Staying at Traquair in the 1920's

Notes recently discovered on household routines at Traquair 1920’s and 30’s thought to be by Claire Maxwell Stuart who often visited as a child during this time.

Transcribed from the original notes:

Bells

These must have been in hall – but the family were not great ringers of bells. I don’t remember them being used.

The dressing bell was always rung ½ hour (?) before dinner, for dinner the gong was rung – and for breakfast and lunch. The old butler – Shea – who was actually retired and lived in the cottage by the garden door – used to come in and “help” and always rang the gong to the rhythm of tune – which I cant remember, but it started off like the first 4 lines of “pop goes the weasel”  Shea’s wife had been Grandmamas’s maid – maiden name – Jane Gloinson (?)

At dusk, “flat” candles were put on the table outside the High drawing room one for each person.

Tea was in the low drawing room – except – I think but am not sure – if there were very “smart” visitors when it would be in the High drawing room.

9am

Breakfast was a big meal: always porridge and boiled eggs in the silver stand. Then probably fried eggs, bacon, always a Scarthingwell ham (ie. grown and cured there) perhaps a ham or pork pie, homemade of course, and toast etc

1pm Lunch. 2 courses, cheese and  The “lunch cake” . I forget what people drank except that Arthur[i] always had a glass of Marsala.

4.30pm Tea in the low drawing room was bread, butter, jam and a selection of cakes.

 7.30pm Dinner when there was a shooting party staying in the house was quite formal. Everyone assembled in the High drawing room, and presumably  from its foot of the stairs! – processed two by two to the dining room. When there was a formal dinner – silver candlesticks, finger bowls, flowers (Alice always did the flowers) the lades left the room first and possibly had their coffee upstairs – the men followed later after their port. 

In those days – children did not appear at dinner – so, I never was there, but used sometimes to watch from the back stairs the procession going in.

Oh, grapes for dessert were from Clovenfords, And delicious ices were made in an ice machine which you probably still have – with ice from the fishmonger and salt.

The routine “below stairs” was just as formal – all staff except the kitchen who had their meals in the kitchen, had their first course in the Servants Hall, There the housekeeper butler, lady’s maid if there was one staying, would adjourn to the housekeepers room for their pudding. This was a leftover from the days when only  “upper” servants had pudding!

Washing was done in the wash house below the croquet ground and hung out on the green there. Then it was brought back in those big wicker laundry  baskets, wheeled on a sort of flat barrow by Joe Flanagan to the laundry above the Chapel where the ironing was done.

There was always one laundry maid, one year there were two. I cannot remember if Temporary help was provided if the full time laundry maid was single handed.

[i] Arthur Constable Maxwell Stuart – 18^th Laird 1921 – 1942