Great house

Great house

:"For the architecture of great houses, see Mansion. For the great house masonry pueblos, see Chaco Culture National Historical Park".

A great house is a large and stately residence; the term encompasses different styles of dwelling in different countries. The name refers to the makeup of the household rather than to any particular architectural style. It particularly refers to large households of times past in Anglophone countries (especially those of the turn of the 20th Century, i. e. the late Victorian or Edwardian ages in the United Kingdom and the Gilded Age in the United States), such as the English country house, the "stately homes of England" and the homes of various "millionaires' row" (or "millionaires' mile") in some U.S. cities such as Newport, Rhode Island with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. By some reports, the summer homes of the wealthy at Newport averaged four servants per family member. There was often an elaborate hierarchy among staff, domestic workers in particular. In Ireland, the term big house is usual for the houses of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy. []

It was considered declassé to refer to one's own townhouses, estates or villas (or those of friends) as mansions and modern etiquette books still advise that the terms house, big house or great house be used instead.

As in the past, today's great houses are limited to heads of state, the very rich, or those who have inherited them; few in the developed world are staffed at the level of past centuries. The International Guild of Butlers estimates that the annual salaries of a 20-25 person household staff total in excess of US$1,000,000.

In countries with supplies of cheap domestic labour, the middle classes are still able to afford household help, but not approaching the numbers involved in the running of a great house.

Management

On large estates or in families with more than one residence, there may be a steward (or the modern equivalent, an estate manager) who oversees direction of the entire establishment. Today, it is not uncommon for a couple to split the duties of management between them.

Household staff

Practices vary depending on the size of the household and the preference of the employers, but in general the staff is divided into departments run by the:

upport staff

*Chauffeur
*Companion
**(Lady's Companion)
*Governess
*Lady's maid
*Nanny
*Tutor
*Valet (Gentleman's gentleman)

Junior staff

* Footmen
* Between maids (also called Hall girl particularly in the US)
* Hall boy
* Maids
**chambermaids
**housemaids
**parlourmaids
**kitchen maids
**laundry maids
**nursery maid
**scullery maids
**still room maids
* Page
* Seamstress
* Useful Man also called "houseman"

Grounds staff

An Estate Manager may have charge of the maintenance and care of the grounds, landscaping, and outbuildings (pool, cabana, stables, greenhouse etc.) which is divided into departments run by the:

upport staff

*Gardeners
*Groundskeepers
*Stablehands
*Handyman

Depictions of great houses

The complex hierarchy of a staff in a great house has been portrayed in several notable productions for film and television. Among these are:

*"Backstairs at the White House (miniseries)"
*"The Edwardian Country House"
*"Gosford Park"
*"The Remains of the Day (film)"
*"Servants (BBC television series)"
*"Sense and Sensibility (film)"
*"Upstairs, Downstairs"
*"You Rang, M'Lord?"

Notable great houses

*Buckingham Palace
*Eaton Hall (Cheshire)
*Hatfield House
*Holkham Hall
*Mansion House, London
*Syon House
*White House
*The Breakers
*Marble House
*The Elms
*Rosecliff
*Hyde Park
*Biltmore Estate
*Westbury House

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Great House at Sonning — The Great House at Sonning is a hotel and restaurant with a riverside garden on the Thames near Sonning Bridge at Sonning, Berkshire, England. It is possible for patrons to moor along the towpath running past the hotel on the river.It was… …   Wikipedia

  • great house — noun Date: 1633 the main house of an estate or plantation …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • great house — noun chiefly Brit & South : the main house of an estate or plantation …   Useful english dictionary

  • Great House —    The hall of the Master of Lake town, in which Thorin and Company were welcomed by the people of Lake town, but which was later destroyed by Smaug when he descended on that township …   J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth glossary

  • Cheshunt Great House — Cheshunt Great House …   Wikipedia

  • Anguilla Great House Beach Resort — (Лонг Бей Виллидж,Ангилья) Категория отеля: 3 звездочный отель Адрес …   Каталог отелей

  • Tamarind Great House — (Oracabessa,Ямайка) Категория отеля: 3 звездочный отель Адрес: Crescent Estate …   Каталог отелей

  • FLH - Great House With Pool I Caxias — (Caxias,Португалия) Категория отеля: Адрес: Rua Afonso de Albu …   Каталог отелей

  • The Great House Inn — (Белиз Сити,Белиз) Категория отеля: 4 звездочный отель Адрес: 13 Cork Street, N/A Белиз Си …   Каталог отелей

  • Hospedaria The Great House — (Рио де Жанейро,Бразилия) Категория отеля: Адрес: Rua do Catete, 247 cas …   Каталог отелей

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”