1.
Wentworth Woodhouse
–
A similarly named country house in Yorkshire is Wentworth Castle. Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, near Rotherham in South Yorkshire and it is the largest private house in the United Kingdom and, with an east front of 606 feet, has the longest country house façade in Europe. The house has more than 300 rooms, although the number is unclear. It covers an area of more than 2.5 acres, and is surrounded by a 180-acre park, Wentworth Woodhouse comprises two joined houses, forming west and east fronts. The original house, now the west front, with the range facing northwest towards the village, was built of brick with stone details. The English Baroque, brick-built, western range of Wentworth Woodhouse was begun in 1725 by Thomas Watson-Wentworth and it replaced the Jacobean structure that was once the home of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, whom Charles I sacrificed in 1641 to appease Parliament. However the Baroque style was disliked by Whigs, and the new house was not admired, the model they settled on was Colen Campbells Wanstead House, illustrated in Vitruvius Britannicus i,1715. That same year the rebuilding was already well underway, in the 20th century, Nikolaus Pevsner would agree, but the mention of the architect-earl Burlington, arbiter of architectural taste, boded ill for the provincial surveyor-builder, Tunnicliffe. Contemporary engravings of the grand public East Front give Flitcroft as architect, the grand East Front is the more often illustrated. Most remnants of it were redesigned in the 19th century, Wentworth Woodhouse was inherited by Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, briefly Prime Minister in 1765–66 and again in 1782. He received Benjamin Franklin here in 1771, james Athenian Stuart contributed designs for panels in the Pillared Hall. The Whistlejacket Room was named for George Stubbs portrait that hung in it of Whistlejacket, the additions were completed in 1772. Wentworth Woodhouse, with all its contents, subsequently passed to the family of the Marquesss sister, a terrace centred on the main block effected a transition between the house and the rolling grazing land. Four obelisks stood on the green, dwarfed by the scale of the house. Two large pools, visible from the East Front and the drive, were excavated into a serpentine shape. Some of Flitcrofts outbuildings were demolished, though not Carrs handsome stable court, the grounds contain a number of follies, many with associations in the arena of 18th-century Whig politics. A tapering pyramid with a lantern, named for the ancient wood in which it was erected. The tower, which surveys the landscape like a watchtower, is open to the public on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer
2.
Longleat
–
Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. It is a leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house and it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster and Westbury in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set in 1,000 acres of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown, with 4,000 acres of let farmland and 4,000 acres of woodland, which includes a Center Parcs holiday village. It was the first stately home to open to the public, the house was built by Sir John Thynne and was designed mainly by Robert Smythson, after the original priory was destroyed by fire in 1567. It took 12 years to complete and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. Longleat is occupied by Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, a descendant of the builder, however. Longleat was previously an Augustinian priory, the name comes from leat, an artificial waterway or channel such as that which supplies a watermill. Sir Charles Appleton purchased Longleat for Sir John Thynn in 1541 for £53, Appleton was a builder with experience gained from working on The Old School Baltonsborough, Bedwyn Broil and Somerset House. In April 1567 the original house caught fire and burnt down, a replacement house was effectively completed by 1580. Adrian Gaunt, Alan Maynard, Robert Smythson, the Earl of Hertford and Humpfrey Lovell all contributed to the new building, formal gardens, canals, fountains and parterres were created by George London with sculptures by Arnold Quellin and Chevalier David. The Best Gallery, Long Gallery, Old Library and Chapel were all added due to Wren. In 1707, Thomas Thynne founded a school for boys in the market town of Warminster, near to his family seat, to teach the boys of Warminster, Longbridge Deverill. Over time this became known as the Lord Weymouth School, in 1973 Lord Weymouths School merged with St. Monicas School for girls, Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth married Louisa Carteret whose ghost is reputed to haunt the house as the Green Lady. Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath employed Capability Brown who replaced the gardens with a landscaped park and dramatic drives. Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath employed Jeffry Wyatville to modernise the house, Wyatville demolished several parts of the house, including Wrens staircase, and replaced them with galleries and a grand staircase. He also constructed many outbuildings including the Orangery, Henry Thynne, 3rd Marquess of Bath John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath collected Italian fine arts. He employed John Crace, whose work included Brighton Pavilion, Woburn Abbey, Chatsworth House
3.
Wiltshire
–
Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, the county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the new county town of Trowbridge. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys, Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its mediaeval cathedral, important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trusts Stourhead, near Mere. The county, in the 9th century written as Wiltunscir, later Wiltonshire, is named after the county town of Wilton. Wiltshire is notable for its pre-Roman archaeology, the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge and Avebury are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK, in the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon Britain, as Cranborne Chase and the Somerset Levels prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin, a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga, in 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown, at the time of the Domesday Survey the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural,390 mills are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the 17th century English Civil War Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian, the Battle of Roundway Down, a Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry currently lives on as Y Squadron, based in Swindon, around 1800 the Kennet and Avon Canal was built through Wiltshire, providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol to London until the development of the Great Western Railway. Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on the Wiltshire Community History website, run by the Libraries and this site includes maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories. The local nickname for Wiltshire natives is moonrakers and this originated from a story of smugglers who managed to foil the local Excise men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French brandy in barrels or kegs, in a village pond. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in Devizes. Two-thirds of Wiltshire, a rural county, lies on chalk. This chalk is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group, the largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is Salisbury Plain, which is used mainly for arable agriculture and by the British Army as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill–Milk Hill ridge in the Pewsey Vale, just to the north of Salisbury Plain, the chalk uplands run northeast into West Berkshire in the Marlborough Downs ridge, and southwest into Dorset as Cranborne Chase. Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age, the Marlborough Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs AONB, a 1,730 km2 conservation area
4.
Marquess of Bath
–
Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, Viscount Weymouth, the Marquess holds the subsidiary titles Baron Thynne, of Warminster in the County of Wiltshire, and Viscount Weymouth, both created in 1682 in the Peerage of England. He is also a baronet in the Baronetage of England, the Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne, who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579. In 1641 his great-grandson Henry Frederick Thynne was created a Baronet, of Caus Castle and he was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He represented Oxford University and Tamworth in the House of Commons, Lord Weymouth died without surviving male issue in 1714 and was succeeded in the peerages by his great-nephew, the second Viscount. He was the grandson of the aforementioned Henry Frederick Thynne, brother of the first Viscount and he married as his second wife Lady Louisa Carteret, daughter of John, Earl Granville, a female-line grandson of John, Earl of Bath. Lord Weymouth was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Viscount and he was a prominent statesman and served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department and as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. In 1789 the Bath title held by his ancestors was revived when he was created Marquess of Bath and his son, the second Marquess, sat as Tory Member of Parliament for Weobley and Bath and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset. His eldest son Thomas Thynne, Viscount Weymouth, represented Weobly in Parliament, Lord Bath was therefore succeeded by his second son, the third Marquess, who died three months later. He was a Captain in the Royal Navy and also sat as Member of Parliament for Weobly and his son, the fourth Marquess, succeeded at age six, he was Chairman of the Wiltshire County Council and Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fifth Marquess and he was a Conservative politician and served briefly as Under-Secretary of State for India in 1895. His second but eldest surviving son, the sixth Marquess, represented Frome in the House of Commons as a Conservative, the titles are currently held by the latters second but eldest surviving son, the seventh Marquess, who succeeded in 1992. He is a politician, author and artist. In 2015 the Times described him as a pile of ancient kaftans. He is best known for swanning around Longleat, his enormous Elizabethan pad in Wiltshire, entertaining his 75 concubines, or as he calls them, “wifelets”. The wifelets have included former Bond girls and Sri Lankan teenagers, as well as housewives and, according to some, the deal is simple, the wifelets get to hang out with Lord Bath in a jewel of a palace and in return he gets unlimited sex. The Honourable Henry Thynne, second son of the second Viscount, succeeded to the Carteret estates through his mother, in 1784 he was created Baron Carteret with remainder to the younger sons of his brother the first Marquess of Bath. Several other members of the Thynne family have gained distinction
5.
Retinue
–
A retinue is a body of persons retained in the service of a noble or royal personage, a suite of retainers. The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French retenue, itself from retenir, from Latin retenere, hold back, some were a source of trouble and abuse in the 15th and early 16th century. Often their real importance was very different from their rank, on the one hand, sinecures and supernumerary appointments allowed enjoying benefits without performing full service. On the other hand, having the ear of the master can allow one to act as a confidant in a capacity, or in some cases. Sometimes used in the meaning the supporters or followers of a medieval knight. Druzhina in Rus Manrent, a Scottish clan bond Svita This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
6.
Victorian era
–
The Victorian era was the period of Queen Victorias reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities. Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms of sensibilities, the era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period. The later half of the Victorian age roughly coincided with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe, culturally there was a transition away from the rationalism of the Georgian period and toward romanticism and mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and arts. The end of the saw the Boer War. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of political reform, industrial reform. Two especially important figures in period of British history are the prime ministers Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. Disraeli, favoured by the queen, was a gregarious Conservative and his rival Gladstone, a Liberal distrusted by the Queen, served more terms and oversaw much of the overall legislative development of the era. The population of England and Wales almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901, Scotlands population also rose rapidly, from 2.8 million in 1851 to 4.4 million in 1901. However, Irelands population decreased sharply, from 8.2 million in 1841 to less than 4.5 million in 1901, mostly due to the Great Famine. Between 1837 and 1901 about 15 million emigrants departed the UK permanently, in search of a life in the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia. During the early part of the era, politics in the House of Commons involved battles between the two parties, the Whigs/Liberals and the Conservatives. These parties were led by such prominent statesmen as Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Derby, Lord Palmerston, Gladstone, Disraeli, Victoria became queen in 1837 at age 18. Her long reign until 1901 was mainly a time of peace, Britain reached the zenith of its economic, political, diplomatic and cultural power. The era saw the expansion of the second British Empire, Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era as Britains Golden Years. There was prosperity, as the income per person grew by half. There was peace abroad, and social peace at home, opposition to the new order melted away, says Porter. The Chartist movement peaked as a movement among the working class in 1848, its leaders moved to other pursuits, such as trade unions
7.
Edwardian era
–
The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era. The new king Edward VII was already the leader of an elite that set a style influenced by the art. The Liberals returned to power in 1906 and made significant reforms, below the upper class, the era was marked by significant shifts in politics among sections of society that had been largely excluded from wielding power in the past, such as common labourers. The Edwardian period is sometimes imagined as a golden age of long summer afternoons and garden parties. This perception was created in the 1920s and later by those who remembered the Edwardian age with nostalgia, the Edwardian age was also seen as a mediocre period of pleasure between the great achievements of the preceding Victorian age and the catastrophe of the following war. Recent assessments emphasise the differences between the wealthy and the poor during the Edwardian era and describe the age as heralding great changes in political and social life. Robert Tressells popular novel The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists is an example of the eras social critique. Despite this, this type of perception has been challenged more recently by modern historians, the British historian Lawrence James has argued that, during the early 20th century, the British felt increasingly threatened by rival powers such as Germany, Russia, and the United States. There was a political awareness of the working class, leading to a rise in trade unions. The aristocracy remained in control of top government offices, the Conservatives – at the time called Unionists – were dominant from the 1890s to 1906. The party had many strengths, appealing to voters supportive of imperialism, tariffs, the Church of England, a powerful Royal Navy, and traditional hierarchical society. There was a powerful leadership base in the aristocracy and landed gentry in rural England, plus strong support from the Church of England. Historians have used election returns to demonstrate that Conservatives did surprisingly well in working-class districts and they had an appeal as well to the better-off element of traditional working class Britons in the larger cities. Nevertheless, the weaknesses were accumulating, and proved so overwhelming in 1906 that they did not return to power until 1922. The Conservative Party was losing its drive and enthusiasm, especially after the retirement of the charismatic Joseph Chamberlain, there was a bitter split on tariff reform, that drove many of the free traders over to the Liberal camp. Tariff reform was an issue that the Conservative leadership inexplicably clung to. Support among the top tier of the class, and in lower middle class weakened. The 1906 election was a landslide for the opposition, which saw its total vote jump 25 percent, the Liberal Party lacked a unified ideological base in 1906
8.
Gilded Age
–
The Gilded Age in United States history is the late 19th century, from the 1870s to about 1900. The early half of the Gilded Age roughly coincided with the portion of the Victorian era in Britain. It began as the US Reconstruction Era ended in 1877, the Gilded Age was an era of rapid economic growth, especially in the North and West. As American wages were higher than those in Europe, especially for skilled workers. The rapid expansion of industrialization led to real wage growth of 60% between 1860 and 1890, spread across the ever-increasing labor force, the average annual wage per industrial worker rose from $380 in 1880 to $564 in 1890, a gain of 48%. Railroads were the growth industry, with the factory system, mining. Immigration from Europe and the eastern states led to the growth of the West. Labor unions became important in the rapidly growing industrial cities. Two major nationwide depressions—the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893—interrupted growth, the South after the Civil War remained economically devastated, its economy became increasingly tied to cotton and tobacco production, which suffered from low prices. With the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877, African-American people in the South were stripped of political power, the political landscape was notable in that despite some corruption, turnout was very high and national elections saw two evenly matched parties. The dominant issues were cultural, and economic, with the rapid growth of cities, political machines increasingly took control of urban politics. In business, massive, powerful and wealthy trusts formed, unions crusaded for the 8-hour working day and the abolition of child labor, middle class reformers demanded civil service reform, prohibition, and womens suffrage. Local governments across the North and West built public schools chiefly at the elementary level, the numerous religious denominations were growing in membership and wealth, the Catholics moving to the largest totals. They all expanded their missionary activity to the world arena, Catholics and Lutherans set up parochial schools and the larger denominations set up numerous colleges, hospitals and charities. Many of the problems faced by society, especially the poor, the term Gilded age was applied to the era by historians in the 1920s, who took the term from one of Mark Twains lesser known novels, The Gilded Age, A Tale of Today. The book satirized the promised golden age after the American Civil War, in the 1920s and 30s Gilded Age became a designated period in American history, with the term applied to the post Civil War period up to 1900. For them, Gilded Age was a term used to describe a time of materialistic excesses combined with extreme poverty. The early half of the Gilded Age roughly coincided with the portion of the Victorian era in Britain
9.
Manor house
–
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The term is loosely applied to various country houses, frequently dating from the late medieval era. They were sometimes fortified, but this was intended more for show than for defence. Manor houses existed in most European countries where feudalism existed, where they were known as castles, palaces. Many buildings, such as schools, are named Manor, the reason behind this is because the building was or is close to a manor house. The lord of the manor may have several properties within a county or, for example in the case of a feudal baron, spread across a kingdom. A large and suitable building was required within the manor for such purpose, generally in the form of a hall. This also gave the opportunity for the manor house to be cleaned, especially important in the days of the cess-pit. Thus such non-resident lords needed to appoint a steward or seneschal to act as their deputy in such matters, the day-to-day administration was carried out by a resident official in authority at each manor, who in England was called a bailiff, or reeve. Although not typically built with strong fortifications as were castles, many manor-houses were fortified and they were often enclosed within walls or ditches which often also included agricultural buildings. The primary feature of the house was its great hall. A late 16th-century transformation produced many of the smaller Renaissance châteaux of France, the Tudor period of stability in England saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses, for example Sutton Place in Surrey, circa 1521. During the second half of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and under her successor King James I the first mansions designed by architects not by mere masons or builders, began to make their appearance. Such houses as Burghley House, Longleat House, and Hatfield House are among the best known of this period, nearly every large mediaeval manor house had its own deer-park adjoining, emparked by royal licence, which served primarily as a store of food in the form of venison. Within these licensed parks deer could not be hunted by royalty and this gave them more privacy and space. Court was a suffix which came into use in the 16th century, the obvious origin of the suffix would appear to be that the building was the location where the manorial courts were held. True castles, when not royal castles, were generally the residences of feudal barons, the manor on which the castle was situated was termed the caput of the barony, thus every true ancient defensive castle was also the manor house of its own manor. The suffix -Park came into use in the 18th and 19th centuries, the usage is often a modern catch-all suffix for an old house on an estate, true manor or not
10.
Lord of the manor
–
In Anglo-Irish history, the lordship of a manor is a lordship emanating from the feudal system of manorialism. The origins of the lordship of manors arose in the Anglo-Saxon system of manorialism, following the Norman conquest, land at the manorial level was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The title cannot nowadays be subdivided, Lord Denning, in Corpus Christi College Oxford v Gloucestershire County Council QB360, described the manor thus, In medieval times the manor was the nucleus of English rural life. It was a unit of an extensive area of land. The whole of it was owned originally by the lord of the manor and he lived in the big house called the manor house. Attached to it were many acres of grassland and woodlands called the park and these were the “demesne lands” which were for the personal use of the lord of the manor. Dotted all round were the homes and land occupied by the “tenants of the manor”. The owner of a lordship of the manor can be described as, Lord/Lady of the Manor of, in modern times any person may choose to use a name that is not the property of another. Under English common law a person may choose to be known by any name he sees fit as long as it is not done to commit fraud or evade an obligation, a manorial lordship is not a noble title, but a semi-extinct form of landed property. Lordship in this sense is a synonym for ownership, although this ownership involved a legal jurisdiction in the form of the court baron. Technically, lords of manors are barons, or freemen, however, the style Lord of the Manor of X or Lord of X is, in this sense, more of a description than a title, somewhat similar to the term Laird in Scotland. Fellows of Kings College, Cambridge have given the view that the term indicated wealth and privilege, since 1965 Lords of the Manor have been entitled to compensation in the event of compulsory purchase. Before the Land Registration Act 2002 it was possible for manors to be registered with HM Land Registry. Manorial incidents, which are the rights that a lord of the manor may exercise over other peoples land and this is a separate issue to the registration of lordships of manors, since both registered and unregistered lordships will continue to exist after that date. This issue does not affect the existence of the title of lord of the manor, there have been cases where manors have been sold and the seller has unknowingly parted with rights to unregistered land in England and Wales. In England in the Middle Ages, land was held of the English monarch or ruler by a local supporter. The people who had sworn homage to the lord were known as vassals, vassals were nobles who served loyalty for the king, in return for being given the use of land. The person who held feudal land directly from the king was known as a tenant-in-chief, military service was based upon units of ten knights
11.
English country house
–
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses. With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for rural communities. In turn, until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s, the estates, of country houses were the hub. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle, increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses, those that remained had to adapt to survive. While a château or a schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, if fortified, it is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name castle are fortified. The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians, as a description of a country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans, The Homes of England, originally published in Blackwoods Magazine in 1827. In the 20th century, the term was popularised in a song by Noël Coward. The books collection of homes also includes George IVs Brighton town palace. The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years, before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords, de facto overlords of their manors. The Tudor period of stability in the saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIIIs Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the Kings favourites, woburn Abbey, Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in the names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace, castle, court, hall, mansion, park, house, manor, and place. Burghley House, Longleat House, and Hatfield House are among the best known examples of the prodigy house. Some of the best known of Englands country houses were built by one architect at one time, Montacute House, Chatsworth House. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century, an example of this is Brympton dEvercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone
12.
British nobility
–
The British nobility refers to the noble families of the United Kingdom. In everyday speech, the British nobility consists of peers and their families, { however, members of the peerage carry the titles of Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. Peers ranked from Marquess to Baron are frequently referred to generically as Lords, however, the Scottish Baron, an official title of nobility in the United Kingdom, is addressed as The Baron of X. The untitled nobility consists of all those who bear formally matriculated, or recorded, other than their designation, such as Gentleman or Esquire, they enjoy no privilege other than a position in the formal orders of precedence in the United Kingdom. Scottish lairds names include a description of their lands in the form of a territorial designation, in Scotland, a territorial designation implies the rank of Esquire, thus this is not normally added after the name, Lairds are part of Scotlands landed gentry and—where armigerous —minor nobility. The Peerage is a term used both collectively to refer to the body of peerage titles, and individually to refer to a specific title. All modern British honours, including peerage dignities, are created directly by the British monarch, the Sovereign is considered the fount of honour, and as the fountain and source of all dignities cannot hold a dignity from himself, cannot hold a British peerage. Before the twentieth century, peerages were generally hereditary and, descended in the male line. The eldest son of a Duke, Marquess or Earl almost always one of his fathers subsidiary titles as a courtesy title, for instance. The modern peerage system is a vestige of the custom of English kings in the 12th and 13th centuries in summoning wealthy individuals to form a Parliament. The economic system at the time was manorialism, and the privilege of being summoned to Parliament was related to the amount of land one controlled. In the late 14th century, this began to be granted by decree. Non-hereditary positions began to be created again in 1867 for Law Lords, in 1958, the Life Peerages Act enabled life peers to sit in the House of Lords, and from then on the creation of hereditary peerages rapidly became obsolete, almost ceasing after 1964. This, however, is only a convention and was not observed by former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who asked the Queen to create three hereditary peerages. Until changes in the century, only a proportion of those holding Scottish and Irish peerages were entitled by that title to sit in the House of Lords. Until constitutional reforms in 1999, possession of a title in the peerage entitled its holder to a seat in the House of Lords. Since then, only 92 hereditary peers are entitled to sit in the House of Lords, of which 90 are elected by the hereditary peers by ballot and replaced on death. Typically, those due to inherit a peerage—or indeed have done so, in recent times—have been educated at one of the public schools
13.
Landed gentry
–
Landed gentry is a largely historical British social class consisting of land owners who could live entirely from rental income. It was distinct from, and socially below, the aristocracy or peerage and they often worked as administrators of their own lands, while others became public, political and armed forces figures. The decline of this privileged class largely stemmed from the 1870s agricultural depression, by the late 19th century, the term was also applied to peers such as the Duke of Westminster who lived on landed estates. The book series Burkes Landed Gentry recorded the members of this class, successful burghers often used their accumulated wealth to buy country estates, with the aim of establishing themselves as landed gentry. Knights, originally a rank, this status was increasingly awarded to civilians as a reward for service to the Crown. Holders have the right to be addressed as Sir as are baronets, but unlike baronet, Esquires, originally men aspiring to knighthood, were the principal attendants on a knight. After the Middle Ages the title of Esquire - Esq. - became an honour that could be conferred by the Crown, gentlemen, possessors of a social status recognised as a separate title by the Statute of Additions of 1413. Generally men of birth or rank, good social standing, and wealth. The term landed gentry, although used to mean nobility. Once identical, eventually these terms became complementary, in the sense that their definitions began to fill in parts of what the other lacked, the historical term gentry by itself, so Peter Coss argues, is a construct that historians have applied loosely to rather different societies. Any particular model may not fit a specific society, yet a single definition nevertheless remains desirable, the phrase landed gentry referred in particular to the untitled members of the landowning upper class. The most stable and respected form of wealth has historically been land, the primary meaning of landed gentry encompasses those members of the land owning classes who are not members of the peerage. It was a designation, one belonged to the landed gentry if other members of that class accepted one as such. However, during the 19th century, as the new rich of the Industrial Revolution became more and more numerous and politically powerful, from the late 16th-century, the gentry emerged as the class most closely involved in politics, the military and law. It provided the bulk of Members of Parliament, with many gentry families maintaining political control in a locality over several generations. Owning land was a prerequisite for suffrage in county constituencies until the Reform Act 1832, until then, Members of the landed gentry were upper class, this was a highly prestigious status. Particular prestige was attached to those who inherited landed estates over a number of generations and these are often described as being from old families. Titles are often considered central to the class, but this is certainly not universally the case
14.
Townhouse (Great Britain)
–
The grandest of the London townhouses were stand-alone buildings, but many were terraced buildings. The aristocratic pedigree of terraced housing, for example as survives in St Jamess Square in Westminster, is widely forgotten, the term is comparable to the hôtel particulier which housed the French nobleman in Paris. Many of the Inns of Court in London served this function, for example Grays Inn was the London townhouse of Reginald de Grey, from the 18th century, landowners and their servants would move to a townhouse during the social season. From the 18th century most townhouses were terraced, it was one of the successes of Georgian architecture to persuade the rich to buy terraced houses, especially if they were in a garden square. Only a small minority of them, generally the largest, were detached, for example, the Duke of Norfolk owned Arundel Castle in the country, while from 1722 his London house, Norfolk House, was a terraced house in St Jamess Square over 100 feet wide. They gradually spread onto the Strand, the main thoroughfare from the City to the Palace of Westminster. Bishops also had London residences, generally termed Palaces, for example Lambeth Palace, Ely Palace, many aristocratic townhouses were demolished or ceased to be used for residential purposes after the First World War. The greatest residence on the Strand was the Savoy Palace, residence of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the Strand had the advantage of river frontage to the Thames, which gave the nobles their own private landing places. The next fashion was to still further westwards to St Jamess. In the 18th century Covent Garden was developed by the Duke of Bedford on his Bedford Estate, the final fashion before the modern era was for a residence on the former marsh-land of Belgravia, developed after the establishment of Mayfair also by the Duke of Westminster. The subsequent townhouse of the Berkeleys was on the site of Berkeley Square, the present Hertford House in Manchester Square, home of the Wallace Collection, was built by one of his very distant cousins. Hungerford House, residence of Baron Hungerford until 1669, powerscourt House - Dublin residence of Viscount Powersourt, a prominent Irish peer. It was sensitively converted into a shopping centre in the 1980s. Georgian Dublin consisted of five Georgian squares, which contained the townhouses of prominent peers, the squares were Merrion Square, St Stephens Green, Fitzwilliam Square, Ruthland Square and Mountjoy Square. Many of the townhouses in these squares are now offices while some have been demolished, english country house Great house Manor house Stately home List of house types Hôtel particulier Cunningham, Peter. Handbook of London Past and Present, London,1850, londons Mansions by David Pearce, ISBN 0-7134-8702-X The London Rich by Peter Thorold ISBN 0-670-87480-9 Daisy, Countess of Fingall. Ros, Maggi, Life in Elizabethan England, A London and Westminster Directory,2008
15.
Historic house museum
–
A historic house museum is a house that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way reflects their original placement. Historic house museums are held to a variety of standards, including those of the International Council of Museums, houses are transformed into museums for a number of different reasons. For example, the homes of writers are frequently turned into writers home museums to support literary tourism. Also known as a ‘memory museum’, which is a used to suggest that historic house museum contains a collection of the traces of memory of the people who once lived there. It is often made up of the belongings and objects – this approach is mostly concerned with authenticity. Some museums are organised around the person who lived there or the role the house had. Other historic house museums may be partially or completely reconstructed in order to tell the story of a particular area, the ‘narrative’ of the people who lived there guides this approach, and dictates the manner in which it is completed. In each kind of museum visitors learn about the previous inhabitants through an explanation and exploration of Social History, the idea of a historic house museum derives from a branch of history called Social History that is solely based on people and their way of living. It became very popular in the century among scholars who were interested in the history of people. Social history remains a branch of history. Philip J. Ethington is a Professor of history and political science, further adds to social history, the past is the set of places made by human action. History is a map of these places, following this historical movement, the concept of ‘Open Air Museums’ became prominent. These particular types of museums had interpreters in costume re-enact the lives of communities in earlier eras and they often occupied large wooden architecture buildings or outdoor sites and landscapes, that were true to the era adding to authenticity. Collective memory is used in the resurrection of historic house museums, however. The notion of Collective Memory originated from philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs and this extended thesis examines the role of people and place, and how collective memory is not only associated with the individual but is a shared experience. It also focused on the way individual memory is influenced by social structures, an example of a site that utilizes collective memory is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. It was restored and is based on the dialectics of memory, the ‘Hiroshima Traces’ text takes a look the importance of collective memory and how it is embedded in culture and place
16.
English Heritage
–
English Heritage is a registered charity that manages the National Heritage Collection. This comprises over 400 of Englands historic buildings, monuments and sites spanning more than 5,000 years of history, within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrians Wall. English Heritage also manages the London Blue Plaques scheme, which links influential historical figures to particular buildings and it was created to combine the roles of existing bodies that had emerged from a long period of state involvement in heritage protection. The British government gave the new charity an £80 million grant to establish it as an independent trust. Over the centuries, what is now called Heritage has been the responsibility of a series of state departments. There was the Kings Works after the Norman Conquest, the Office of Works, the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues and Works, and the Ministry of Works. Responsibility subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Public Building and Works then to the Department of the Environment and now the Department for Culture, Media, the states legal responsibility for the historic environment goes back to the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882. Central government subsequently developed several systems of protection for different types of assets, introducing listing for buildings after WW2. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission was formed under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983 on 1 April 1984, soon after, the commission gained the operating name of English Heritage by its first Chairman, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. A national register of parks and gardens, was set up in 1984. Registration is a consideration in the planning process. In 2010–2011 it recorded 4.3 million unique online user sessions, in 2012 the section responsible for archive collections was renamed the English Heritage Archive. As a result of the National Heritage Act 2002, English Heritage acquired administrative responsibility for historic wrecks, the administration of the listed building system was transferred from DCMS to English Heritage in 2006. It was retained on grounds of performing a function which should remain independent from Government. However the department also suffered from budget cuts during the recession of the 2010s resulting in a deficit of £100 million. In June 2013 the British Government announced plans to provide an £80 million grant to enable English Heritage to become a self-financing charity, the national portfolio of historic properties remain in public ownership, but the new English Heritage will be licensed to manage them. The change occurred on 1 April 2015 with the planning and heritage protection functions remaining an independent, non-departmental public body. The new trust has a licence to operate the properties until 2023, English Heritage is the guardian of over 400 sites and monuments, the most famous of which include Stonehenge, Iron Bridge and Dover Castle
17.
Anglo-Irish people
–
Many became eminent as administrators in the British Empire and as senior army and naval officers. The term is not usually applied to Presbyterians in the province of Ulster, whose ancestry is mostly Scottish, rather than English or Irish, the Anglo-Irish held a wide range of political views, with many of them being outspoken Irish Nationalists. And while many of the Anglo-Irish were part of the English diaspora in Ireland, in the course of the 17th century, this Anglo-Irish landed class replaced the Gaelic Irish and Old English aristocracies as the ruling class in Ireland. They were also referred to as New English to distinguish them from the Old English who descended from the medieval Hiberno-Norman settlers and those who converted to the Church of Ireland were usually able to keep or regain their lost property, as the issue was primarily one of allegiance. In the late 18th century the Parliament of Ireland in Dublin won legislative independence, the Anglo-Irish social class was usually of mixed English and Irish or Welsh ancestry. Members of this class commonly identified themselves as Irish, while retaining English habits in politics, commerce. They participated in the popular English sports of the day, particularly racing and fox hunting, many of the more successful of them spent much of their careers either in Great Britain or in some part of the British Empire. Many constructed large houses, which became known in Ireland as Big Houses. The Dublin working class playwright Brendan Behan, a staunch Irish Republican, saw the Anglo-Irish as Irelands leisure class, the Anglo-Irish novelist and short story writer Elizabeth Bowen memorably described her experience as feeling English in Ireland, Irish in England and not accepted fully as belonging to either. Due to their prominence in the military and their conservative politics and they also controlled financial companies such as the Bank of Ireland and Goodbody Stockbrokers. Prominent Anglo-Irish poets, writers, and playwrights include Jonathan Swift, George Berkeley, Oliver Goldsmith, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, J. M. Synge, W. B. Yeats, Cecil Day-Lewis, Bernard Shaw, Augusta, Lady Gregory, Samuel Beckett, Giles Cooper, C. S. Lewis, Lord Longford, the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was also an Anglo-Irishman. Medical experts included Sir William Wilde, Robert Graves, Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw, William Stokes, Robert Collis, Sir John Lumsden, William Desmond Taylor was an early and prolific maker of silent films in Hollywood. Philanthropists included Thomas Barnardo and The 1st Earl of Iveagh, the Anglo-Irish, as a class, were mostly opposed to the notions of Irish independence and Home Rule. Most were supporters of continued political union with Great Britain, which existed between 1800 and 1922, however, Protestants in Ireland, and the Anglo-Irish class in particular, were by no means universally attached to the cause of continued political union with Great Britain. For instance, author Jonathan Swift, a clergyman in the Church of Ireland, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 was led by members of the Anglo-Irish and Ulster Scots class, some of whom feared the political implications of the impending union with Great Britain. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however, Irish nationalism became increasingly tied to a Roman Catholic identity, by the beginning of the twentieth century, many Anglo-Irishmen in southern Ireland had become convinced of the need for a political settlement with Irish nationalists. Anglo-Irish politicians such as Sir Horace Plunkett and Lord Monteagle became leading figures in finding a solution to the Irish question
18.
Protestant Ascendancy
–
Until the Reform Acts even the majority of Irish Protestants were effectively excluded from the Ascendancy, being too poor to vote. In general, the privileges of the Ascendancy were resented by Irish Catholics, english soldiers and traders became the new ruling class, as its richer members were elevated to the Irish House of Lords and eventually controlled the Irish House of Commons. This class became known as the Anglo-Irish. The phrase was first used in passing by Sir Boyle Roche in a speech to the Irish House of Commons on 20 February 1782. George Ogle MP used it on 6 February 1786 in a debate on falling land values, When the landed property of the Kingdom, the Corporations resolution was a part of the debate over Catholic emancipation. In the event, Catholics were allowed to vote again in 1793, the phrase therefore was seen to apply across classes to rural landowners as well as city merchants. However, those protected by the Treaty were still excluded from political life. The situation was confused by the policy of the Tory party in England and Ireland after 1688 and they were Protestants who generally supported the Catholic Jacobite claim, and came to power briefly in London in 1710–14. This provided the main political excuse for the new laws, thousands did so, as recorded on the Convert Rolls, and this allowed for the successful careers of Irishmen such as that of William Conolly, but the majority declined to convert. It did, however, push for reforms allowing equality within the system, some 9% of this land belonged to formerly-Catholic landlords who had converted to the state religion. Reform, though not complete, came in three stages and was effected over 50 years, Reform of religious disabilities in 1778–82, allowing bishops, schools. Reform of restrictions on property ownership and voting in 1778–93, restoration of political, professional and office-holding rights in 1793–1829. The parliament repealed most of the Penal Laws in 1771–93 but did not abolish them entirely, Grattan sought Catholic emancipation for the catholic middle classes from the 1780s, but could not persuade a majority of the Irish MPs to support him. From 1840 corporations running towns and cities in Ireland became more democratically elected, Ireland remained a net exporter of food throughout most of the famine. About 20% of the population emigrated, the Encumbered Estates Act of 1849 was passed to allow landlords to sell mortgaged land, where a sale would be restricted because the land was entailed. Many landlords went bankrupt as their tenants could not pay any rent due to the famine, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 was led by members of the Anglo-Irish class, some of whom feared the political implications of the impending union with Great Britain. Reformist and nationalist politicians such as Henry Grattan, Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmet, and Sir John Gray were also Protestant nationalists, local government was democratised by the Act of 1898, passing many local powers to councillors who were usually supportive of nationalism. Formerly landlords had controlled the grand jury system, where membership was based on being a large ratepayer, nearly 300 stately homes of the old landed class were burned down between 1919 and 1923
19.
Domestic worker
–
A domestic worker or domestic helper or domestic servant is a person who works within the employers household. Other responsibilities may include cooking, laundry and ironing, shopping for food, such work has always needed to be done but before the Industrial Revolution and the advent of labour saving devices, it was physically much harder. Some domestic helpers live within their employers household, in some cases, the contribution and skill of servants whose work encompassed complex management tasks in large households have been highly valued. However, for the most part, domestic work, while necessary, is demanding, although legislation protecting domestic workers is in place in many countries, it is often not extensively enforced. In many jurisdictions, domestic work is regulated and domestic workers are subject to serious abuses. Servant is an older English word for domestic worker, though not all servants worked inside the home, Domestic service, or the employment of people for wages in their employers residence, was sometimes simply called service and has often been part of a hierarchical system. The United Kingdoms Master and Servant Act 1823 was the first of its kind and influenced the creation of domestic laws in other nations. However, before the passing of such Acts servants, and workers in general, had no protection in law, the only real advantage that domestic service provided was the provision of meals, accommodation, and sometimes clothes, in addition to a modest wage. Service was normally an apprentice system with room for advancement through the ranks, the conditions faced by domestic workers have varied considerably throughout history and in the contemporary world. In 2011, the International Labour Organization adopted the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers. In July 2011, at the annual International Labour Conference, held by the ILO, conference delegates adopted the Convention on Domestic Workers by a vote of 396 to 16, the Convention recognized domestic workers as workers with the same rights as other workers. On 26 April 2012, Uruguay was the first country to ratify the convention, many domestic workers are live-in domestics. Though they often have their own quarters, their accommodations are not usually as comfortable as those reserved for the family members, in some cases, they sleep in the kitchen or small rooms, such as a box room, sometimes located in the basement or attic. Domestic workers may live in their own home, though often they are live-in domestics, meaning that they receive their room. The majority of workers in China, Mexico, India. Employers may require their domestic workers to wear a uniform, livery or other domestic workers clothes when in their employers residence, the uniform is usually simple, though aristocratic employers sometimes provided elaborate decorative liveries, especially for use on formal occasions. In traditional portrayals, the attire of domestic workers especially was typically more formal, on 30 March 2009, Peru adopted a law banning employers from requiring domestic workers to wear uniform at public places. However, it’s not explained which punishments will be given to employers violating the law, chile adopted a similar law in 2014, also banning employers to require domestic workers to wear uniform at public places
20.
Downton Abbey
–
Downton Abbey is a historical period drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010, the sixth and final series introduces the rise of the working class during the interwar period and hints towards the eventual decline of the British aristocracy. It was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English-language television series of 2011 and it earned the most nominations of any international television series in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, with twenty-seven in total. It was the most watched series on both ITV and PBS, and subsequently became the most successful British costume drama series since the 1981 television serial of Brideshead Revisited. By the third series, it had one of the most widely watched television drama shows in the world. On 26 March 2015, Carnival Films and ITV announced that the series would be the last. It aired on ITV between 20 September 2015 and 8 November 2015, the final episode, serving as the annual Christmas special, was broadcast on 25 December 2015. The storyline centres on the fee tail or entail governing the titled elite, as part of the backstory, the main character, Robert, Earl of Grantham, had resolved past financial difficulties by marrying Cora Levinson, an American heiress. Her considerable dowry is contractually incorporated into the comital entail in perpetuity, Robert and Cora have three daughters and no sons. As the eldest daughter, Lady Mary Crawley was to marry her second cousin, the first episode begins as news reaches Downton Abbey that both Grantham heirs perished in the sinking of the Titanic. A distant male cousin, solicitor Matthew Crawley, is from an upper-middle-class family - as his mother reminds him in one of series one. Matthew Crawley becomes the new heir, the plot centres on the relationship between Lady Mary and Matthew, who resists embracing an aristocratic lifestyle. A subplot involves John Bates, Lord Granthams new valet, and Thomas Barrow, Bates and Thomas remain at odds in subsequent series. Barrow works to sabotage Bates after learning he was released from jail for theft. In the story line, Barrow, a gay man in late Edwardian England, aided by Miss OBrien, Lady Granthams personal maid, Barrow is caught stealing, but he joins the British army as a medic. Matthew eventually falls in love with Lady Mary, but she rejects his proposal. Cora becomes pregnant, possibly with an heir, but falls and miscarries after OBrien, mistakenly believing she was to be fired. The series ends just after the Archduke Franz Ferdinands assassination and the outbreak of the First World War in July 1914, the second series comprises eight episodes and runs from the Battle of the Somme in 1916 to the 1918 flu pandemic
21.
Head of state
–
A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
22.
Butler
–
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the room, wine cellar. Some also have charge of the entire floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house. A butler is usually male, and in charge of male servants, while a housekeeper is usually a woman, traditionally, male servants were rarer and therefore better paid and of higher status than female servants. The butler, as the male servant, has the highest servant status. He can also be used as a chauffeur. The precise duties of the employee will vary to some extent in line with the title given, in the grandest homes or when the employer owns more than one residence, there is sometimes an estate manager of higher rank than the butler. The butler was also the steward in a lascar ships crew. In Britain, the butler was originally a member of the staff of a grand household. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the butler gradually became the senior, usually male, member of a households staff in the very grandest households. However, there was sometimes a steward who ran the estate and financial affairs, rather than just the household. To Butler, To butler, to dispense wines or liquors, the modern role of the butler has evolved from earlier roles that were generally concerned with the care and serving of alcoholic beverages. The care of these assets was therefore generally reserved for trusted slaves, the biblical book of Genesis contains a reference to a role precursive to modern butlers. The early Hebrew Joseph interpreted a dream of Pharaohs שקה, which is most often translated into English as chief butler or chief cup-bearer. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was nearly always slaves who were charged with the care and service of wine, while during the Medieval Era the pincerna], the modern English butler thus relates both to bottles and casks. Eventually the European butler emerged as a member of the servants of a great house. While this is so for household butlers, those with the same title, the Steward of the Elizabethan era was more akin to the butler that later emerged. In the very grandest households there was sometimes an Estate Steward or other senior steward who oversaw the butler and his duties
23.
Valet
–
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer. In the United States, the term most often refers to a parking valet, in English, valet as personal man-servant is recorded since 1567, though use of the term in the French-speaking English medieval court is older, and the variant form varlet is cited from 1456. See yeoman, possibly derived from man, a related term. The modern use is usually short for the valet de chambre, since the 16th century, the word has traditionally been pronounced as rhyming with pallet, though an alternative pronunciation, rhyming with chalet, as in French, is now common. The Oxford English Dictionary lists both pronunciations as valid, a valet or gentlemans gentleman is a gentlemans male servant, the closest female equivalent is a ladys maid. The valet performs personal services such as maintaining his employers clothes, running his bath and perhaps shaving his employer. In a great house, the master of the house had his own valet, in a bachelors household the valet might perform light housekeeping duties as well. Valets learned the skills for their role in various ways, others started out as soldier-servants to army officers or stewards to naval officers. Traditionally, a valet did much more than lay out clothes. He was also responsible for making travel arrangements, dealing with any bills, Alexandre Bontemps, the most senior of the thirty-six valets to Louis XIV of France, was a powerful figure, who ran the Château de Versailles. In courts, valet de chambre was a position of status, often given to artists, musicians, poets and others. The role was also, at least during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, valets, like butlers and most specialized domestic staff, have become relatively rare. A more common, though infrequent, arrangement is the general servant performing combined roles. Alfred Pennyworth, valet to Bruce Wayne, created by Bob Kane, hobson, from the comedy film Arthur. Kato, Inspector Clouseaus valet and martial arts partner in the Pink Panther movies, passepartout, in the 1872 novel Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. George, created by Agatha Christie in the Hercule Poirot novels, edward Henry Masterman, the victims valet and a suspect in Agatha Christies Murder on the Orient Express. Figaro, the Count of Almavivas valet from Beaumarchais play The Marriage of Figaro, as well as the Mozart, leporello, valet of Don Giovanni in the opera by Mozart. Giles French in the sitcom Family Affair, probert, valet to Sir William McCordle, and Robert Parks, valet to Lord Stockbridge, in the 2001 film Gosford Park, directed by Robert Altman
24.
Lady
–
The word lady is a civil term of respect for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to gentleman, and also an English-language formal title. Once used to describe only women of a social class, race, community. However, from a point of view this usage is still controversial. The word comes from Old English hlǣfdige, the first part of the word is a form of hlāf, loaf, bread. The primary meaning of mistress of a household is now obsolete, save for the term landlady. This meaning is retained in the states of the USA. In many European languages the equivalent term serves as a form of address equivalent to the English Mrs. The singular vocative use was common but has become mostly confined to poetry. In this usage, the lady is very seldom capitalized when written. The usual English term for addressing a woman is Madam or Maam. In British English, lady is often, but not always, public toilets are often distinguished by signs showing simply Ladies or Gentlemen. In more recent years, use of the word is more complicated. The American journalist William Allen White noted one of the difficulties in his 1946 autobiography, after the incident, White assured his readers, his papers referred to human females as women, with the exception of police court characters, who were all ladies. Whites anecdote touches on a phenomenon that others have remarked on as well and these social class issues, while no longer as prominent in this century, have imbued the formal use of lady with something of irony. Commenting on the word in 1953, C. S. Lewis wrote that the guard at Holloway said it was a ladies prison. It remains in use, for example, as a counterpart to gentleman, in the ladies and gentlemen. One feminist writer, Robin Lakoff, in her book Language and Womans Place, a sign in the gardens of Hunters Hotel reads Ladies and Gentlemen will not pick the flowers, others must not. Formally, Lady is the counterpart to higher ranks in society, from gentlemen, through knights, to lords
25.
Cook (domestic worker)
–
A cook or private chef is a household staff member responsible for food preparation. The term can refer to the head of staff in a great house or to the cook-housekeeper. The cook in an English great house was traditionally female, todays residences may employ a head cook or chef who may be of either gender, the cook is responsible for the preparation of daily meals and menus, as well as menus for parties and other special occasions. The cook is responsible for the ordering of food, the maintenance of the kitchen. The holder of the position directly to the lady of the house or sometimes to the housekeeper. The cook supervises all kitchen staff, there can be occasional staff conflicts over who supervises between staff, who may have duties that bring them into the realms of the cook, the housekeeper and the butler. In the hierarchy of domestic service, a cook usually earned her position through apprenticeship, todays cooks are likely to have spent years in domestic service in different households, or have gone to cooking school. Few modern families can afford retinues of domestic workers, so the cook is often expected to be a cook-housekeeper, many of them have to wear a uniform. Margaret Powell, who began as a girl at the age of 15
26.
Chef
–
A chef is a highly trained and skilled professional cook who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation of a particular cuisine. The word chef is derived from the chef de cuisine. Chefs can receive both formal training from an institution, as well as through apprenticeship with an experienced chef, the Brigade system is a system of hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels employing extensive staff, many of which use the word chef in their titles. Underneath the chefs are the kitchen assistants, a chefs standard uniform includes a hat called a toque, necktie, double-breasted jacket, apron and shoes with steel or plastic toe-caps. The word chef is derived from the chef de cuisine. In English, the chef in the culinary profession originated in the haute cuisine of the 19th century. The culinary arts, among other aspects of the French language introduced French loan-words into the English language, various titles, detailed below, are given to those working in a professional kitchen and each can be considered a title for a type of chef. Many of the titles are based on the brigade de cuisine documented by Auguste Escoffier, other names include executive chef, chef manager, head chef, and master chef. Chef de cuisine is the traditional French term from which the English word chef is derived and this is often the case for executive chefs with multiple restaurants. Involved in checking the sensory evaluation of dishes after preparation and they are aware of each sensory property of those specific dishes. The Sous-Chef de Cuisine is the second-in-command and direct assistant of the Chef de Cuisine and this person may be responsible for scheduling the kitchen staff, or substituting when the head chef is off-duty. Also, he or she will fill in for or assist the Chef de Partie when needed and this person is accountable for the kitchens inventory, cleanliness, organization, and the continuing training of its entire staff. A sous-chefs duties can also include carrying out the head chefs directives, conducting line checks, smaller operations may not have a sous-chef, while larger operations may have more than one. The sous chef is also responsible when the Executive Chef is absent, a chef de partie, also known as a station chef or line cook, is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each chef de partie might have several cooks or assistants, in most kitchens, however, the chef de partie is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with first cook, then second cook, kitchen-hands assist with basic food preparation tasks under the chefs direction. They carry out relatively unskilled tasks such as peeling potatoes and washing salad, stewards/ kitchen porters are involved in the scullery, washing up and general cleaning duties. In a smaller kitchen, these duties may be incorporated, a communard is in charge of preparing the meal for the staff during a shift
27.
Chauffeur
–
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. A woman employed to drive a motor vehicle is a chauffeuse. Early petrol/gasoline-powered motor cars, before the advent of electric ignition, were ignited by hot tubes in the head which had to be pre-heated before the engine would start. Hence the term chauffeur which, in context, means something like heater-upper. The chauffeur would prime the hot tubes at the start of a journey, only the very wealthy could afford the first automobiles, and they generally employed chauffeurs rather than driving themselves. A1906 article in The New York Times reported that. the chauffeur problem to-day is one of the most serious that the automobilist has to deal with and this is very similar to but more luxurious than taking a taxicab. A variety of benefits are cited for using chauffeurs, including convenience, productivity and time savings, insurance costs for luxury vehicles are often lower if the designated driver is a chauffeur. The legal requirements to be a chauffeur vary depending on the local jurisdiction, in addition to the minimum legal requirements, limousine companies often require their chauffeurs to undergo specific extra training. Most companies also have their own courses as to what they expect from their chauffeurs, chauffeurs may be taught proper etiquette for use when they are in presence of their clientele. They may also be trained for services to the client beyond the car itself, in many places, proper physical presence is presented by the chauffeur at all times. In some areas, such as Japan, white gloves are the norm, some companies have complete uniforms for their chauffeurs, and some require that hats be worn as part of the uniform. Some companies do not keep strictly to this standard, and there is wide variation throughout the transportation industry
28.
Lady's maid
–
A ladys maid is a female personal attendant who waits on the lady of the house, and is a position very similar to a gentlemans valet. In the servants hall, a ladys mid took precedence akin to that of her mistress, in Britain, a ladys maid would be addressed by her surname by her employer, while she was addressed Miss by junior servants or when visiting in another servants hall. A ladys maids specific duties included helping her mistress with her appearance, including make-up, hairdressing, clothing, jewellery, and shoes. A ladys maid would also remove stains from clothing, sew, mend, and alter garments as needed, bring her mistress breakfast in her room, and draw her mistresss bath. However, she is not expected to dust and clean every small item as that is the job of a housemaid Domestic worker Housekeeper Maid Handmaiden Valet
29.
Governess
–
A governess is a woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny, she concentrates on teaching instead of meeting their physical needs. Her charges are of age rather than babies. The position of governess used to be common in well-off European families before World War I, parents preference to educate their children at home—rather than send them away to boarding school for months at a time—varied across time and countries. Governesses were usually in charge of girls and younger boys, when a boy was old enough, he left his governess for a tutor or a school. Governesses are rarer now, except within large and wealthy households or royal families such as the Saudi royal family, There has been a recent resurgence amongst families worldwide to employ governesses or full-time tutors. The reasons for this include personal security, the benefits of an education. Traditionally, governesses taught the three Rs to young children and it was also possible for other teachers with specialist knowledge and skills to be brought in, such as, a drawing master or dancing master. The governess occupied an awkward position in the Victorian household. She worked in the home of the landed gentry or aristocracy. She herself had a background and education, yet was paid for her services. As a sign of this social limbo she frequently ate on her own, away from the rest of the family, by definition, a governess was an unmarried woman who lived in someone elses home, which meant that she was subject to their rules. In any case, she had to maintain a reputation by avoiding anything which could embarrass or offend her employers. If a particular governess was young and attractive, the lady of the house might well perceive a threat to her marriage. As a result of various restrictions, the lifestyle of the typical Victorian governess was often one of social isolation and solitude. The fact that her presence in the household was underpinned by an employment contract emphasized that she could never truly be part of the host family. However, being a governess was one of the few legitimate ways by which a middle class woman could support herself in Victorian society. Not surprisingly, her position was often depicted as one to be pitied, once a governesss charges grew up, she had to seek a new position, or, exceptionally, might be retained by the grown-up daughter as a paid companion
30.
Nanny
–
A nanny, childminder, child care provider, or mothers helper is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service. Traditionally, nannies were servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house, today, modern nannies, like other domestic workers, may live in or out of the house depending on their circumstances and those of their employers. Professional nannies are usually certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, qualified in First Aid, there are many employment agencies that specialize in childcare and online services that aid in finding available nannies. A childminder cares for the child in the childminders home, depending on the country they live in, government registration may or may not be required. A governess, in contrast to a nanny, concentrates on teaching and training children, a special type of modern nanny is known as a mothers helper. They are hired to assist mothers in the chores of the household as well as care for the children, a mothers helper may live in or out of the house. In the 19th and early 20th century, the position was known as a nurse. In a great house the nurse was a senior member of the household staff and ran her own domain. Because of their involvement in raising the children of the family, nannies were often remembered with great affection. Nannies may have remained in the employment of the aristocratic family for years. In the 21st century however the word is shortened to Nan. Nannies were present in the households of the administrators of European colonial empires throughout the world and it was a characteristic feature of colonial society that the children of European administrative officers were entrusted to the care of native women. Nannies in colonial times spent their lives in the homes of their masters, often from childhood till old age, taking care of more than one generation, depending on the duration of the post. It was not uncommon for these nannies to be brought along with the family away from their country when administrative officers were posted somewhere else. In the Indian subcontinent under the British Raj a nanny was known as ayah, after aia, nurse and this term is presently part of the vocabulary of various languages of the Subcontinent, meaning also female servant or maid. In the Dutch East Indies the household nanny was known as baboe, although many families use the modern version of a nanny, some of the features used in historical practices are now rare. Uniforms may still be worn in some cases, but a standard of dress is more common. Some nannies are highly trained, but there is no restriction on the use of the word, so education, training, a live in nanny is less common today than in the past
31.
Tutor
–
A tutor is an instructor who gives private lessons. Shadow education is a name for private supplementary tutoring that is offered outside the education system. Normally, a tutor will help a student who is struggling in a subject of some sort, also, a tutor may be provided for a student who wants to learn at home. In the United States, the tutor is generally associated with one who gives professional instruction in a given topic or field. In British and Irish secondary schools, form tutors are given the responsibilities of a form or class of students in a year group. They usually work in year teams headed by a leader, year head. Form tutors will provide parents with most of the information about their childs progress and it can also undermine official statements about fee-free education and create threats to social cohesion. In South Korea, nearly 90% of elementary students receive some sort of shadow education, in Hong Kong, about 85% of senior secondary students do so. 60% of primary students in West Bengal, India, and 60% of secondary students in Kazakhstan receive private tutoring, demand for tutoring in Asia is exploding, by comparison globally, shadow education is most extensive in Asia. This is partly due to the stratification of education systems, cultural factors, perceptions of shortcomings in regular school systems, in some cases, successful Southeast Asian tutors will even embrace the title of tutor. Online private tutor matching platform and online learning platform offering online learning materials are other creations, in Cambodia, most tutoring is provided by teachers, whereas in Hong Kong, it is provided by individuals, small companies or large companies. In Mongolia, most tutoring is labor-intensive, while entrepreneurs in South Korea make use of computers, some studies have estimated costs associated with shadow education. In Pakistan, expenditures on tutoring per child averaged the equivalent of $3.40 a month in 2011, in India, average spending was lower, but still equated to about $2 per month. In Georgia, household expenditures for private tutoring at the school level was $48 million in 2011. In Hong Kong, the business of providing private tutoring to secondary schools reached $255 million in 2011, in India, a 2008 survey estimated the size of the private tutoring sector to be $6.4 billion. In Japan, families spent a whopping $12 billion in 2010 on private tutoring, in the Republic of Korea, where the government has attempted to cool down the private tutoring market, shadow education costs have continually grown, reaching a staggering $17.3 billion in 2010. Household expenditures on private tutoring are equivalent to about 80% of government expenditures on education for primary and secondary students. In the United States, the market is fragmented
32.
Footman
–
A footman is a male domestic worker. The designation running footman derived from the attendants who ran beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats and they ran alongside the coach to make sure it was not overturned by such obstacles as ditches or tree roots. They would also run ahead to prepare the place for their lords arrival. The word was extended to apply to a household servant. The roughly synonymous term lackey may have a similar etymology, the first footman was the designation given to the highest ranking servant of this class in a given household. The first footman would serve as deputy butler and act as butler in the latters absence, in a larger household, various footmen might be assigned specific duties, such as the silver specialist. Usually the footmen performed a range of duties which included serving meals, opening and closing doors, carrying heavy items, the footmen might also double as valets, especially for visiting guests. Male servants were more than female servants, and footmen were something of a luxury. They performed an essential role than the cook, maid or even butler. Footmen were expected to be unmarried and tended to be young, they might, however, progress to other posts. One 19th century footman, William Tayler, kept a diary which has been published and he was, in fact, married, but kept his marriage secret from his employers and visited his family only on his days off. Once a commonly employed servant in great houses, footmen became much rarer after World War I as fewer households could by then afford retinues of servants and retainers. The position is now virtually an historic one although servants with this designation are still employed in the British Royal Household, wearing a distinctive scarlet livery on state occasions. In Lewis Carrolls novel Alices Adventures in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts Fish Footman delivers an invitation to the Duchesss Frog Footman. George, first footman in service to Sir William McCordle, in the 2001 film Gosford Park, thomas Barrow and William Mason serve as first and second footman, respectively, to Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in the Julian Fellowes period drama Downton Abbey. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
33.
Maid
–
A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female person employed in domestic service. Although now usually only in the most wealthy of households, in the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales. In the contemporary Western world, comparatively few households can afford live-in domestic help, Maids perform typical domestic chores such as cooking, ironing, washing, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, walking the family dog, and taking care of children. In many places in some countries, maids often take on the role of a nurse in taking care of the elderly. Many maids are required by their employers to wear a uniform, legislation in many countries makes certain living conditions, working hours, or minimum wages a requirement of domestic service. Nonetheless, the work of a maid has always been hard, involving a full day, the word maid itself is short for maiden, meaning virgin. Maids traditionally have a position in the hierarchy of the large households. House-maid or housemaid, a term for maids whose function was chiefly above stairs, and were usually a little older. Where a household included multiple House Maids they were often sub-divided as below, head house-maid, the senior house maid, reporting to the Housekeeper. Parlour maid, the parlour maids cleaned and tidied reception rooms and living areas by morning, and often served refreshments at afternoon tea and they tidied studies and libraries, and answered bells calling for service. Chamber maid, the chamber maids cleaned and maintained the bedrooms, ensured fires were lit in fireplaces, laundry maid, the laundry maids maintained bedding and towels. They also washed, dried, and ironed clothes for the whole household, under house parlour maid, the general deputy to the house parlour maid in a small establishment which had only two upstairs maids. Nursery maid, also a maid, but one who worked in the childrens nursery, maintaining fires, cleanliness. Reported to the Nanny rather than the Housekeeper, kitchen maid, a below stairs maid who reported to the Cook, and assisted in running the kitchens. Head kitchen maid, where multiple kitchen maids were employed, the kitchen maid was effectively a deputy to the cook. Under kitchen maid, where multiple kitchen maids were employed these were the staff who prepared vegetables, peeled potatoes, in more modest households a single maid-of-all-work or skivvy was often the only staff. It is possible this word originates from the Italian for slave, one of the most in-depth and enduring representations of the lives of several types of maid was seen in the 1970s television drama Upstairs, Downstairs, set in England between 1903 and 1936. Another representation of the lives of maids is seen nowadays in Downton Abbey, set in England between 1912 and 1926
.JPG)
