I’m not a camper, so the concept of doing more than roasting marshmallows over an open flame is too complicated for me to fathom. I am sure for many of my readers, rustic styles of cooking are not a mind-boggling challenge. Even so, could you bake a cake without the ability to regulate heat with a… Continue Reading
To fully comprehend the duties of the servants within the kitchen rooms of a Regency Era household, it is helpful to understand kitchen architecture and technology of the equipment available. It is a complex issue impossible to cover completely in one essay. Instead, I’ll give a nutshell synopsis with images for visual enhancement. Kitchen… Continue Reading
Four down and several more to come! Thus far I’ve written about the valet, steward, lady’s maid, butler and housekeeper, and the footmen and household maids. There are still a few inside, domestic servants to cover, but if you missed the previous essays, the links are below. Servants & Staff at a Country Estate: An… Continue Reading
Halloween is not a favorite holiday for me, not by a long shot. In fact, it is at the end of the holiday list we pay attention to. The only reason I do look forward to this season is for the fun of pumpkin spice and autumn changes. Here in Kentucky, the seasonal colors are… Continue Reading
The concept of an all-purpose, at your fingertips device or container, is instantly comprehensible to our modern mindset. Whether a purse or handbag, the not-so-popular as it once was fanny-pack, a briefcase, backpacks, or simply deep pockets in one’s garments, the desire for a secure place on one’s person to stow essential items are universal.… Continue Reading
In July of 2011, I shared a link to an article in the Sheffield Telegraph titled: Christine’s Glimpse into Running a Stately Home. My Scottish pal May had sent me the link to the online article, and I did share it here on my blog way back then. This week’s focus on an English manor’s… Continue Reading
Moving on in the series covering the many people who kept a massive country estate running efficiently, time for the fourth installment. To read the previous three essays, the links are below– Servants & Staff at a Country Estate: An Overview Domestic Servants Who Weren’t Actually Servants The Butler and The Male Staff. Much Needed… Continue Reading
The best place to begin this informative essay is answering the baseline question: What is a ceramic? Ceramics are classified as inorganic and non-metallic solids which permanently change when heated. The resulting products have a range of useful properties, including extraordinary hardness and strength, extremely high melting points, and good electrical and thermal insulation. Ceramics are… Continue Reading
Placing a covering of some sort over a floor or other indoor walking surface probably originated with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The desire for a barrier for additional warmth from the cold ground and comfort for the feet is instinctual, our earliest ancestors most likely using strewn plant materials and animal skins prior to perfecting… Continue Reading
Moving on in the series covering the many people who kept a massive country estate running efficiently, time for the third installment. To read the previous two essays, the links are below– Servants & Staff at a Country Estate: An Overview Domestic Servants Who Weren’t Actually Servants For several more segments, I’ll remain within… Continue Reading
Keeping with the theme this week of personal care, I decided to dust off and update a previous article focusing on the bathroom. Whether calling it the bathroom, powder room, dressing room, toilet, or any other acceptable term or slang, houses even in the bygone days before indoor plumbing included a room (or rooms) for… Continue Reading
In my blog post on Tuesday, I established that our ancestors were not as filthy and smelly as often claimed. Long before the Regency, bathing (even showering) was a way of life. If you missed that post, be sure to read it too! Today I shall dig deeper into bathing and personal hygiene practices and… Continue Reading
Yesterday’s blog post in my Regency Servants series focused on the valet and lady’s maid. Amongst the numerous duties they performed, cleanliness of the gentleman and lady whom they served topped the list. With this in mind, I will be posting this week on various hygiene-related topics. To begin, let’s discuss bathing history and habits… Continue Reading
Last Monday I began this series of blog essays with Servants & Staff at a Country Estate: An Overview. Click the link to read that post as an introduction. For the next several Mondays I will be covering those staff members who performed their duties largely within the walls of the manor house. Also referred… Continue Reading
Those of us who love the Regency Era and devour novels by Austen, Heyer, and contemporary authors within the genre are familiar with the famous London hot spots. We have joined our heroines at balls held at Almack’s Assembly, eavesdropped on manly conversation over a game of faro or poker at White’s and Brook’s gentlemen’s clubs,… Continue Reading
