This post deals with some of Marlow's most hardworking former residents, the servants. In particular we will be looking at how they got their jobs.
For those employed at a farm, the early Marlow Fair was a traditional hiring opportunity. (Primarily in the pre Victorian era) The first day was used as a hiring fair. Although mainly used to recruit the likes of carters, ploughman, dairy maids and agricultural labourers, I have found references to indoor staff like general servants at a farmhouse gaining employment at this time. Those seeking employment often carried a symbol of their trade, such a tool, to speed the recruitment process.
Another traditional place to find staff was to apply to the vicar who would be reasonably likely to know of a youngster from a "respectable" family who was available to hire. Others placed adverts in local or even London papers laying down their requirements. Sometimes the adverts are strangely specific such as requiring a housemaid aged between 45-55 years of age. Preferences for protestant or church going servants were not uncommonly stated. The requests could be placed on the Victorian era at the local newspaper agents such Smith & Co in the High Street, or bookseller George Cannon. As time went on it was more common for staff without positions or seeking new ones to advertise their own availability. They often asked replies to their posts to be sent care of one of the stationers or other shops. Best not to let an employer whom you still lived with that you were planning to seek new pastures!
Shops were the usual given place of contact for those advertising or seeking positions in the pre Victorian era too. For example drapers and bankers Messrs Wilkinson and Borroughs can frequently be found fulfilling this role in the 1790s. One such especially detailed advertisment for a cook in 1795 is fairly representative. It asks for a healthy, clean and good tempered lady between 30 and 40 years of age who crucially has had smallpox already (and was therefore hopefully immune from getting it again). This cook would have control of all downstairs and would have the assistance of a combined kitchen and dairy maid. She must have experience and knowledge of general cooking and pastry making, pickling and preserving in particular. The lady would need a good character from her previous position of course. (An "undeniable character" as they express it. The term unexceptional character was even more popular meaning the same thing.)
Miss Hurrell's Servant Registry Office
Evidence suggests that several shopkeepers were running de facto recruitment agencies. But from the late Victorian period, both employers and employees could take advantage of Miss Eliza Hurrells official Servant Agency. Eliza was born in Surrey in the early 1840s but she joined family in Maidenhead by 1871. She likely worked as a servant as a young women in common with most of those running a servants bureau Otherwise she appears as a dressmaker at first. By 1881 she had moved to West Street, Marlow with her brother Robert, a journeyman printer. At this time she had begun to recruit servants on the behalf of others if she had not done so before. "Miss Hurrell's Registry Office" began to feature regularly in the small ads and trade directories. At this time servants' registry offices had a somewhat mixed reputation. They were convenient but were accused of profiteering by charging fees to both servants for being put on the books and potential employers for having a servant placed with them. Others thought that they encouraged staff to believe it was so easy to get another position they needn't stick at any job, so they would constantly chop and change employers. Worse accusations were made of the larger registry offices who sometimes provided accomodation to women between positions, with over priced lodging fees charged for crowded and unpleasant rooms. Eliza was not one of these establishments and as she remained in business for many years, she presumably satisfied both parties well enough.
In early 1891 Eliza became the third wife of farmer Emmanuel Plumridge*. Emmanuel actually fulfilled many roles and has featured in our blog often before. Use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu to find every mention of him here. After her marriage Eliza placed a number of adverts alerting the ladies of Marlow and district of her change of name. These adverts also say that "owing to the scarcity of servants with good characters" she had been unable to supply servants to all those who had applied to her. Which is a neat way of saying that she only supplied those with the best of references. She would nevertheless endeavour to continue to place "good servants in good positions." Those seeking work through Eliza were expected to attend her office every day to hear of new opportunities. The office was then in Spittal Street, where the Plumridges had a little shop. Most provincial servants' registry offices seem to have been within shops ran by the person placing servants rather than stand alone businesses. Eliza would interview both staff and employees to find out their needs, probably in her own living room.
Adverts were also placed by Eliza on behalf of staff seeking new roles. For example in 1885 she was seeking positions for a 21 year old general servant who was a "dissenter and total abstainer" with good cooking skills. Adverts requiring an applicant to follow a particular branch of the Christian religion or to be a regular church goer were not uncommon then. Otherwise a "strong and active" woman with good character was looking to be employed as a kitchen-maid, while an experienced 23 year old wanted a position as a plain cook. (Everyday cooking, not just the preparation of toast and gruel!) She was placing servants not just in Marlow, but in and around Maidenhead, Windsor, Surrey and London. They were almost entirely in domestic roles but she did place at least one young woman as a servant in a small private temperance hotel in London - an ideal and allegedly comfortable situation for "respectable girls" according to Eliza.
You may think that Eliza's experience with finding trustworthy staff would prevent the family suffering their own domestic troubles. Unfortunately within a year of their marriage, Emanuel Plumridge had need to prosecute a former employee for embezzlement. He sold milk from his farm, and hired James Faulkner to deliver it and take payments. Unfortunately James ran off with the takings and was not tracked down for nearly a year. On arrest he confessed immediately and was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment with hard labour.
In the later Edwardian era when Eliza Hurrell had passed away, the chief servant registry in town belonged to the Smith family, of Rose Villa, Beaumont Rise and Beaufort Cottage. Mrs Smith advertised for servants needed over a fairly wide area including Wycombe, Oxford and Maidenhead as well as sometimes further away such as London or Brighton. The ads tend to be short of detail, and certainly rarely mention pay or conditions. Mrs Smith was also busy arranging the letting of accomodation in Marlow for "the river season".
The shop in blue was one of probably two Spittal Street locations used by Miss Hurrell's Servant Registry Office. It was used for similar purposes by Mrs Norcott many years later. Eliza was a member of the Wesleyan church just up the road in Spittal Street.
*Emanuel/Emmanuel Plumridge was one of Marlow's most hard working individuals himself. Born in Lewkner in c1832. His first wife was Ann Cross ( married 1853), his second Hannah Turner (married 1873). For much of his life he worked as a ganger on the railways first for the Great Marlow Railway Co, later for Great Western. He later became a farmer, milk seller, haulage and cartage contractor (on his death William Dean took this over), house agent, shop keeper, hurdle maker and council contractor for various rubbish clearance projects. He died 1897 and is buried in Lane End churchyard. Eliza outlived him by several years and continued to place servants after his death. At first he farmed at various places that had been part of the former common fields, in particular what was known as Field Farm (later the site of Captain Marshalls Menagerie and the home known as The Eyrie, later Gossmore House). Later he was at Copy Green Farm.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
Further Information:
To find other posts linked to specific occupations, see the index here
To find all mentions of any individual or family here, see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. As of March 2023 there were over 6,000 historic Marlow residents mentioned there with many more to come.
SOURCES
Kellys Directory of Buckinghamshire 1883 (Kelly's Directories Ltd)
Census information from the transcripts of Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day.
South Bucks Standard 1 May 1891, 10 May 1895, 17 September 1897, 28 October 1897, 4 June 1909 (British Library Archives)
Reading Mercury 08 October 1892 as above.
The Solicitors Journal and Reporter 1895, digitised by Google.
The London Gazette, 1895 collected edition.
Servants, Employers, and Registry Offices by "W.M" 1865. No publisher listed.
Social Notes Concerning Social Reforms, Social Requirements & Social Progress (Simpkin, Marshall & Co, 1878)
Report from The Royal Commission on Labour, Sessional papers - (HMSO 1894)
The Servants Magazine or Female Domestics Instructor (1848)
Half Hour in a Servants Registry Office - Anon, as included within Wonderful London: It's Lights and Shadows of Humour and Sadness (Tinsley Bros 1878)
Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy by Webster T Parkes (Longman, Brown & Green 1852).
Maidenhead Advertiser 1885.
Reading Mercury 11 January 1796. This from the British Library Archive, BNA
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