Upstairs, downstairs: The life of a British maid - Stephanie Honchell Smith

During the Victorian (1837–1901) and Edwardian (1901-1910) periods, British society became increasingly hierarchical, with more and more rigid boundaries dictating everyday interactions between those of differing social classes. At the same time, a rising middle class aspired to the outward symbols of wealth and respectability, which included employing domestic servants to carry out a variety of tasks, including laundry, cooking, and cleaning. The wealthier the family, the more domestic staff they could employ, both to work inside of the house and outside, such as in the stables or to oversee the often-extensive grounds. Aristocratic households like this have been popular in the media through shows like Downton Abbey, though these depictions are not always historically accurate.

While Wroxton Abbey is a real English estate in Oxfordshire, the Ashby-Blythe family and Alice Sutton are fictionalized composites, drawing on multiple different individuals from the period. Wroxton Abbey was the home of the North family until 1932 and a photo of its domestic staff from the early 20th century can be seen here. It was purchased in 1964 by Fairleigh Dickinson University (USA), who continues to own and operate it as a study abroad campus – Wroxton College – for its students.

The Ashby-Blythe family is loosely based on the family of Sir John Dickson-Poynder, who lived in Wiltshire and whose daughter, Joan’s, childhood memories are recalled in the book Edwardian Childhoods by Thea Thompson.

Details on the lives of women like Alice are available in the books Servants by Lucy Lethbridge and Life Below Stairs by Alison Mulroney. Information on the suffrage movement and the inclusion of working-class women like Alice in it can be found here and here.