‘I loved filming all the scenes round the servants’ hall table. We all get on very well and there’s such a good atmosphere there, where you can get a bit lost at Highclere. I think we probably drove the directors mad because we’re all so noisy, but I think that helps the scenes.’
LOOKING AFTER THE FAMILY
While there were daily jobs that required everyone to work together in a synchronised way, such as mealtimes, there were many other essential tasks and details that needed addressing which were allocated to specific servants.
Carson, as butler, ensures that every member of his staff is occupied before retreating to his pantry to carry out jobs such as paperwork and decanting port. The perfect port at dinner must be poured in front of a lit candle, to check the colour, into a funnel covered with gauze to catch any dregs. Julian Fellowes was taught this method by Arthur Inch, footman to the Londonderry family before the war, and the advisor on Gosford Park. A scene was filmed showing this, but it was later cut, so Julian was delighted to be able to use it in Downton Abbey.
DAISY
‘Why are their papers ironed?’
O’BRIEN
‘To dry the ink, silly. We wouldn’t want his Lordship’s hands to be as black as yours.’
Miss O’Brien is perhaps the most sophisticated of the servants; to perform her role she must be skilled in dressing hair and the art of a lady’s toilette. She also has to be accomplished in fine sewing, as she is expected to mend her lady’s dresses and make some of her undergarments. Similarly, Bates must ensure his Lordship’s wardrobe is immaculate and ready to be worn whenever it is required, which means polishing cufflinks and shoes and mending any damaged garments. Servants learned the tricks of the trade by experience – their own and that of others around them – but there were also bibles of domesticity available to offer information, such as Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. Published in 1861, her advice was still being followed well into the twentieth century. ‘Polish for the boots is an important matter to the valet, and not always to be obtained good by purchase; never so good, perhaps, as he can make for himself after the following recipe: Take of ivory-black and treacle each 4oz, sulphuric acid 1oz, best olive-oil 2 spoonfuls, best white-wine vinegar 3 half-pints: mix the ivory-black and treacle well in an earthen jar; then add the sulphuric acid, continuing to stir the mixture; next pour in the oil; and, lastly, add the vinegar, stirring it in by degrees, until thoroughly incorporated.’
Tricks of the trade
Charles Dean went to work for the Duke of Beaufort at Badminton, in 1920, as second footman. While there he was taught by the under butler, Jimmy Weedon, how to clean silver: ‘For him it was a ritual. He had two lead sinks; in one he had a mixture of soft soap and water and whisked it until it had a good froth; this he made in the morning and it lay there all day, being occasionally replenished. In the other sink he rinsed the silver under the hot tap, then transferred it to the soapy water, returned it and rinsed it in cold. Then he would lay it on the draining board on its side; it could stay there all day and not get smeary. When it was required he would throw a jug of hot water over it, wipe it and it was perfect.’
Tips from the Servants’ Hall
• Clean satin ball slippers by rubbing them with breadcrumbs.
• Fill red wine glasses with warm water so stains can’t develop before they are properly washed.
• Use soda to get marks out of a collar.
• Salt of sorrel will clean copper pots.
• Scour copper bowls with water and vinegar to get a high shine.
• Split card laid beneath brass buttons will protect the coat when polishing them.
• Wrap a delicate evening coat in linen when sewing on a missing button.
MARY
‘Women like me don’t have a life. We choose clothes and pay calls and work for charity and do the Season. But really we’re stuck in a waiting room until we marry.’
Elizabeth McGovern is Cora
‘Mary is a very well-written typical eldest child in that she puts her own needs at the forefront ... She’s not as inclined to conciliate or placate. Cora is fascinated by Mary.’
The daughters of the house – Mary, Edith and Sybil – find it hardest of all to carve out a role for themselves. In 1912 it was difficult for women to enjoy any kind of independence until they were married. While living under their father’s roof, they are subject to his rules. Fortunately, Cora and Robert are interested parents and Cora, as an American, might enjoy her children’s company more than her British counterparts would have done. Still, the girls’ time is mainly spent preparing themselves for a successful marriage. A governess was employed to teach French and possibly German. Then the girls would have been trained to start conversations, in preparation for their coming social duties with tongue-tied inferiors. Julian recalls that members of his own family had precisely this sort of instruction, ‘My great-aunts would be taken round the gardens by their governess and at every shrub they would have to introduce a new subject. The idea was that you could keep a conversation going even with someone who was completely socially incapable.’ On top of all this, any musical skill was always a bonus; playing the piano and singing – though only ever for private entertainments. Painting in watercolours was considered an asset (not, as a rule, oils, which were considered a little Bohemian), and embroidery and decoupage were encouraged.
Like all sisters, the girls can be arguing fiercely one minute and loyally defending each other the next. Edith, squashed between the beautiful Mary and the ambitious Sybil, sets herself up in competition with her elder sister, scheming to win their battle to land a suitable husband. Mary, as the first born, feels the pressure to get the very best husband possible; when potentially brilliant suitors appear to be making overtures to Mary, the whole household is on tenterhooks.
When not plotting invitations to eligible sons, writing carefully worded letters to them, or practising any of the skills that are supposed to improve their marriage prospects, the girls spend most of their time changing their outfits throughout the course of the day. The choosing of skirts and accessories, finding clever ways to update details and trying out new hairstyles, turns the chore of dressing into something rather more pleasant. At least this side of life is unashamedly fun when they are all together and getting on well, gossiping with each other and the maids, who are helping them dress. At all other times, the lives of the daughters and the servants could not be further apart, but in those moments they share in the simple delight of being young girls together.
Dan Stevens is Matthew
‘There’s no such thing as a typical day’s filming, but if it’s a full day, I’ll be collected by car at 5.30am and driven to Highclere to meet other bleary-eyed actors. After breakfast and 20 minutes in the make-up chair, I’m ready to start shooting. Sometimes we manage two or three scenes in a morning, but often it takes that long for a single scene. Lunch is a good chance to sit on the bus and chat to the other actors and crew. We shoot more scenes in the afternoon until tea and cake at 4pm, which causes a flurry. We can’t take any food or drink that’s not water into the house, so we usually cower under a rain shelter, but if there’s glorious sunshine we can have tea on the lawn. We wrap about 7pm and then I’m driven home.’
Elizabeth McGovern is Cora
‘I think Cora is very much an emotionally connected mother. As an American she would have a distinctive approach, different to the English aristocracy’s way of doing things. Her instinct is to be involved with the day-to-day and to go about things in a more hands-on way.’
Mary: ‘I hope you’re not dreading it too much?’
Robert: ‘Not dreading it exactly, but it’s a brave
new world we’re headed for, no doubt about that; we must try