Tranby House Staff & Servants

Staff and Servants

Tranby House needed a good number of servants to keep it running smoothly. Census returns for the house from 1841 to 1911 show that in 1841 there were 15 servants; in 1851 there were only four servants recorded; in 1861 seven servants were there, in 1871 eight; in 1881 nine, in 1891 seven, in 1901 twelve and in 1911 ten. Among the posts recorded are butler, cook, governess, housekeeper, various types of maids, coachmen, laundresses, footmen, nurses, and grooms. These were the servants who lived in and there would have been others, such as gardeners, who attended on a daily basis.

Among the more notable servants named is Amelia S Coxhead, governess to the children of Henry and Catherine in 1871 and 1881, and recorded again as a visitor in 1891. This entry shows that there was some upward social mobility in the late Victoria era. Amelia was evidently a valued servant and was bequeathed the sum of £60 per annum in Henry Barkworth’s will, to be paid in half yearly instalments.

Rose Roper had joined the staff by 1901 as a lady’s maid to Catherine and, later, Evelyn. Rose became housekeeper on the death of Evelyn and remained at Tranby House until the death of Algernon Barkworth in 1945. She was probably the longest serving member of the household staff recorded.

John Henry Welton joined the staff before the First World War and resumed duties after being invalided out of the army due to gassing in 1918. He became butler to Algernon Barkworth and was renowned for his fastidious approach to his work and to maintaining the etiquette of the house.