The Victorian Charwoman: The Hard-Working Women Who Kept
Victorian Homes Running
Today I want to explore the life of the Victorian charwoman.
She was one of the many working women whose contribution was often overlooked.
When we talk about Victorian servants, we usually imagine large country house,
like Downton Abbey with butlers, cooks, housekeepers, and maids. But that wasn’t
the full picture, thousands of poorer women earned a living as charwomen. They moved
from house to house and carried out some of the hardest domestic work.
The word "charwoman" comes from the word
"chare," which means a small job or task. Unlike the live-in servants
charwomen were usually employed by the
day and often paid by the hour. Many of them came from working-class families
and they often took on this work because they had very few other options. Some
of them were widows who now needed to support themselves. Others had husbands but
the wages were too low to support a family, some were single women responsible
for elderly relatives or young children.
As Victorian towns and cities began expanding in the
nineteenth century, the demand for domestic help increased. Middle-class
families wanted help with household chores but could not always afford a
full-time servant. The growing middle class usually saw domestic servants as a
sign of respectability and success.
Hiring a charwoman for a few hours a week was a cheaper
option. This also created an opportunity for women who were willing to take on
the physically demanding work.
A typical day would often begin very early. She might need to
walk a fair distance to get to her first employer. She had to walk regardless
of the weather. Once she arrived, she would often be expected to scrub floors,
clean fireplaces, carry coal, wash laundry, polish furniture, clean windows, or
do any other unpleasant task that the family asked you to do. An awful lot of
the work involved bending, lifting, carrying, and standing for long periods of
time. Working conditions that would not be accepted by modern standards.
Many charwomen worked in several different homes each week.
This could give them some independence because they were not tied to a single
employer. But the work was usually insecure. If a family decided they didn’t
need their help anymore or they wanted to save money, a charwoman could lose some
of her precious income. Also if she became unwell and could not work, she
usually would not be paid. There were not the protections we have today.
While some employers treated their charwomen with kindness
and respect, others barely noticed them. Victorian society placed great
importance on social class, and many working women found themselves judged
because they were poor. In spite of this, many charwomen took pride in their
work. They felt that their cleaning skills were valued, and many had
long-standing relationships with the families they worked for.
For many women, charing offered a way to maintain a measure
of independence at a time when employment opportunities for working-class women
were limited. The wages were not amazing and the hours were very long, but the
work helped many of them survive.
It is easy to focus on the wealthy families and grand
houses. But Victorian society depended on ordinary women doing difficult job
with determination and resilience.
Could you have coped with the long hours and physical
demands faced by a Victorian charwoman?
No comments:
Post a Comment