A great house is a large house or

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

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 Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

Edwardian era In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

in the United Kingdom and the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

in the United States.

Definition

There is no precise definition of "great house", and the understanding varies among countries. In England, while most villages would have had 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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

since

time immemorial Time immemorial () is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition, indefinitely ancient, "ancient beyond memory or record". The phrase is used in legally significant contexts as well as in common parlance. ...

, originally home of the

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

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

English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire 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 Townhou ...

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

landed property In real estate, a landed property or landed estate is a property that generates income for the owner (typically a member of the gentry) without the owner having to do the actual work of the estate. In medieval Western Europe, there were two compe ...

Stately home 300px, Oxfordshire.html" ;"title="Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire">Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire 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 To ...

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

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

, not the

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

. Many mansions were demolished in the 20th century, since families that had previously split their time between their country house and their

town house A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residen ...

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 is preserved as 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 variety of ...

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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

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

family seat A family seat, 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 t ...

. 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 State rel ...

ascendancy. In the United States, great houses can be found on streets known informally as "

millionaires' mile The Millionaires' Mile, Millionaires' Row, Billionaires' Row, Golden Mile or Alpha Street are the exclusive residential neighborhoods of various cities, often along one scenic strip such as a riverside or hilltop drive, or a wide city boulevard. ...

" (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 ...

. 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 is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

s, probably most familiar to people today through television dramas such as ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

''. As in the past, today's great houses are limited to

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

, 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 International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

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 administers 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 A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...

(Gentleman's gentleman) For the lady of the house: *

Companion Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

Lady's maid A lady's maid is a female personal attendant who waits on her female employer. The role of a lady's maid is similar to that of a gentleman's valet. Description Traditionally, the lady's maid was not as high-ranking as a lady's companion, who wa ...

For the children: *

Governess A governess is 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; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

Nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

Tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

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 a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

Junior household staff

Sources: *

Footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

Hall boy In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

* Useful man (also called ''houseman'') *

Boot boy A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cl ...

Maid A maid, 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 a ...

(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.Pierce, John Alexander. The Masterpieces of Modern Drama: Abridged in Narrative Fo ...

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

Chambermaid A maid, 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 a ...

Housemaid A maid, 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 a ...

** Kitchen maid **

Laundress A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant, who helps with handling wa ...

Nursemaid A nursemaid (or nursery maid) is a mostly historical term for a female domestic worker who cares for children within a large household. The term implies that she is an assistant to an older and more experienced employee, a role usually known as ...

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

Still room maid The still-room maid is a female servant who works in the still room, a functional room in a great house. She made preserves, including pickled eggs and vegetables, dried fruit, dried herbs and flowers, spice preparations, chutneys, marmalades, and ...

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

Seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes 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. Notable d ...

Grounds staff

property manager A property manager or estate manager is a person or firm charged with operating a real estate property for a fee. The property may be individual title owned or owned under the sectional title, share block company owned, and may be registered for ...

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

Gardener 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 ...

s *

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 United States Department o ...

s * Stablehands *

Handyman A handyman, also known as a fixer, handyperson or handyworker, maintenance worker, maintenance man, repairman, repair worker, or repair technician, is a person who is knowledgeable in skills such as basic carpentry, plumbing, minor electrical w ...

Notable great houses

Belcourt Castle Belcourt is a former summer cottage designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Construction was begun in 1891 and completed in 1894, and it was intended to ...

Boldt Castle Boldt Castle is a major landmark and tourist attraction in the Thousand Islands region of the U.S. state of New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most p ...

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

The Breakers The Breakers is a Gilded Age mansion located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, US. It was built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. The 70-room mans ...

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 senior (Exeter) branch of the Cecil family and is Grade ...

Castle Howard Castle Howard is an English country house in Henderskelfe, North Yorkshire, north of York. A private residence, it has been the home of the Earl of Carlisle, Carlisle branch of the House of Howard, Howard family for more than 300 years. Castle ...

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 centu ...

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 fir ...

* The Elms *

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a Grade I listed English country house, country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean architecture, Jacobean hous ...

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 arc ...

* Hillwood *

Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century English country house, country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation), Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of ...

* Hyde Park * The Great House at Leyton * James J. Hill House * Lyndhurst *

Mansion House, London The Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. It is a Grade I listed building. Designed by George Dance in the Palladian style, it was built primarily in the 1740s. The Mansion House is used for some of the City o ...

Marble House Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion located at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was built from 1888 to 1892 as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style ...

Moore Hall, County Mayo Moore Hall, 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, Ireland in a karst limestone landscape. Named for the Irish landed gentry family who buil ...

* Moszna *

Rosecliff Rosecliff is a Gilded Age mansion of Newport, Rhode Island, now open to the public as a historic house museum. The house has also been known as the Hermann Oelrichs House or the J. Edgar Monroe House. It was built 1898–1902 by Theresa Fair O ...

* 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 had b ...

* Westbury House *

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

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'' * ''

'', ITV television series filmed at

Highclere Castle Highclere Castle is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in ...

, a real-life great house * ''

The Edwardian Country House ''The Edwardian Country House'' is a British historical reenactment reality television miniseries produced by Channel 4. First aired weekly in the UK beginning in April 2002, it was later broadcast in the United States on PBS stations as ''Man ...

'' * '' ''The Gilded Age'' * ''

Gosford Park ''Gosford Park'' is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film, which is influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic '' The Rules of the Game'', follows a party of wealthy Brito ...

'' * ''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 29 December 1988 and 24 April 1993 on the BBC. The show was set in the house of an aristocratic fa ...

Notes

External links

The Domestic Staff Citizen
{{Room, great, state=collapsed Domestic work House styles House types