Life in the Irish 'Big Houses'

When there was a big dinner on, Mr. Ball, the groom chamber, three footmen, under butler, John Kerins and I, all waited. I was the only one not in full dress. The full dress livery had dark blue coat, red vest, red plush breeches, white stockings, and shoes with buckles. The footmen wore white thick cotton gloves at all times for dinner. The same number of men waited lunch if the house was full. Groom chambers and two footmen waited breakfast. There was no china washed up in the pantry. This was done by the stillroom maids. They also put breakfast and tea things ready for footmen to carry upstairs. They made all the different fancy breads as well as all the household bread.
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The kitchen staff consisted of cook, pastry cook, kitchen maid, scullery maid and help when required. Kitchen boys whose duties were to light all fires, clean out ashes, scour all coppers, all cooking was done on coppers. Look after two boilers, one in top scullery and one in bottom scullery. From these boilers all the hot water for baths, washing up, etc came. Pump water to tanks on roof from well in scullery. The cook was a Frenchman called Friburg. He was fond of whiskey, and engaged George Grigg’s horse and cart to take him to Sligo one or two days in the week. George was known as the bleeder in those days. Bleeding and leeches were a cure for all diseases. George was supposed to be a clever cow doctor or quack, and also helped all people who asked his services. He lived in Munnianane. He was a nice kindly old man. They sat in a public house in Sligo till it was time for Friburg to see about dinner. There was such a great number of servants in the house and stables and guests andcallers, it took a great quantity of meat to supply all. It was more like a hotel. There was a sheep killed every day. A beast every two weeks. They killed and saved their own bacon. Most of the game from shooting parties was consumed in the house. There was none sold. What could be spared was given as presents.

There was a great quantity of fowl, turkeys, geese and ducks eggs used. Mrs. Ball, the house steward’s wife, had charge of the fowl. She had a man and woman to help. Mrs Ball lived at Fairy Mount. There were several houses erected for the different breeds of fowl. There was a man, Pat Hack, came to the house each day for orders. If they came short of fowl or eggs, the man Hack went to the villages and purchased what was required. When I think back on what Lissadell was then, it would take volumes to describe. I forgot to mention there were no ranges in the kitchen, open fire place. There was a large iron screen in front of fire for heating dishes. The roasting of joints etc was done by a clockwork spit. There were two charcoal fires and what was called a plot plate, which is still there. There was a game larder in the yard. At one time they brewed their own beer and ale in one of the cellars in the yard.

There was beer served out to all the servants, both men and women, several times a day, at 11.00 a.m. dinner hour, 7.00 p.m. and again at supper. One pint each at the different hours. The room servants got ale, the groom chambers served ale, the under butler the beer. There came a cartload of beer and ale two days a week from Charles Anderson’s brewery, Sligo. Visiting servants, callers, keepers etc etc helped to drink part of this. Steward room servants had the same food as was served in the dining room. After coming from the dining room it was put on clean dishes, but not on silver ones, as the dining room. The steward’s room boy was in livery. He brought each course and cleared away. There was a bell outside the room with bell pull inside. He laid the dinner and supper table. The second stillroom maid laid the breakfast and tea table. The boy valeted the steward. He also laid the servants hall table for all meals, cleaned room and hall knives, polished the ladies maids boots. All ladies maids of the house, visiting maids, also had to dress with fairly low neck dresses. Valets had to appear in evening clothes. If you did not carry out all of those rules, your time would not be a pleasant one. Steward and housekeeper would make it very uncomfortable for you. At night there was whiskey and wines served. Usually, there was a small dance in the servant’s hall once or twice a week or three or four hours. They were allowed beer and a bottle of whiskey for punch. There was an old fiddler gave them music.