Great house
Encyclopedia
- For the novel by Nicole Krauss, see Great HouseGreat House (novel)Great House is the third novel by the American writer Nicole Krauss, published on October 12, 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company. Early versions of the first chapter were published in Harper's , Best American Short Stories 2008, and The New Yorker...
. For the architecture of great houses, see MansionMansionA mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
. For the great house masonry pueblos, see Chaco Culture National Historical ParkChaco Culture National Historical ParkChaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash...
.
A great house is a large and stately residence
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
; the term encompasses different styles of dwelling in different countries. The name refers to the makeup of the household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
rather than to any particular architectural style. It particularly refers to large households of times past in Anglophone countries (especially those of the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), such as the English country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
, the "stately homes of England
Stately home
A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...
" and the homes of various "millionaires' row" (or "millionaires' mile
Millionaires' Mile
Millionaires' Mile also written Millionaire's Mile and sometimes called Millionaires' Row is an informal name given to exclusive residential neighborhoods of various cities, often along one scenic strip such as a riverside or hilltop drive, or a wide city boulevard...
") in some U.S. cities such as Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. By some reports, the summer homes of the wealthy at Newport averaged four servants per family member. There was often an elaborate hierarchy among staff, domestic worker
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
s in particular. In Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the term big house is usual for the houses of the Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
ascendancy
Protestant Ascendancy
The Protestant Ascendancy, usually known in Ireland simply as the Ascendancy, is a phrase used when referring to the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland by a minority of great landowners, Protestant clergy, and professionals, all members of the Established Church during the 17th...
.
It was considered declassé to refer to one's own townhouse
Townhouse
A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...
s, estates
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
or villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
s (or those of friends) as mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
s and modern etiquette books still advise that the terms house, big house or great house be used instead.
As in the past, today's great houses are limited to heads of state, the very rich, or those who have inherited them; few in the developed world are staffed at the level of past centuries. The International Guild of Butlers estimates that the annual salaries of a 20-25 person household staff total in excess of US$1,000,000.
In countries with supplies of cheap domestic labour, the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
es are still able to afford household help, but not approaching the numbers involved in the running of a great house.
Management
On large estates or in families with more than one residence, there may be a steward (or the modern equivalent, an estate manager) who oversees direction of the entire establishment. Today, it is not uncommon for a couple to split the duties of management between them.Household staff
Practices vary depending on the size of the household and the preference of the employers, but in general the staff is divided into departments run by the:| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Butler Butler A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its... |
the head of household staff in most homes; in charge of the pantry, wine cellar and dining room. In a small house the butler also valet Valet Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men... s for the master Master (form of address) Master is an archaic masculine title or form of address in English.- In English and Welsh society :Master was used in England for men of some rank, especially "free masters" of a trade guild and by any manual worker or servant employee to his employer , but also generally by those lower in status... of the house. Male staff report to him. The butler is often engaged by the master of the house but usually reports to the lady Lady The word lady is a polite term for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to, or spouse of, a lord or gentleman, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman... of the house or sometimes to the housekeeper. |
| Cook Cook (servant) A cook is a household staff member responsible for food preparation. The term can refer to the head of kitchen staff in a great house or to the cook-housekeeper, a far less prestigious position involving more physical labour.... |
in charge of the kitchen and kitchen staff. Sometimes a chef Chef A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ... is employed with several subordinate cooks. The cook usually reports directly to the lady of the house but sometimes to the housekeeper. |
| Housekeeper | responsible for the house and its appearance; in charge of all female servants. In grand homes the butler and cook sometimes report to the housekeeper. |
Support household staff
- ChauffeurChauffeurA chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...
- CompanionLady's companionA lady's companion was a woman of genteel birth who acted as a paid companion for women of rank or wealth. The term was in use in the United Kingdom from at least the 18th century to the mid 20th century. It was related to the position of lady-in-waiting, which by the 19th century was only applied...
- GovernessGovernessA governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
- Lady's maidLady's maidA lady's maid is a female personal attendant who waits on the lady of the house. The position is very similar to a gentleman's valet. Traditionally, in eras past, the lady's maid was not as high-ranking as a lady's companion, who was a retainer rather than a servant, but the rewards included room...
- NannyNannyA nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
- TutorTutorA tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
- ValetValetValet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
(Gentleman's gentleman)
Junior household staff
- FootmenFootmanA footman is a male servant, notably as domestic staff.-Word history:The name derives from the attendants who ran beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats, many of whom were chosen for their physical attributes. They ran alongside the coach to make sure it was not overturned by such obstacles...
- Between maidBetween maidA between maid is a female junior servant in a large household with many staff...
s (also called Hall girl particularly in the US) - Hall boyHall boyThe hall boy or hallboy was the lowest ranked male servant on the staff of a great house. Usually a boy or young teenager, his name derived from the fact that his main duties were in the servants' hall, where he may also have slept....
- MaidMaidA maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
s- chambermaids
- housemaids
- parlourmaids
- kitchen maidKitchen maid-Great house kitchen maid:A kitchen maid is a young maid, or junior female servant. In the hierarchy of a great house she ranked below a cook and above a scullery maid...
s - laundryLaundryLaundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
maids - nursery maid
- scullery maidScullery maidIn great houses, scullery maids were the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female servants and acted as assistant to a kitchen maid. The scullery maid reported to the cook or chef...
s - still room maidStill room maidThe still-room maid is a female servant who works in the still room, the functional room in a great house in which drinks and jams are made. The still-room maid is a junior servant, and as a member of the between staff has the unenviable position of reporting to both the housekeeper and the cook,...
s
- PagePage (servant)A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
- Seamstress
- Useful ManUseful manA useful man or houseman is a male servant ranking below a footman but above a hall boy.Unlike the footman, the useful man never enters the dining room or waits personally on the master of the house. The term houseman should be distinguished from houseboy - a male servant of lower rank.See also:...
also called houseman
Grounds staff
An Estate Manager may have charge of the maintenance and care of the grounds, landscaping, and outbuildings (pool, cabana, stables, greenhouse etc.) which is divided into departments run by the:| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Head Gardener Head gardener The head gardener or as a Master Gardener is an individual who manages the staff of a large garden, landscape or park, such as a residential garden, botanical garden, theme park, public park, museum or roadside embankments and islands.... |
responsible for the grounds around the house; in charge of any additional gardeners or seasonal men and women brought in at times of harvest or planting. |
| Stable Master Stable Master A Stable Master or Head Groom is the manager in charge of a stable.At large horse establishments there may be several grooms under the management of the stable master.... |
various titles used for the individual responsible for the keeping of animals, particularly those used for recreational pursuits such as horseback riding, fox hunting Fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current... or dog fancy Dog Fancy Dog Fancy is a monthly magazine dedicated to dogs, owners of dogs, and breeders of dogs. It was founded in 1970 and is described by its publishing company BowTie Inc. as world’s most widely read dog magazine. BowTie Inc. also publishes its sister magazine Dog World and Cat Fancy for cats and their... . |
| Stud Master | |
| Master of the Horse Master of the Horse The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :... |
|
| Master of the Hounds | |
| Gamekeeper Gamekeeper A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.Typically, a gamekeeper is... |
Support grounds staff
- Gardeners
- Groundskeepers
- Stablehands
- HandymanHandymanA handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet...
Depictions of great houses
The complex hierarchy of a staff in a great house has been portrayed in several notable productions for filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. Among these are:
- Backstairs at the White House (miniseries)Backstairs at the White House (miniseries)Backstairs at the White House is a 1979 NBC television miniseries based on the book My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lillian Rogers Parks...
- Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
- Downton AbbeyDownton AbbeyDownton Abbey is a British television period drama series, produced by NBC Universal-owned British media company Carnival Films for the ITV network. The series is set during the late Edwardian era and the First World War on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, and features an...
- The Edwardian Country HouseThe Edwardian Country HouseThe Edwardian Country House was an acclaimed British mini-series in the reality television genre, produced by Channel 4. It was first aired in the UK in April, 2002 and was later broadcast in the U.S. on various PBS stations in 2003 as Manor House, where extra footage was added...
- Gosford ParkGosford ParkGosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
- Mansfield ParkMansfield Park (film)Mansfield Park is a 1999 British romantic comedy-drama film loosely based on Jane Austen's novel of the same name, written and directed by Patricia Rozema. The film differs sharply from the original novel in many respects. For example, the life of Jane Austen is incorporated into the film and the...
- The Remains of the Day (film)The Remains of the Day (film)The Remains of the Day is a 1993 Merchant Ivory film adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, Mike Nichols and John Calley. It starred Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton with James Fox,...
- Servants (BBC television series)
- Sense and Sensibility (film)
- Upstairs, DownstairsUpstairs, DownstairsUpstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
- You Rang, M'Lord?You Rang, M'Lord?You Rang M'Lord? is a British television series written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi! It was broadcast between 1990 and 1993 on the BBC...
- Conrad's FateConrad's FateConrad's Fate is a novel by Diana Wynne Jones published in 2005. It is the fifth book of the Chrestomanci series. It tells the story of Conrad Tesdinic, a boy from Series Seven who is sent on a mission to fix his bad karma.-Plot summary:...
- Stallery Mansion is a Great House with over a thousand servants.
Notable great houses
- Belcourt CastleBelcourt CastleBelcourt Castle is the former summer cottage of Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Begun in 1891 and completed in 1894, it was intended to be used for only six to eight weeks of the year...
- Biltmore EstateBiltmore EstateBiltmore House is a Châteauesque-styled mansion near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It is the largest privately-owned home in the United States, at and featuring 250 rooms...
- The BreakersThe BreakersThe Breakers is a Vanderbilt mansion located on Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a National Historic Landmark, a contributing property to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, and is owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport...
- Eaton Hall (Cheshire)Eaton Hall (Cheshire)Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is set within a large estate south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England . The house is surrounded by formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers an area of about .The first substantial house was...
- The ElmsThe Elms (mansion)The Elms is a large mansion, or "summer cottage", located at 367 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, in the United States. The Elms was designed by architect Horace Trumbauer for the coal baron Edward Julius Berwind, and was completed in 1901. Its design was copied from the Château d'Asnières...
- Hatfield HouseHatfield HouseHatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...
- Hearst CastleHearst CastleHearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to...
- Holkham HallHolkham HallHolkham Hall is an eighteenth-century country house located adjacent to the village of Holkham, on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk...
- Hyde ParkVanderbilt Mansion National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, located in Hyde Park, New York, is one of America's premier examples of the country palaces built by wealthy industrialists during the Gilded Age....
- Lyndhurst
- Mansion House, LondonMansion House, LondonMansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London in London, England. It is used for some of the City of London's official functions, including an annual dinner, hosted by the Lord Mayor, at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer customarily gives a speech – his...
- Marble HouseMarble HouseMarble House is one of the Gilded Age mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, now open to the public as a museum. It was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, and said to be inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles . Grounds were designed by noted landscape architect Ernest W...
- Moore Hall, County MayoMoore Hall, County MayoMoore Hall, or Moorehall, the house and estate of George Henry Moore and family, is situated in the barony of Carra, County Mayo in a karst limestone landscape. The Moores were an aristocratic Irish family who built Moore Hall between 1792 and 1795. The first Moore of Moore Hall was George Moore,...
- Moszna
- RosecliffRosecliffRosecliff, built 1898-1902, is one of the Gilded Age mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, now open to the public as a museum.The house has also been known as the Herman Oelrichs House or the J. Edgar Monroe House....
- Rose HallRose Hall, Montego BayRose Hall is a Georgian mansion in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The most famous occupant of the house was Annie Palmer, the White Witch.-Description:...
- Syon HouseSyon HouseSyon House, with its 200-acre park, is situated in west London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence...
- Westbury HouseOld Westbury GardensOld Westbury Gardens is the former estate of John Shaffer Phipps , heir to a U.S. Steel fortune, in Nassau County, New York. It has been open to the public for tours since 1959....
- White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...