Footmen in Townhouses

Upstart Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 31

I'm guessing that wealthy men have footmen in their london townhouses. So would these footmen be standing by study room doors...dining room doors, and etc., to announce the name of whoever was to enter? Like, would a footman be next to the door of a breakfast parlor to announce a lady to whoever was already in that room?

Basically, when do footmen announce people, and when not?>

Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 6:25 pm Post subject:

Junehur,

From all that I have read (and I'm nowhere NEAR as smart as Candice) I don't think footman do announce people. I thought that the butler did that. The butler answers the door, takes the card and then ascertains if the master/mistress is home. The footman open doors but I think they are mainly decorative. That's why one reads all the time about the "oh-so handsome footman". Wink

Just my two pence but I hope it helps a bit. Very Happy

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:08 am Post subject:

In a large house, ie one of those grand palatial town houses, there might be footmen stationed outside a room that was being used. The butler would announce guests, as he would be more likely to escort the guest to the room. As Octavia said, the footmen could be somewhat decorative, but only in a huge house with sevants to spare. In most houses, if a footman was stationed outside a room it was likely to have him handy if trays were being brought in for tea, etc.

In a less grand home, a footman or housemaid might answer the door, then escort the guest in and announce them. It's only the really grand, huge houses or estates where the roles of servants were more regulated and very specific. In most homes, even the homes of the very well-to-do, footmen were busy fellows and would unlikely be spared to stand guard at a room, unless his services were specifically required.

Watch the movie Gosford Park. It's set in the 1920s, but the roles of the servants would not have chnaged that much. It shows the roles of each servant very clearly. You do not see footmen stationed at the doors of a room, but inside the room if drinks were being served etc. They had assignments and were not purely decoarative,
_________________

Upstart Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 31

Oh, I see. Thank you so much for the clarification! And I think I wll go watch Gosford Park