The Bute Household

A hand-written schedule of work, presumably made by the housekeeper, for housemaids and stillroom maids of the 4th Marquess of Bute’s household at Mount Stuart House, Isle of Bute. This list probably dates from the 1920’s but the duties are likely to be similar to the routine in the time of the 3rd Marquess between the 1870’s and 1900.

Morning Work

1st housemaid 6.00 a.m. (5.00 a.m. in winter) Sweep and dust her ladyship’s sitting room, drawing room and ante room. Marble staircase washed once a fortnight. Call her ladyship at 8.00 a.m. and all married ladies on gallery. Act as maid to all ladies who do not have one.

2nd housemaid 6.00 a.m. Sweep and dust and clean fireplaces - if there have been any fires - of the three libraries (Blue, Red and Purple), the green staircase and bedroom, the gallery floor and Lord Bute’s sitting room. Also, clean small drawing room.

Call young ladies who are visiting and act as maid to any who do not bring one.

3rd housemaid 6.00 a.m. Sweep and dust marble hall, inner hall, marble chapel and schoolroom, breakfast room, and passage leading from breakfast room, and billiard room. Clean fireplaces if necessary.

4th housemaid 6.00 a.m. Sweep and dust passage from sitting room door, all nursery staircase, two nursery halls and Mr McGregor’s business room. Clean her ladyship’s sitting room grate, also drawing room. Sweep and dust dinning room, clean fireplaces and wash marble fireplaces once a week.

5th housemaid 6.00 a.m. Sweep and dust entrance hall, passage leading past gun room and the gentleman’s lavatory. Call all visiting ladies maids, clean housemaids’ sitting room, and get housemaids’ breakfast for 8 o’clock. Clean telephone room. Clean two sacristy fireplaces following Mass in morning.

(Each house maid cleans her marble overmantles once a week).

After Breakfast

1st, 2nd and 3rd housemaids sweep and dust Lord and Lady Bute’s rooms and gallery bedrooms. 4th housemaid does Lady Mary’s bedroom and helps nursery maids with fires if any. Then goes and works with three housemaids cleaning gallery bedroom grates. Then they proceed to the young ladies’ wing and bachelors’ wing and do the bedrooms there if not occupied. 2nd housemaid sweeps and dusts young ladies’ wing and passage. 3rd housemaid sweeps and dusts bachelors’ wing and passage, and the staircase leading to the billiard room.

Then each housemaid cleans her own copper and brass hot water cans and all copper scuttles belonging to bedrooms and public rooms. 4th and 5th housemaids wash the dusters and rubbers she uses throughout the day.

3rd housemaid cleans serving room and scrubs it out once a week. 1st housemaid thoroughly cleans chapel and sacristy once a week.

5th housemaid sweeps and dusts all visiting ladies maids’ rooms and cleans fireplaces if there have been fires. Also all chapel wing and does valets’ rooms and small chapel and bathroom. Also does housemaids’ tea and washes up, cleans her ladyship’s secretary’s bedroom. Also cleans gun room.

Before Lunch

Housemaids put hot water in their various rooms. When the family and any guests are at lunch housemaids slop all bedrooms and dressing rooms and tidy them – also tidy public rooms. Then they do their own bedrooms. 4th and 5th housemaids scrub all attics and passages, back stairs and housemaids’ pantries and passage leading past housemaids’ sitting room and Mr McGregor’s room once a week, doing a bit each day. After Lunch

When fires are on in winter and housemaids having finished regular work at 4.00 p.m., light bedroom fires, fill coal scuttles from the bunkers on each landing, and take turns going around to keep fires on in bedrooms. Then take hot water around at dressing time for the ladies, close bedroom curtains according to light, and then finish rooms off during dinner.

2nd housemaid cleans brass railing around gallery twice a week. Each housemaid cleans brass work belonging to rooms which she cleans.

Stillroom Maids’ Work

6.30 a.m. 1st stillroom maid (earlier according to visitors) get early morning trays, cut bread and butter for same. Make pats of butter for breakfast. Put china out and bread etc. Bake scones and rolls. Make coffee, toast and porridge for dining room breakfast. Also for schoolroom and nursery. Prepare things for breakfast upstairs.

Bake all cakes, bread etc. for dining room, water biscuits, oatcakes. Put biscuits ready. Make toast and coffee for lunch and also for dinner. Get teas ready and also help wash up the best china.

6.00 a.m. 2nd stillroom maid Clean housekeeper’s room, get breakfast for same, clear away, wash up. Clean stillroom, clean housekeeper’s bedroom, scrub storeroom, linen room and fruit room once a week. Clean stillroom larder, wash out refrigerator every day. Wash up all plates, dishes and cups and saucers for the housekeeper’s room, the steward’s room and all plates and dishes for the nursery and schoolroom.

The above list was recovered from the attics of Castell Coch, Cardiff in April 1997, with other documents and letters dating from the period 1920-1925. They were handed to the Curator of Cardiff Castle by David Sturdy of CADW, and delivered to the Archivist at Mount Stuart House in October 1997.

Although the list was specifically for the rooms at Mount Stuart House the Bute household frequently moved between their various houses. These might include Cardiff Castle, St.John’s Lodge in London, (and later their house in Queen Anne’s Gate), The Old Place at Mochrum, Dumfries House, Falkland Palace, The House of Falkland, 5 Charlotte Square in Edinburgh and “The Battery” on the island of Cumbrae, as well as houses abroad.

Many of the servants accompanied the family, and an entire railway train would take the household and their luggage around the country.

The duties outlined above would not vary much. Whichever house the staff were in. It was guests who made for additional work, but of course, these visitors did tip the servants, so there were some compensations.

Matthew Williams Curator Cardiff Castle

(This is a modified version of the original document).