Scullery maid
Encyclopedia
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Great house
A great house is a large and stately residence; the term encompasses different styles of dwelling in different countries. The name refers to the makeup of the household rather than to any particular architectural style...
s, scullery maids were the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female servant
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
s and acted as assistant to a kitchen maid
Kitchen maid
-Great house kitchen maid:A kitchen maid is a young maid, or junior female servant. In the hierarchy of a great house she ranked below a cook and above a scullery maid...
. The scullery maid reported (through the kitchen maid) to the cook
Cook (servant)
A cook is a household staff member responsible for food preparation. The term can refer to the head of kitchen staff in a great house or to the cook-housekeeper, a far less prestigious position involving more physical labour....
or chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
. Along with the junior kitchen-maid, the scullery maid did not eat at the communal servants' dining hall table, but in the kitchen in order to keep an eye on the food that was still cooking. Duties included the most physical and demanding tasks in the kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
, such as cleaning and scouring the floor, stoves, sinks, pots and dishes. After scouring the plates in the scullery
Scullery (room)
A scullery is a room in a house traditionally used for washing up dishes and laundering clothes, or as an overflow kitchen when the main kitchen is overloaded. Tasks performed in the scullery include cleaning dishes and cooking utensils , occasional kitchen work, ironing, boiling water for cooking...
, she would leave them on racks to dry. The scullery maid also assisted in cleaning vegetables, plucking fowl, and scaling fish.
The Book of Household Management
The duties of the scullery-maid are to assist the cook; to keep the scullery clean, and all the metallic as well as earthenware kitchen utensils.
The position of scullery-maid is not, of course, one of high rank, nor is the payment for her services large. But if she be fortunate enough to have over her a good kitchen-maid and clever cook, she may very soon learn to perform various little duties connected with cooking operations, which may be of considerable service in fitting her for a more responsible place. Now, it will be doubtless thought by the majority of our readers, that the fascinations connected with the position of the scullery-maid, are not so great as to induce many people to leave a comfortable home in order to work in a scullery.
—Mrs. Beeton, The Book of Household Management, published 1861
Additional duties
The scullery roomScullery (room)
A scullery is a room in a house traditionally used for washing up dishes and laundering clothes, or as an overflow kitchen when the main kitchen is overloaded. Tasks performed in the scullery include cleaning dishes and cooking utensils , occasional kitchen work, ironing, boiling water for cooking...
provided hot water for the scullery, kitchen tasks, and household. In addition to her other tasks, the scullery maid had to keep the scullery clean by clearing away meat and vegetable garbage, scrubbing work tables, and swilling the floors. The water was carried through a drain outside the house. Scullery maids would rarely have handled fine china
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
, stemware, crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
or plate silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
; these are cleaned by housemaids and footmen
Footman
A footman is a male servant, notably as domestic staff.-Word history:The name derives from the attendants who ran beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats, many of whom were chosen for their physical attributes. They ran alongside the coach to make sure it was not overturned by such obstacles...
. Before the advent of central heating systems, scullery maids were required to light the fires on the kitchen stove and supply hot water for tea and washing. She performed these tasks in the morning before the cook came down to the kitchens.
In a household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
with no between maid
Between maid
A between maid is a female junior servant in a large household with many staff...
, the scullery maid may also have waited on staff in the Servants' Hall
Servants' Hall
The Servants' Hall is a common room for domestic workers in a great house. The term usually refers to the servants' dining room.If there is no separate sitting room, the Servants' Hall doubles as the place servants may spend their leisure hours and serves as both sitting room and dining room.Meals...
, although this may have been assigned to another maid or a junior footman. In the days before the indoor water closet she may have been required to empty and clean the servants' chamber pot
Chamber pot
A chamber pot is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and...
s as well.
This work has in modern times primarily been performed by women, but in medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
households female domestics were relatively rare. A male servant performing the tasks described above would be called a scullion. In 1386, when the English Parliament requested the removal of certain of Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
's ministers, the king famously responded that he would not dismiss as much as a scullion from his kitchen at parliament's request.
The root of the word scullery is the 1300–50 French word "escuelerie" + rie -ry.
Fictional portrayals
Literature- In Les MisérablesLes MisérablesLes Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
, by Victor Hugo, CosetteCosetteEuphrasie "Cosette" Fauchelevant is a fictional character in the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.- Cosette in the novel :...
is treated as a scullery maid for the duration of her stay in MontfermeilMontfermeilMontfermeil is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Montfermeil is famous as the location of Thénardier's inn in Les Misérables. It has made the headlines due to troubles in its social estate called "les...
. - Maria, of the story "Clay" in James Joyce's DublinersDublinersDubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They were meant to be a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century....
, is widely considered to be a scullery maid. - In Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little PrincessA Little PrincessA Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
, the character Becky is a scullery maid.
Songs
- In the song "Dead Man's ChestDead Man's Chest"Dead Man's Chest" is a fictional sea-song originally from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island . It was expanded in a poem, titled Derelict by Young E. Allison, published in the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1891...
", the scullion is "stabbed times four". - The titular subject of The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song was found to have a corresponding historical person in "Eleanor RigbyEleanor Rigby"Eleanor Rigby" is a song by The Beatles, simultaneously released on the 1966 album Revolver and on a 45 rpm single. The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney...
", a Liverpool scullery maid.
Television
- In PBS's Manor House, Ellen Beard (and a few others) played the scullery maid.
- In the episode "A Tsar Is Born' of the television show FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
, the Crane brothers learn that their great-grandmother was a scullery maid. - In Upstairs, DownstairsUpstairs, DownstairsUpstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
, Emily was the first scullery maid until she committed suicide; then Doris and for the briefest time, Sarah until Ruby became the permanent scullery maid. - In Downton AbbeyDownton AbbeyDownton Abbey is a British television period drama series, produced by NBC Universal-owned British media company Carnival Films for the ITV network. The series is set during the late Edwardian era and the First World War on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, and features an...
Daisy fulfills both the duties of the kitchen maid as well of the scullery maid. These include lighting the fires and helping the cook. (She must also stay out of sight of the upstairs family but she is allowed to eat with the other servants in the kitchen.) - In You Rang, M'Lord?You Rang, M'Lord?You Rang M'Lord? is a British television series written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi! It was broadcast between 1990 and 1993 on the BBC...
, Mabel was the scullery maid/charwoman in the House of Meldrom.
Films
- Snow WhiteSnow White"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
in the 1937 Disney animated film was a scullery maid - Disney's CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
in the 1950 film was a scullery maid. - The father in Nanny McPheeNanny McPheeNanny McPhee is a 2005 fantasy film starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Thompson also wrote the screenplay, which is adapted from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books.-Plot:...
, played by Colin FirthColin FirthSirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
, married Evangeline, a scullery maid, played by Kelly MacdonaldKelly MacdonaldKelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress, known for her role in the independent film Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2...
. - In the 2009 Guy RitchieGuy RitchieGuy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
film Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes (2009 film)Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 action-mystery film based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. The screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon...
, Dr. John WatsonJohn Watson (Sherlock Holmes)John H. Watson, M.D. , known as Dr. Watson, is a character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Watson is Sherlock Holmes's friend, assistant and sometime flatmate, and is the first person narrator of all but four stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon.-Name:Doctor Watson's first...
(Jude LawJude LawDavid Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
) scans the paper for potential cases of mystery to solve, reading out loud, "There's a letter here from Mrs. Ramsey of Queens Park. Her husband's disappeared." Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
(Robert Downey, Jr.) simply retorts, "He's in Belgium with the scullery maid."
External links
- Daily tasks according to PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. - The Book of Household Management, Mrs. Isabella BeetonMrs BeetonIsabella Mary Beeton , universally known as Mrs Beeton, was the English author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, and is one of the most famous cookery writers.-Background:...
, originally published in 1861, this web edition published by eBooks@Adelaide, some rights reserved. - Edwardian Life at Hitchingbrooke House: The Servant's Rules
- House Tour: The Scullery
- The Olveston Experience: Images of a Scullery
- Victorian Scullery or Back Kitchen
- Image of a Scullery Maid With Fish and Fowl