[PDF] Victorian And Edwardian Country House Life eBook

Author : Alison Maloney
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 197 pages
File Size : 25,97 MB
Release : 2012-12-24
Category : History
ISBN : 1250023122

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UPSTAIRS, an Edwardian home would have been a picture of elegance and calm, adorned with social gatherings and extravagantly envisioned dinner parties. DOWNSTAIRS, it was a hive of domestic activity, supported by a body of staff painstakingly devoted to ensuring the smooth running of the household. Brimming with family secrets, society scandal, and of course elaborate parties, dresses, and social customs, the world of an aristocratic Edwardian household as depicted on the hit show Downton Abbey has captivated millions. But what was life really like for the people who kept such a household running: the servants? In Life Below Stairs, international bestselling author Alison Maloney takes readers behind the scenes to reveal a lively and colorful picture of what went on "downstairs," describing servants' daily life in this now-vanished world. Detailing everything from household structure, pay and conditions, special duties, and rules and regulations, to perks, entertainment, and even romance, Maloney examines the drudgery and hardships below stairs, as well as the rewards and pleasures. Thoroughly researched and reliably informed, this charmingly illustrated volume also contains first-hand stories from the staff of the time, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the lifestyle and conduct of a bygone era.

Author : Siân Evans
Publisher : National Trust
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 33,82 MB
Release : 2015-09-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9781909881648

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The largely untold stories of innumerable, rather humble, lives spent 'in service' are lying just below the surface of many great houses; the physical evidence can be seen in surviving servants' quarters, the material of their everyday life, even their uniforms and possessions. This account provides a fascinating glimpse at who's who behind the scenes, from the cook, butler and housekeeper to the footmen, lady's maids, governesses and tutors, nannies and nursemaids. Giving a fascinating insight into the heirarchy within the servant's quarters – from the power-wielding cook to the ever-discreet butler – this guide describes how relationships were forged and changed as the gap between upstairs and downstairs was bridged. Describing their typical working day as well as the holidays, entertainments and pastimes enjoyed on a rare day off, not to mention the whirl of the social season, this previously 'unwritten history' recalls vividly the nature of their lives below stairs.

Author : Clive Aslet
Publisher : Frances Lincoln
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 12,11 MB
Release : 2012-11-27
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 9780711233393

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The magnificent country houses built in Britain between 1890 and 1939 were the last monuments to a vanishing age. Many of these great mammoths of domestic architecture were unsuited to the changes in economic and social priorities that followed the two world wars, and rapidly became extinct. Those that survive, however, provide tangible evidence of the life and death of an extraordinarily prosperous age. Originally published in 1980, long out of print and now thoroughly revised and reillustrated, this book recounts the architectural and social history of the era, describing the clients, the architects, the styles and accoutrements of the country houses. The people who could afford them - the Carnegies, the Astors, the Leverhulmes - had grown rich by exploiting the new economic opportunities of the age, and the houses they built in the years before the First World War reflect the desire for two contrasting ways of life. The social country house was the setting for the opulent world associated with Edward VII. The romantic country house was simpler, more genuinely rural, for those who wanted to be in closer contact with the countryside and the vanishing rural crafts, or who wanted an idyll of the past that did not suggest the world of the motor car. These traditions lost coherence after the war, and the period ended with a number of spectacular, and often eccentric, houses. Some of the most remarkable were those that not only replicated the look of old buildings, but used genuinely old materials and even incorporated whole Tudor buildings moved from other places. Clive Aslet writes of the immense changes in the way country houses of this period were lived in and used. The shortage of servants, aggravated by the First World War, spurred numerous developments in the technology of the country house - vacuum cleaners, washing machines, telephones and central heating were called upon to replace the army of servants who never returned from the trenches or the factories. Interior decorators, becoming increasingly in vogue, developed the style Louis Seize into the last word in Edwardian chic. Gardens came to be seen as integral to the concept of the country house and reconciled formal planning with informal planting. This fascinating world, so popularly depicted in Downton Abbey, can now be viewed from a new perspective. The Edwardian Country House will enlighten and entertain all those interested in glimpsing the lost life style of another age.

Author : Clive Aslet
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 13,57 MB
Release : 2004-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780300105056

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This magnificent book describes the great country houses built with American industrial fortunes from the end of the Civil War until 1940. The American Country House draws on the rich and often amusing writings of contemporaries to evoke the lives the buildings served as well as architectural shapes they took. 275 illustrations.

Author : Pamela Horn
Publisher : Shire Publications
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 15,80 MB
Release : 2010-09-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9780747807506

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Country houses formed a distinct community and power base within the broader Victorian countryside. This book shows how landed families' day-to-day existence depended on the skills of the indoor servants who provided their meals and ministered to their general comfort, and the outdoor staff who contributed to their leisure and sporting pursuits. It considers the relationship - and the divisions - between those living 'above stairs' and and the carefully considered hierarchy of domestics who met their needs 'below stairs'. Also considered are the wider social activities of the two groups who, while living under the same roof, experienced a very different daily round. That applied to preparations for the holding of house parties and the running of sporting events, as well as the important social influence exerted by the London 'Season'.

Author : Mark Girouard
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 32,25 MB
Release : 1978-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780300058703

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Based on the author's Slade lectures given at Oxford University in 1975-76.

Author : Clive Aslet
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 23,66 MB
Release : 2021-09-14
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 0300263139

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The fascinating story of the evolution of the country house in Britain, from its Roman precursors to the present The Story of the Country House is an authoritative and vivid account of the British country house, exploring how they have evolved with the changing political and economic landscape. Clive Aslet reveals the captivating stories behind individual houses, their architects, and occupants, and paints a vivid picture of the wider context in which the country house in Britain flourished and subsequently fell into decline before enjoying a renaissance in the twenty-first century. The genesis, style, and purpose of architectural masterpieces such as Hardwick Hall, Hatfield House, and Chatsworth are explored, alongside the numerous country houses lost to war and economic decline. We also meet a cavalcade of characters, owners with all their dynastic obsessions and diverse sources of wealth, and architects such as Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh, Robert Adam, Sir John Soane and A.W.N. Pugin, who dazzled or in some cases outraged their contemporaries. The Story of the Country House takes a fresh look at this enduringly popular building type, exploring why it continues to hold such fascination for us today.

Author : Juliet Gardiner
Publisher : Bay Books (CA)
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 45,51 MB
Release : 2003
Category : Drama
ISBN : 9781579590826

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Uses the public television reality series "Manor House" to explore the history and social customs of an Edwardian country house.