A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great

retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', ...

s of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or

Edwardian era The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Vic ...

in the United Kingdom and the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...

in the United States.

Definition

There is no precise definition of "great house", and the understanding of varies between countries. In England, while most villages would have a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

since time immemorial, originally home of the

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

and sometimes referred to as "the big house", not all would have anything as lavish as a traditional

English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

, one of the traditional markers of an established "county" family that derived at least a part of its income from landed property.

Stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

s, even rarer and more expensive, were associated with the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

, not the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

. Many mansions were demolished in the 20th century; families that had previously split their time between their country house and their town house found the maintenance of both too expensive. Many properties are now open to the public as

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

s, either run by their ancestral owners on a commercial basis, or having been given to

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

or similar organisations. Others operate as hotels and wedding venues. Some still serve as the

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...

. In Ireland, the term big house is usual for the houses of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

ascendancy. In the United States, great houses can be found on streets known informally as " millionaires' mile" (or "row") in certain cities. In Jamaica, "great house" is the standard term for the house at the centre of plantation life, what in the United States is called a

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

. One commonality between countries is that the family occupying the great house were outnumbered, often greatly so, by their staff. There was often an elaborate hierarchy among

domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

s, probably most familiar to people today through television dramas such as '' Downton Abbey''. As in the past, today's great houses are limited to

heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

, the very rich, or those who have inherited them; few in the developed world are staffed at the level of past centuries. Nowadays, 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.

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. The head of the household is not the butler, but the house manager. An estate manager manages more than one property, and usually has financial and managerial background. 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 following staff:

Support household staff

Sources: For the master of the house: * Valet (Gentleman's gentleman) For the lady of the house: * Companion * Lady's maid For the children: *

Governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...

* Nanny *

Tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...

For needs of the household: *

Chauffeur A 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 often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to special ...

Junior household staff

Sources: * Footman * Hall boy * Useful Man (also called ''houseman'') *

Boot boy A boot boy, often simply boots, was an English household servant. Usually a boy or young teenager, the boots was the lowest-ranking male servant; his main job was to clean, polish and care for the household members' boots and shoes, although he m ...

Maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

(see Types of maid) ** Between staff or

Between maid A between maid (nickname tweeny, also called hall girl particularly in the United States) was a female junior domestic worker in a large household with many staff. The position became largely defunct in the 20th century, as few households needed ...

s (also called Hall girl, particularly in the US) **

Chambermaid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

Housemaid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maid ...

** Kitchen maid ** Laundry maid ** Nursemaid ** Parlourmaid **

Scullery maid In great houses, scullery maids were the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female domestic servants and acted as assistant to a kitchen maid. Description The scullery maid reported (through the kitchen maid) to the cook or chef. Al ...

** Still room maid * Page *

Seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Not ...

Grounds staff

estate manager A property manager or estate manager is a person or firm charged with operating a real estate property for a fee when the owner is unable to attend to such details personally or is not interested in doing so. The property may be individual title o ...

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:

Support grounds staff

Gardeners A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

Groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

s * Stablehands * Handyman

Notable great houses

* Belcourt Castle * Boldt Castle *

Biltmore Estate Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 a ...

* The Breakers *

Burghley House Burghley House () is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, built and still lived in by the Cecil family. The exterior largely retains its Elizabet ...

Cheshunt Great House Cheshunt Great House was a manor house in the town of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England, near to Waltham Abbey. It is said to have been built by Henry VIII of England for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The family seat of the Shaw family for over a cent ...

Eaton Hall (Cheshire) Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about . The f ...

* The Elms * Hatfield House *

Hearst Castle Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada ( Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his arch ...

* Hillwood *

Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the 1st Earl of Leicester,The Earldom of Leicester has been, to date, created seven times. Thomas ...

* Hyde Park * The Great House at Leyton * Lyndhurst * Mansion House, London * Marble House *

Moore Hall, County Mayo Moore Hall, or Moorehall, the house and estate of George Henry Moore and family, is situated to the south of the village Carnacon in the barony of Carra, County Mayo in a karst limestone landscape. Named for the aristocratic Irish family who ...

* Moszna * Rosecliff * Rose Hall *

Syon House Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The family's traditional central London residence h ...

* Westbury House *

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

* Woburn Abbey

Depictions of great houses

The complex hierarchy of a staff in a great house has been portrayed in several notable productions for film and television. Among these are: * ''Backstairs at the White House'' * ''Brideshead Revisited'' * '' Downton Abbey'', ITV television series filmed at Highclere Castle, a real-life Great House * '' The Edwardian Country House'' * '' ''The Gilded Age'' * '' Gosford Park'' * ''Rebecca'' * ''The Remains of the Day'' * ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' * ''

You Rang, M'Lord? ''You Rang, M'Lord?'' is a BBC television sitcom written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of ''Dad's Army''. It was broadcast between 1990 and 1993 on the BBC (although there had earlier been a pilot episode in 1988). The show was s ...

Notes

External links

The Domestic Staff Citizen
{{Room, great, state=collapsed Domestic work House styles House types Dwellings of the Pueblo peoples