Description:The image above shows a page from the ‘Inventory of the Household Furniture at Trentham Hall’ which was made in 1826. The Inventory includes details of furniture in the servants’ rooms, including the Lady’s Maid’s and the Valet’s Bedrooms which can be seen above.
Dr. Pamela Sambrook writes that status ‘ran from top to bottom’ in the Country House, and the different status of servants within the household was reflected in the furniture in their rooms.
The Lady’s Maid and the Valet had similar furniture in their rooms. A bedstead was accompanied by a considerable amount of bed linen. Both rooms had window curtains and ‘1 square piece of carpet’. Wardrobes, mahogany tables with drawers and looking glasses were placed in both rooms. The Valet’s Bedroom also featured a ‘Pair of Brass Candlesticks’.
The Lady’s Maid and Valet were relatively well placed in the household Hierarchy at Trentham Hall, however, they were underneath the Housekeeper and Steward in terms of status.
Click on the images on the left to compare the furniture in these rooms with furniture in the Housekeeper’s and Steward’s bedrooms.