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Ticknall Life

Community Magazine for Ticknall, South Derbyshire, UK

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Events News:
  • Gresley Male Voice Choir Charity Concert
  • Ticknall Area Events Calendar
  • Ticknall Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
  • T G Geen Pottery with Iain Hambling
  • Guided Ticknall Walks

Author: Karen Kreft

Family History 

Elopement of Thomas Buxton and Elizabeth Hickson

Karen Kreft 1 August 202119 May 2022

Before we get into the details of this elopement, let’s delve into the background of these two ‘love birds’ and try to discover

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Mother and Child.
Hard Times 

Shocking Death of a Baby

Karen Kreft 25 June 202119 May 2022

Following on from my last article about illegitimacy, this piece looks at three cases of illegitimacy within the same family; mother, daughter and

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Hard Times 

A Housekeepers Secret

Karen Kreft 4 June 202119 May 2022

In the course of my research into the servants at Calke Abbey, I have come across numerous cases of illegitimacy. I’m sure we

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Servants 

The Servant Hierarchy

Karen Kreft 11 May 202219 May 2022

In Victorian times, if you chose a life of service you accepted a regular wage, hard work, and a place within a strict

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The hunt at the bottom of the drive. Photo courtesy National Trust
Servants 

The Huntsman

Karen Kreft 12 May 202117 May 2022

Hunting, of course, has been going on since man first walked the earth. It was done by humans for meat, recreation, and to

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Calke Gamekeepers 1886. Courtesy NT.
Family History Hard Times 

A Violent Affray

Karen Kreft 24 July 202118 May 2022

In 1857 in the early hours of Monday 12th January, on a cold, clear moonlit night, the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the

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Photo ©copyright Karen Kreft.
Servants 

The Laundry maid

Karen Kreft 8 May 202117 May 2022

People had very fixed ideas about women who did laundry work. ‘It was a low technology and a low skill activity requiring hard

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Gardener outside the Orangery, Calke Abbey.
Servants 

The Gardener

Karen Kreft 15 April 202117 May 2022

The gardens and landscaping at Calke have changed over the years according to fashion, and the tastes and needs of each Baronet. The

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Servants 

The Nanny and the Nursemaid

Karen Kreft 25 March 202117 May 2022

‘Caring for the heir and the spare.’ In well-heeled families with small children, a nanny or nurse was an essential employee. It was

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James Willder, House Steward 1897 to 1914
Servants 

The Land Agent & House Steward

Karen Kreft 11 February 202117 May 2022

Houses and estates the size of Calke needed a lot of managing by someone with skills way beyond that of the owners. The

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Carriage and pair at Calke Abbey
Servants 

The Coachman

Karen Kreft 10 February 202117 May 2022

Up until the early years of the 20th Century, the only way to travel for an upper middle class or upper-class family was

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Calke Gamekeepers 1886. Courtesy NT.
Servants 

The Gamekeeper

Karen Kreft 20 January 202117 May 2022

Gamekeepers have been needed ever since hunting for sport became popular. To begin with, it was all about poaching. For example, Henry VIII

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Servants 

The Groom

Karen Kreft 1 January 202117 May 2022

The stables and stable staff at Calke have always been an important part of the Estate. Not only because before combustion engines, horses

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Servants 

The Housemaid – the Invisible Servant

Karen Kreft 20 December 202017 May 2022

The Housemaid was ‘a foot soldier in the Victorian household’s constant war against grime.’[1] It tended to be a tough physical job more

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The old stillroom, Calke Abbey
Servants 

The Stillroom Maid

Karen Kreft 26 November 202018 May 2022

The Stillroom in a large country house gets its name from its original use as a place where medicines and scents were distilled.[1]

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Servants 

The Footman

Karen Kreft 16 November 202017 May 2022

The peacocks among domestics, footmen were blatantly employed for their good looks and suave manners. It even went so far as you received

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Emma Gitton
Servants 

The Ladies Maid

Karen Kreft 30 October 202017 May 2022

The mistress of any large, wealthy household needed to maintain an immaculate appearance and she needed help to do this.[1] For a start,

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Servants 

The Cook

Karen Kreft 8 October 202017 May 2022

Of all the servants in a household such as Calke, the Cook was the one that needed to be kept sweet. ‘Acquiring, accommodating

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The Governess, 1844, by Richard Redgrave.
Servants 

The Governess

Karen Kreft 18 September 202017 May 2022

The Governess was almost always a well-educated, middle-class young lady. I would stick my neck out here and say that almost no middle-class

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Servants 

The Housekeeper

Karen Kreft 4 September 202017 May 2022

If the Butler was the outward sign of a house organised and well run, the Housekeeper was the engine who kept everything running.

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William Sutton
William Sutton
Servants 

The Butler

Karen Kreft 20 August 202017 May 2022

Becoming a Butler was the pinnacle of a man’s career in service. Generally, it was the highest-paid role (although Calke demonstrates that was

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Calke Abbey servants, 1910. Image courtesy National Trust.
Servants 

The Lives of the Servants

Karen Kreft 22 July 202018 May 2022

Why is it that we are so interested in the lives of servants? Quite a high percentage of visitors to Calke Abbey have

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