Author: Andrew Bradstreet
Directions: Head up the narrow servants’ staircase and follow the corridor round to the Maid’s Room.
Transcript
Benjamin: Firstly, may I welcome you to my Butler’s Pantry . My name is Mr. Benjamin Beesley and I am the Butler here at Preston Manor. I work for Mrs. Eleanor MacDonald who owns the house and I understand from her that you wish to know my duties. This is the room where the most valuable household dining and serving ware is kept under lock and key by me, hence the bars on the window. It is primarily used for storing the family silver, numerous sets of China, table linens, crystal, large serving dishes like platters, wine glasses, candles, and other such items for the dining room.
My real duties, of course, though, are primarily connected with the vast cellar beneath us; the nature and quality of wines and spirits, and the management of the same. For, if you were not aware, the word ‘butler’ originates from ‘bottler’: ‘one who has to do with bottles.’ I pride myself with being fully competent, if called upon to do so, to advise my employer as to the price and quality of any wine which they may wish to stock.
I am the most senior member of the staff here so the other servants refer to me for instructions and will defer to my authority. I can, of course, also transact business for my employer such as pay wages and bills etc. etc.
I am expected to serve at breakfast with one or more footmen to assist me, luncheon, where I generally wait alone, before again attending to the family at dinner. It is I who place all ornaments, including the silverware, upon the table. I remove all covers, and hand everything to the assembled company and it is I who decide what glass and China shall be used. When the meals are over, it is my business to remove the China and silver for cleansing. I will also ensure that I have personally ironed the newspapers to ensure the ink on them is dry and does not stain the hands of my mistress.
You might have noticed the bed in the room. My duties usually occupy me right up until late in the evening, so the bed is here should I need it, even though my wife and I live just over the road in Preston Village.
Before resting myself, I count over and lock all the plate. I shut all the outer doors and windows, and make sure that the fires are in a safe condition.
Moreover, throughout the day, I also answer the front doorbell to all carriage-folk; ‘gentle-folk’, understandably, are taken straight to the drawing room; ‘persons’ wait in the hall. Naturally, I always bring my mistress all messages, cards, and letters received in the house. You’ll notice I can look from the window down here to see who is at the door.
Oh there’s actually someone there now. Do please excuse me whilst I answer it.
Narrator: Mr. Benjamin Beesley continued to be butler until Eleanor MacDonald’s death in 1903. Then he became employed as a butler in Norwich and, later, with his wife, set up a boarding house in the 1920s. He earnt £60 a year at Preston Manor which would be approximately £7,700 today.