In
great house
A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues 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 ...
s, 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
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* C ...
or
chef
A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...
. Along with the junior kitchen-maid, the scullery maid did not eat at the communal servants' dining hall table, but in the kitchen in order to keep an eye on the food that was still cooking.
Duties of the scullery maid included the most physical and demanding tasks in the
kitchen
A kitchen is a room (architecture), room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...
such as cleaning and scouring the floor, stoves, sinks, pots, and dishes. After scouring the plates in the
scullery, she would leave them on racks to dry. The scullery maid also assisted in cleaning vegetables, plucking fowl, and scaling fish.
''The Book of Household Management''
The duties of the scullery-maid are to assist the cook; to keep the scullery clean, and all the metallic as well as earthenware kitchen utensils.
The position of scullery-maid is not, of course, one of high rank, nor is the payment for her services large. But if she be fortunate enough to have over her a good kitchen-maid and clever cook, she may very soon learn to perform various little duties connected with cooking operations, which may be of considerable service in fitting her for a more responsible place. Now, it will be doubtless thought by the majority of our readers, that the fascinations connected with the position of the scullery-maid, are not so great as to induce many people to leave a comfortable home in order to work in a scullery.
— Mrs. Beeton, '' The Book of Household Management'', published 1861
Additional duties

The scullery maid provided hot water for the
scullery, kitchen tasks, and household. In addition to her other tasks, the scullery maid had to keep the scullery clean by clearing away meat and vegetable garbage, scrubbing work tables, and swilling the floors. The water was carried through a drain outside the house. Scullery maids would rarely have handled fine
china
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, stemware,
crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
or plate
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
; these were cleaned by
housemaids and
footmen. Before the advent of central heating systems, scullery maids were required to light the fires on the kitchen stove and supply hot water for tea and washing. She performed these tasks in the morning before the cook came down to the kitchens.
In a
household
A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
with no
between maid, the scullery maid may also have waited on staff in the
Servants' hall, although this may have been assigned to another maid or a junior footman. In the days before the indoor
water closet she may have been required to empty and clean the servants'
chamber pot
A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets.
Names and etymology
"Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...
s as well.
This work has, in modern (i.e. the nineteenth century) times, primarily been performed by women, but in
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
households female domestics were relatively rare. A male servant performing the tasks described above would be called a scullion. In 1386, when the
English Parliament
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised th ...
requested the removal of certain of
Richard II's ministers, the king infamously responded that he would not dismiss so as much as a scullion from his kitchen at parliament's request.
The root of the word scullery is the 1300–50 French word "escuelerie" (pronounced ''squillerye'' < equivalent to ''escuele'' -dish (< L scutella, dim. of scutra pan) + ''rie'' -ry.
Scullery
reference.com
Fictional scullery maids
Fairy Tales
* The title character of Cap-o'-Rushes
* The title character of Catskin
* The title character of Katie Woodencloak
* The title character of Mossycoat
* The title character of Allerleirauh
* The title character of Donkeyskin
* The title character of Catherine and Her Destiny
* The heroine of The Fish and the Ring
* The title character of Maid Maleen
* The prince of Iron Hans, as a scullion
Other Works
*Becky in the 1905 children's novel '' A Little Princess''.
*Snow White
"Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
in the 1937 film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
''.
*Katerina in the 1938 film '' The Girl Downstairs''.
*Cinderella
"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...
in the 1950 film ''Cinderella
"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...
''.
*Lavinia in the 1970 children's novel '' Thursday's Child''.
*Ruby Finch in the 1971–1975 television series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''.
*Annette in the 1973 novel '' The Princess Bride''.
*Evangeline in the 2005 film ''Nanny McPhee
''Nanny McPhee'' is a 2005 comedy drama fantasy film based on the Nurse Matilda character by Christianna Brand. It was directed by Kirk Jones, coproduced by StudioCanal, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Working Title Films, Three Strange Angels ...
''.
*Lady Tremaine and Drizella in the 2007 film Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
* Daisy Mason in the 2010–2015 television series ''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 ...
''.
*Bridget in the 2016 animated film ''Trolls
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...
''.
*Demelza in the 2015–2019 British television series '' Poldark''.
*Robyn in the 2020 animated film '' Wolfwalkers.''
*Arabella in the 2006 children's novel '' Rebel's Daughter: The 1837 Rebellion Diary of Arabella Stevenson''
*Bridget in the 2022 TV series, '' The Gilded Age''
* Elora Danan in the 2022 TV series, ''Willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
''
See also
* Hall boy
* List of obsolete occupations
References
External links
Daily tasks
according to PBS.
The Book of Household Management
Mrs. Isabella Beeton, originally published in 1861, this web edition published by eBooks@Adelaide, some rights reserved.
Edwardian Life at Hinchingbrooke House: The Servant's Rules
The Olveston Experience: Images of a Scullery
Image of a Scullery Maid With Fish and Fowl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scullery Maid
Scull
Obsolete occupations
Gendered occupations
Dishwashing