Bridlington's Sewerby Hall to host new Downton Abbey style exhibition about old servants

Opening on Saturday July 22, the exhibition will focus on staff employed both above and below stairs at Sewerby Hall itself.

‘In Service’ starts in the Victorian era, and explores the enormous gulf between the landed gentry and the urban poor.

One of the few things preventing many from enduring a life in poverty was a life in service.

However, the servants were segregated, and the rich were served by the have-nots. Everybody in the hierarchy knew their place, in a uniquely British structure.

The exhibition looks closely at the lives of Mary Henderson, the housekeeper and cook for the Lloyd Greames at Sewerby Hall for nearly 40 years, as well as the lives and times of lady’s maids, footmen, coachmen, and even the hall’s shepherd.

Janice Smith, curator at Sewerby Hall, said: “I hope our visitors will find this a fascinating insight into a way of life which has long gone.

“For anyone who has ever watched ‘Downton Abbey’ or ‘Upstairs Downstairs’, this exhibition will add a great deal of background to what you have seen. And of course there is a lot of local interest, too, as we look at the lives of staff who were employed right here at Sewerby Hall.”

The exhibition looks at their strict uniforms and codes of behaviour, their 17-hour days, and poor rates of pay. Children as young as 12 were hall boys or scullery maids. Even at mealtimes, there were strict rules – when the butler placed his knife and fork on the plate, everyone at the table had to stop eating, whether they had finished or not.

The exhibition starts on Saturday July 22 and will run until 10 September.

visit www.sewerbyhall.co.uk for more information.

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