The Footman
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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Family History
The Ladies Maid
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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The Governess
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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The Housekeeper
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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The Butler
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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The Servant Hierarchy
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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Who lived at Calke Abbey?
Who lived at Calke Abbey? Were they Harpurs, Crewes, or Harpur-Crewes? The truth is, they all did. Over almost 500 years, from 1622
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Calke Abbey, Tale of Ten Baronets
Just like many large houses in England, one family governed the lives of the residents in that house, and often that of the
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The Lives of the Servants
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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Henry Harpur, First Baronet of Calke Abbey
Henry Harpur was born in 1579, the third son of Sir John Harpur and his wife Isabella Pierpont, at Swarkestone Hall. Henry was
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Genealogy – Local Resources
I have collected a considerable amount of local source material which may be useful to anyone engaged in genealogical research. The following records
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Winnie and Bertie – The True Story
Winifred Harpur Crewe, always known as Winnie, was born into a privileged life in 1879. The second daughter of Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe,
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Clock Restoration, St George’s Church Ticknall
The clock was made by John Whitehurst Senior (1766-1834) of Derby – a notable clockmaker – in 1813. Our clock is a particularly rare
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Delilah (Dellie) Boswell
Delilah (known as Dellie) Boswell was born in Wheldon, Northants, in 1800, a member of the well-known Boswell gypsy family. The family were
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The Melbourne Dexters
William Dexter was born in 1818 in Melbourne, Derbyshire, to parents William Bull Dexter of Shepshed and Jane Smedley of Melbourne. William and
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John and Rosemary at the National Arboretum
The 2016 Annual General Meeting of the Neptune Association was held at the National Arboretum at Alrewas. Captain Craig Mearns from the Clyde
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Dexters, ducks and a drowning!
It’s surprising what you can find out from the comfort of an armchair. All manner of weird and wonderful stories can be found
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From Toronto to Ticknall for Janes ancestry
Canadians Jane Roberts and husband Malcolm are in Ticknall exploring the places where Janes ancestors lived and worked in the days when beer,
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Dexters Next Door?
Might you still have Dexters in your midst in the lanes of Ticknall? The last Dexters to live in Ticknall (or rather the
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The Family Dexter
The Dexter family were in Ticknall from at least the early years of the 18th century. This same family is now spread across
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Sgt John Smith VC
John Smith, the son of a shoemaker, was born in Ticknall in 1814, and lived in a cottage between 57 and 69 Ashby
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