Life at Preston Manor 

A house of rank

When Ellen and Charles Thomas-Stanford settled at Preston Manor in 1905 they needed room to accommodate their family and a growing group of servants, as well as space to entertain society guests.

Ellen hired architect Charles Stanley Peach to construct a new wing for visitors and servants, a new family dining room, attic rooms, and a veranda.  This work substantially changed the character of the house and provided rooms for entertainment and the accommodation of visitors and their servants.

The house today very much reflects those Edwardian days of hierarchy, social etiquette, and male and female domains.

Life below stairs

Ellen and Charles had 12 indoor servants (including butler, cook-housekeeper, housemaids and scullery maids) and five outdoor servants (including gardeners and the chauffeur). The rule was that a servant should not be seen unless ministering to a need and there was minimal contact between the family and the lower servants.

The day began early for the staff: 6am for the lower servants and 7am for the upper servants.  Rooms were cleaned and prepared before the family rose, the kitchen fire was lit and water heated in the boiler so that hot water could be carried in brass cans to the bedrooms for washing and bathing in hip baths.

Servants’ work was labour intensive.  There were few cleaning materials and kitchen tables were scrubbed with sand, soap and hot water, the range was black-leaded and fire irons were rubbed with oil and then emery paper or brick dust.

The hours were long. The staff generally worked until 10pm, had a half day off a week, and one Sunday off every month.  However, they were well looked after and were provided with accommodation, food and drink.

Edwardian etiquette

Charles and Ellen entertained the elite of society at Preston Manor as well as family members and friends.  Queen Victoria’s daughters Beatrice and Helena were occasional guests as were literary friends Rudyard and Carrie Kipling.

Dinner parties would have involved the utmost in preparation, planning, presentation and etiquette.

Guests were announced by the butler and escorted into the dining room. Charles Thomas-Stanford escorted the senior ranking female guest with the remaining guests paired according to rank.  At the rear of the procession would come Ellen Thomas-Stanford accompanied by the gentleman of the highest rank.

Place settings had to be carefully worked out in advance with Charles and Ellen normally sitting at the middle of the table.

Guests were presented with a succession of courses, beginning with soup and ending with dessert.  The cutlery for the first course was placed on the outside of the setting, working their way inwards with further cutlery.  Service was always from the left, though wine was served from the right.  The table would have been decorated with flower-filled vases and centrepieces and Ellen would have made sure that nothing clashed.

After dinner ladies would retire in exactly the same order as they entered.  The gentlemen were left to smoke and coffee would have been served, in the drawing room for ladies and in the dining room for gentlemen.

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