I'm back from my jaunt, and there are loads of photos to be sorted. But these are from a National Trust day out we had prior to that, I'm getting behind with updating...
This is Dunham Massey, and I'm unashamedly going to show you much more of the Downstairs than the Upstairs, if you get what I mean. The posh bit is lovely, but it's the working part- the kitchens, laundry and the nooks and crannies that interst me far more... hover over for a description (if any!) and there are loads more on my Flickr (click on the picture in the sidebar).
If you watch series like Downton Abbey you may have the impression that the servants were only marginally less lucky than the masters. Do not be fooled. You only have to look in the working parts of a house like this to see Work, the Hard Graft kind of manual work, everywhere. From boiling the water to wash the clothes, scything the massive lawns, milking the cows, backbreaking ironing, sweltering laundries and kitchens.
For me, contemplating these lives is far more interesting than wondering what the nobs found to do to fill their time. We are lucky, nowadays, to be able to call cooking an interest, gardening a hobby and housework an inconvenience.
I'm not saying I would have wanted to be a Downstairs Johnny but I think if I'd been of the landed persuasion I'd have bored myself to death or hit the bottle. Being a woman. The men, of course, could do all kinds of manly things. Mainly involving buggering off together and leaving the women to write letters at home.
Oh yes ladies, never take it all for granted....
