Reply to Downton Abbey 2/16 thread *Spoilers*

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anna was the maid for all the daughters before Mary got married.

Whatever happened to the Abbey having actual maid staff?  All of the downstairs characters are fairly elite service staff (butler, housekeeper, ladies' maids, valets, footmen, etc.) - what about the people who wash the dishes and do the laundry and empty the chamber pots and clean the fireplaces?  In Season 1, Daisy was a "house maid" and had tasks like that (and wasn't allowed in rooms at the same time as upstairs residents), but then she got promoted to the kitchen and we haven't seen real service staff since. [/quote]

There's background staff, but you just don't get to meet them. Look closely, you'll see under-maids, hall boys, etc.

At dinner, the lower servants don't get to have their dinner at the same time as the upper servants.

Also -- Thomas has been referring to layoffs, etc. Domestic servant numbers were declining steadily from the pre-war period through the 20s and 30s, what with all the labor-saving devices, the financial crises hitting the great houses, and competent domestic staff starting to work in the factories, etc. Of course the Depression will put a stake through the heart of most great houses. [/quote]

Even though this is true, the Downton staff is bloated and doesn't show housemaids etc. and in the past everyone took their meals at the same time.  The writers just weren't thinking logistically.

Thank you 15:24!  I brought this point up before on a previous DA thread.  It just really bugs me.  I know the real DA is in incredible disrepair as are many historical houses like it b/c cost wise it's incredibly expensive to keep up.  Maid service and household repairs definitely went by the wayside as time marched on, but no way in reality would you have 2 or 3 staff just to serve dinner and not have a scullery maid or two![/quote]

Repeat after me:  it's a TV show.

I read an interview with Julian Fellowews where he indicated that they are very aware that they aren't showing the full number of staff that would be at a house the size of Downtown.  But it's just not logistically possible to have that many actors inthe time allowed, plus it makes it just too complicated for viewers to keep up with.  [/quote]

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