Below Stairs
At the beginning of the 19th century large houses had many servants, enormous and ingenious efforts of building and design were employed to keep staff out of sight. A common solution was to bury them under the building, Nowhere is this more evident than at Castle Coole in Northern Ireland where the entire servant's quarters were put underground into cellars, lit only by windows at the bottom of grated pits. Kitchens, servant dormitories, larders, wine-cellars, laundry, a brewery and other offices were all located down here, the only means of approach to the main house was through a single tunnel,
( thanks to Jeff Wharton for photo of cleaning ladies, background photo from my own collection ) ( Castle Coole owned and administered by the National Trust )
Below Stairs
At the beginning of the 19th century large houses had many servants, enormous and ingenious efforts of building and design were employed to keep staff out of sight. A common solution was to bury them under the building, Nowhere is this more evident than at Castle Coole in Northern Ireland where the entire servant's quarters were put underground into cellars, lit only by windows at the bottom of grated pits. Kitchens, servant dormitories, larders, wine-cellars, laundry, a brewery and other offices were all located down here, the only means of approach to the main house was through a single tunnel,
( thanks to Jeff Wharton for photo of cleaning ladies, background photo from my own collection ) ( Castle Coole owned and administered by the National Trust )