Description:The image above shows a page from the Servants Wages Book for 1829. The book lists the names of servants who worked at West Hill and Stafford House during the early nineteenth century and provides details of their position in the household and their wages. The book also includes examples of the signatures of servants who signed the book to state that they had received their wages. In some cases, additional notes on the far right provide information about their conditions of employment, including dates when they began and left their employment with the Leveson-Gower family.
The servants appear listed in order of their importance within the structure of the household. The Housekeeper and Steward appear at the top of the page, with the domestic maids at the bottom of the page.
The status of different servants in the household can be seen in the jobs that they were doing and the wages which they were being paid. Patrick Foley, the Cook, appears to have been paid the most at £108, 3 shillings per year. Housemaids Jane Page and Anne Hewer received the lowest salary of £10, 10 shillings. Thomas Dodsworth, Steward, was paid one hundred and five pounds per annum whereas Elizabeth Chapman, Kitchen Maid, was paid eighteen pounds and eight shillings. Notes reveal that in 1829 Elizabeth was paid up to 11th May ‘When she left Lord Stafford’s service’.
The additional notes provide details about the period of time that servants were employed in the Stafford family’s households. Notes reveal that Lucy Sheppard, Laundry Maid, was ‘Engaged as 1st Laundry Maid on April 25th’. Similarly, Stephen Place was ‘Engaged as Footman’ on 1st May 1829.
The Servants Wages Books provide a fascinating insight into the work and life of servants employed in the Leveson-Gower family’s households during the early nineteenth century.