The homes of the very rich usually had a large number of servants. Less well-off middle class households had a maid of all work, or sometimes a maid of all work and cook!
Maid of all work did all the housework. It was an extremely hard life and it is not surprising that many women preferred factory work to this (domestic service work).
The maid of all work had virtually no social life, as they were always “on - call” at all hours of the day and the evening.
Often their employers could only afford a servant which meant that their wages and accommodation were low and poor.
Servants and maids were often treated badly and some were even physically beaten.
They worked from late nights and early hours, had continual fatigue and hurry, and they were even more anxiety about the future from the smallness of their wages.
Maids all of work worked until they dropped!
Their prospect was no other than to “Do Housework!”. They were constantly tired, not only mentally but physically too!
They worked long hard hours, usually from 5am in the morning, after going to bed late at approximately a few hours after midnight.
Many preferred the jobs of:
A board school mistress, post office clerk, typewriteress, shop – girl or working in a factory. Anything other than domestic service!
The maid off all work did:
- All the cleaning
- All the shopping
- All of the cooking
- All of the clearing up
- And other more simple jobs such as:
- Lighting the kitchen fire, emptying soot, sweeping and dusting the rooms and the hall, laying the cloths for breakfast, washing up the breakfast dishes, cleaning the silver, cleaning the knives, get dinner ready, clear everything away, clear the kitchen up, clean it, unpack the hamper, prepare the food, clean the floors on your knees, polish boots, clean the pavements outside the house, after tea clear away, wash up dishes, clean the pantry, scrub the tables, clean the flags round the house, polish the window sills, get tea for the masters, clean the privy and passage and scullery floor, wash the doors, clean the sinks down, get supper ready.. and the list goes on, on and on!
This was all exhausting and extremely stressful!