The Victorian Servant Whose Diaries Revealed The Reality Of Domestic Service

The Victorian Servant Whose Diaries Revealed The Reality Of Domestic Service

I have recently  been writing about Nella Last and Mass Observation during World War Two. This made me want to find out about other diarists through history that give us a greater insight into everyday life. Today I want to talk about a woman whose story completely changed the way many historians understand domestic servants in Victorian Britain.

 Her name was Hannah Cullwick, and through her diaries and personal writings she gave us an unusually honest account of what servant life was like in the Victorian age. What really stuck out to me was how exhausting, lonely, and emotionally complicated it was, even though servants were everywhere in Victorian society.

Hannah Cullwick was born in 1833, into a working-class family. Like many girls from struggling families during the nineteenth century, she had very little choice in her future. Britain during the Victorian period was changing rapidly because of industrialisation, but for many poor women the safest way to earn regular wages was through domestic service. Hannah was only about eight years old when she began working as a servant.

Domestic servants were everywhere in Victorian Britain. Wealthier households relied on maids, cooks, nursemaids, laundry workers, and housekeepers to keep their homes running smoothly. But despite how essential they were, many servants often lived almost invisible lives. They often worked from before dawn until late in the night. They scrubbed floors, blackened stoves, carried heavy water buckets, washed clothes, lit fires, emptied chamber pots, and prepared food. Their work was physically exhausting and they had very little privacy or freedom. Hannah’s diaries show us just how tiring domestic life could be. She often described sore hands, aching bodies, dirt, sweat, and the constant work.

One thing I didn’t realise was how strongly Victorian society judged servants. Employers expected obedience, respectability, and silence. A servant’s behaviour reflected on the household, so many women lived under strict rules and constant supervision. Hannah seemed very aware of the class divide between servants and employers. She understood that many wealthy people viewed servants as socially inferior, even while relying completely on them.

In the 1850s Hannah met Arthur Munby, a wealthy barrister and writer who became fascinated by working-class women and female labourers. Their relationship was unusual and secretive. Munby admired Hannah’s strength and hard work. Hannah sometimes appeared proud of her servant life. But the relationship was unequal because of the enormous class difference between them. They secretly married in 1873, although the marriage was hidden from most people because Munby was worried there would be a  social scandal. Even after they got married, Hannah often continued to work as a servant.

What makes Hannah Cullwick’s story so important is that she left us her own words. So many Victorian servants were never able to record their feelings or experiences, but Hannah did. Through her diaries we can take a small glimpse into  the reality of domestic service. Many women took pride in the hard work, but they were also exhausted. They experienced humiliation, isolation, and frustration. Many servants spent their entire lives caring for other people’s homes but they had very little security or independence of their own.

When I read about Hannah, I cannot help but wonder how many other servants silently carried the same burdens without having their stories told.

 Do you think that Victorian society appreciated the people that kept their households functioning?