Servants: The True Story of Life Below Stairs



History Documentary hosted by Pamela Cox, published by BBC in 2012 - English narration







Information

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Hidden away below stairs an army of people were once the vital cogs that kept the homes of the wealthy running smoothly. For little reward these men and women toiled from before dawn until after dusk.

A century ago, 1.5 million British people worked as servants - astonishingly, more than worked in factories or farms. But while servants are often portrayed as characters in period dramas, the real stories of Britain's servants have largely been forgotten.

From Upstairs, Downstairs to Gosford Park and Downton Abbey, TV dramas and films have made us care about the characters below stairs. Domestic service was Britain's biggest employer a century ago, but how have things changed over the years?

Presented by social historian Dr Pamela Cox - herself the great-granddaughter of servants - this three-part series uncovers the reality of servants' lives from the Victorian era through to the Second World War.



Betty TV Ltd Production for BBC





3)  No Going Back

Dr Pamela Cox explores how the 20th century dealt a hammer blow to domestic service as we knew it. It's the story of how - the moment they had a choice - servants left domestic service, leaving the master servant relationship spiralling into decline. The Great War dealt the first blow, as menservants enlisted and women stepped in to fill their roles, both in stately homes and factories. Having had a taste of better working conditions, women were reluctant to return to service, with its hated, now old-fashioned starched cap and apron. Mistresses tried to tempt women back with prettier uniforms and even a Masters & Servants' Ball. Yet radical change came from suburban housewives in a new type of house springing up in the 1930s: the semi-detached home. Here new 'daily' servants used novel technologies like the vacuum cleaner - but still had to use the outside toilet. Women after World War II opted for jobs in offices, shops and the new NHS. Finally typists and clerks overtook servants as the largest category of female employment and servants' quarters in stately homes were transformed into visitor attractions. Today, the rich still have staff and many of the middle classes now rely on cleaners and nannies, but the 'servant class' has long since disappeared.



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Technical Specs

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Video Codec: x264 CABAC [email protected]

Video Bitrate: CRF 21/ 2 292 Kbps

Video Resolution: 1280x720

Video Aspect Ratio: 16:9

Frames Per Second: 25.000 fps

Audio Codec: AC3

Audio Bitrate: 192 kb/s CBR 48000 Hz

Audio Streams: 2

Audio Languages: english

RunTime Per Part: 59 min

Number Of Parts: 3

Part Size: 905 MB - 1.22 GB

Source: HDTV

Capper: FTP



Links

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Source: http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Servants:_The_True_Story_of_Life_Below_Stairs