Alice Stephenson was born on January 1,1888 in Uckfield and
baptised on September 1, 1889. Her parents were Thomas, who'd come down with
his wife from Yorkshire , and Eliza Stephenson,
neé Hobden, a domestic servant - I've written about them here.
In the 1891 Census the family - disguised as 'Stephson',
presumably due to a mis-hearing - are living at 79, Court House Cottage, in Beddingham,
a village outside Lewes.
2.7 Miles
Tom is still a gardener. He and Eliza have five
children: William is 10, Bessie 8, Blanche 6 and Alice 3 - all are at school,
while little Emily is only 10 months. Blanche, Bessie and Alice were born in
Uckfield, but Emily at Iford.
4.5 Miles
This suggests either that the family moved from Uckfield to Buxted where William was born
before 1883 and then back again to Uckfield or that they stayed in Uckfield and
William was born on a visit to Buxted, just over three miles away. However, it's also possible that the family stayed in Buxted and told the census takers that their children were born in close by Uckfield where they would have gone to register the births!
While it's not certain if they were living in or visiting Iford when Emily was born
there in 1890, but the greater distance - almost 11 miles - makes residence
much more likely:
10.8 Miles
It seems that Tom needed to move around to stay in work, and
by the time of the next Census he's in a different part of Sussex . In 1901
Tom Stephenson aged 45 'gardener (domestic)' and Eliza aged 48 are at 1, Station Rd. , Selsey
St. Peter, in the Westhmapnett District. William, Blanche and Bessie have left
home, but thirteen-year-old Alice is living with them. Emily was probably one
of those many nineteenth century children who did not survive into adulthood.
On Friday March 14th, 1902 Alice was confirmed by the Bishop of Chichester at Angmering church and took communion there on March 30th. Angmering is about 20 miles from Selsey so it seems likely that she was in service there: she's not listed as being at school in the 1901 Census, which was taken on April 1, so it's likely she was just about to begin her first job. By 1905 she had left Sussex: she some how got a post in Cockfield Hall, in faraway Suffolk. Her employers were Sir Ralph Barrett Macnaughten, a Baronet, and his wife, Lady Winfred Grace Kennard. In late 1905 or early 1906 she left to work in Birch Hall, about 85 miles away in Essex.
She was working for the Buxton family, who had bought Birch Hall in 1901 (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol4/pp251-255).
120 miles by road (2016)
On Friday March 14th, 1902 Alice was confirmed by the Bishop of Chichester at Angmering church and took communion there on March 30th. Angmering is about 20 miles from Selsey so it seems likely that she was in service there: she's not listed as being at school in the 1901 Census, which was taken on April 1, so it's likely she was just about to begin her first job. By 1905 she had left Sussex: she some how got a post in Cockfield Hall, in faraway Suffolk. Her employers were Sir Ralph Barrett Macnaughten, a Baronet, and his wife, Lady Winfred Grace Kennard. In late 1905 or early 1906 she left to work in Birch Hall, about 85 miles away in Essex.
She was working for the Buxton family, who had bought Birch Hall in 1901 (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol4/pp251-255).
120 miles by road (2016)
In 1906 Alice gave birth to her first child at Birch Hall. The birth was registered to her only and she named her son Arthur James Stephenson.
Alice's father Tom died at the end of 1907 or the start of 1908 - his death was registered in the Westhampnett District, which includes Selsey, in the first quarter of the latter year. The 1911 Census records that Eliza was in Selsey on a visit. She was in the household of Harriet Arnell, an 84 year old lady of private means, so she was most probably visiting Lily Russell, her 34 year old servant. Both women are described as widows and domestic servants. She had 6 children born alive, 4 still living and two dead My guess is that Emily and one child who had not been recorded in a census had died. It seems that Eliza's own mother, another Eliza, had lost her first four babies at birth - Eliza Jr. was the first child to survive.[1]
Alice's father Tom died at the end of 1907 or the start of 1908 - his death was registered in the Westhampnett District, which includes Selsey, in the first quarter of the latter year. The 1911 Census records that Eliza was in Selsey on a visit. She was in the household of Harriet Arnell, an 84 year old lady of private means, so she was most probably visiting Lily Russell, her 34 year old servant. Both women are described as widows and domestic servants. She had 6 children born alive, 4 still living and two dead My guess is that Emily and one child who had not been recorded in a census had died. It seems that Eliza's own mother, another Eliza, had lost her first four babies at birth - Eliza Jr. was the first child to survive.[1]
A postcard of October 1910 tells us that Alice had a new employer. Whether or not she had one between Gerald Buxton and this new post is unknown. The card is to her sister Bessie and is from the house - in the Scottish borderland - of Elizabeth Jane Osborne, a Madras-born widow whose primary residence is 33 Wilton Place in
the St. George's , Hanover
Pat Osborne died
suddenly from uraemia at Currandooley on 17 October 1902...He was survived by
his wife, four sons and five daughters to whom he left an estate valued for
probate at over £225,000. His widow returned to London and entertained many
Australian soldiers in World War I.[2]
At the lowest possible calculation, Mr. Osborne left his
family £20 million in today's terms, and Mrs. Osborne kept a big household in
an exclusive part of London : Alice was a parlour maid and one of seven
live-in servants. The servants are all single women aged 19 to 49 and on Census Day
(Sunday, April 2) they were looking afer Mrs. Osborne, her daughter and three
visitors.
What kind of life would Alice have had? A contemporary Encyclopaedia
for women tells us this about parlour maids in general:
In many large
establishments parlourmaids have taken the place of menservants, it being
thought that they are less expensive to keep, do more work, and ask lower
wages. In many houses there may be a head parlourmaid, with one or more undermaids,
or she may be single-handed, or classed as a house-parlourmaid. [3]
In Mrs. Osborne's establishment there's a cook, a maid, two
parlour maids (including Alice ),
two house maids and a kitchen maid. The other parlour maid is aged 25 and it's
not obvious who - if either - has seniority. In any case, it looks as if the
system of having one 'house-parlourmaid' wasn't adopted at 33, Wilton Place ,
probably because there was no pressing need to cut costs. Wages for a parlour
maid vary from about £18 to £30 a year - I wonder if Alice claimed to be older
than she was to get a few pence extra a week? Presumably she shared a room and
her meals were 'found' so she could save most of her wages.
Her life would have been very regimented:
The correct wear for a
parlourmaid in the morning is a print dress, white cap and apron; and in the
afternoon a black dress, turned-down white collar and cuffs, and muslin cap and
bib-apron.
These are usually
provided by the maid herself. Should, as so often is the case, a uniform be
worn, it would be supplied by the mistress.
Her work would have necessitated the right kind of shoes as
well as time-appropriate dressing:
Quiet shoes are one of
the most important items in the dress of a parlourmaid, as not only are heavy,
creaky ones most disturbing, but also the maid, in her endeavour to walk
quietly, usually becomes awkward and slow of movement.
And, to be honest, some of the advice given to wannabe
parlour maids would land you in front of all kinds of tribunals today:
The appearance of a
parlourmaid is of considerable importance, those possessing tall, trim figures
being in far greater demand than short, stout individuals on account of their more
graceful movements when waiting at table.
You'd better have good command over your vocal cords too, as
visitors except to be announced 'in a clear, distinct, yet not loud voice' (and
even experienced parlour maids might need some 'drilling' to get this right).
Even in a large establishment when the parlour maid didn't
have to valet gentleman visitors and look after the flowers, there was till
plenty to do, starting at 6.30 a.m. when, before her own breakfast, she had to
sweep and dust the dining room and prepare the family's first meal, through to
10.30 p.m. when she locked the house, put off the lights and went to bed. I'll
put the full schedule, as given by a source from the period just before WW1, as
an appendix to this post.
Alice's son Arthur was not living with her - given those duties this would probably have been impossible. I think he was probably being fostered by the Turner family in Sutton about ten miles away - but the Census taker omitted to record the place of birth of most of the residents at that address, so this must remain a probable but not a certain identification.
By the time Alice married Herbert Sidney Edgar, a soldier in the Royal Horse Artillery, she was pregnant with her second child, Thomas (my father). As I pointed out in an earlier post, Find My Past has a record claiming the marriage took place at St. George's Hanover Square, the parish church of the area she was living in at the time of the 1911 Census, but there's no doubt she was actually married (with both witnesses from Herbert's 'side', which is rather strange as most of his family were conspicuous by their absence) at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge on December 27, 1911. I suspect that all this was to do with her situation as a pregnant woman with another child on the way: did the vicar of
When Herbert left the army in June 1914, he moved into the
Woolwich house - as a full-time resident
he probably thought. They must have been hoping to live a civilian life
together with Herbert earning their living as a driver of some kind. When on
August 4 Britain declared
war on Germany and Austria ,
Herbert, a Reservist, would have been called up immediately. The medals he
received suggest he stayed in Britain
until 1916 when he was sent to the French war zone.
Some time during the first three years of the war she moved
herself and her children to Windsor .
Wilfred remembers being taken there first and Thomas and Arthur joining them
later. Later still Alice 's mother Eliza came to join them and spent her last months there. Her death was
registered in the first quarter of 1917, which makes it likely that the family
were there in 1916.
In 1917 this picture was taken by a fashionable Windsor photographer:
And this is presumably from the same session:
Herbert was discharged on June 6, 1919, joined the family in Windsor and started work as a chauffeur.
In my next post I'll describe Alice 's
life in Windsor ,
reveal the previously unknown connection with Laurence Olivier and Ralph
Richardson, and explain the astonishing role the quiet suburban area in which
she spent her final years played in a controversial work of literature.
[1] Eric
Hobden, Letter 1986.
[2] http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/osborne-patrick-hill-pat-4344
[3] http://www.edwardianpromenade.com/servants-2/the-duties-of-the-cook-and-the-parlourmaid
Appendix
Parlourmaid’s Timetable
Household where Cook and housemaid and between-maid also kept.
Household where Cook and housemaid and between-maid also kept.
6.30 a.m.: Sweep and dust dining-room; brush and take up
gentlemen’s clothes; lay dining-room breakfast; have morning papers ready; have
own breakfast.
8.30: Wait at dining-room breakfast; finish library; see to ink, blotting-paper, etc.; clear dining-room break-fast, and wash up.
10.30: Dust drawing-room; see to flowers and plants; attend to silver, castors, lamps, etc.; be ready to answer sitting-room bells and front door; attend to fires; do any special duties for the day.
12.30 p.m.: Change dress; set and serve luncheon; make up fires and tidy sitting-rooms.
2.0: Have own dinner; take in coffee, if required; clear luncheon; wash up; do mending of table linen or gentlemen’s clothes.
4.30: Prepare and take in afternoon tea.
5.0: Have own tea; light up house, time according to season; clear tea, and wash up tea things.
6.30: Put out gentlemen’s evening clothes; ring dressing-gong; lay dinner-cloth; see to fires; tidy room.
7.30: Wait at dinner; serve coffee; clear dinner; wash up; take in aerated waters, etc., at 10 o’clock.
10.30: Lock up house; put out lights; bed.
8.30: Wait at dining-room breakfast; finish library; see to ink, blotting-paper, etc.; clear dining-room break-fast, and wash up.
10.30: Dust drawing-room; see to flowers and plants; attend to silver, castors, lamps, etc.; be ready to answer sitting-room bells and front door; attend to fires; do any special duties for the day.
12.30 p.m.: Change dress; set and serve luncheon; make up fires and tidy sitting-rooms.
2.0: Have own dinner; take in coffee, if required; clear luncheon; wash up; do mending of table linen or gentlemen’s clothes.
4.30: Prepare and take in afternoon tea.
5.0: Have own tea; light up house, time according to season; clear tea, and wash up tea things.
6.30: Put out gentlemen’s evening clothes; ring dressing-gong; lay dinner-cloth; see to fires; tidy room.
7.30: Wait at dinner; serve coffee; clear dinner; wash up; take in aerated waters, etc., at 10 o’clock.
10.30: Lock up house; put out lights; bed.
Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia VI
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