THE LIFE OF AN EDWARDIAN SERVANT
The Edwardian period in Britain was a time when society still closely resembled that of the Victorian age with clear class divides, but it was also a transformative time. In 1911, there were more than 1.3 million people (mainly women) employed as domestic servants in Britain – compared to 1.2 million working agriculture and around 971,000 coal miners. !e upper classes could afford to have housemaids, cooks and butlers to ensure their homes ran efficiently, with minimal effort from the family. A typical Edwardian townhouse would include accommodation for servants who would live alongside the family they served.
ILLUSTRATION: EDWARD CROOKS/WWW.EDWARDCROOKS.CO.UK