vegetables, dried fruit, dried herbs and flowers, spice preparations, chutnetys, marmalades, and jams; beverages, such as tea, bottled drinks, and beer; and perfumes, candles, and home remedies.

Servants could also expect some time off; they were entitled to two weeks off per year, half days on Sunday, one night out per week, and a day off each month. Servants might have the opportunity to travel with their employers. There was also always hope for advancement within the ranks.