We don't know whether maids found the Hopkinson house too much of a hard place because of the amount of work expected from them. We can't tell from the letters or the censuses who they were or how long they stayed – except in the case of Annie Prosser, who came to the family in 1884 when Mary Hopkinson was running a smaller, older household with a kindly efficiency. Annie, who was three years younger than Mary, had been in her Sunday School class and she stayed with Mary for years.
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| Mary Hopkinson in 1902 |
Mary clearly had the gift of friendship and loyalty. In 1939, when she was 82 and living at 'The Firs' in Bowdon in Cheshire, her elderly household consisted of herself, 79 year old Annie (incapacitated, but still in charge of the kitchen), and 64 year old Julia Berry, who had been working for Mary since at least 1921 as house parlourmaid and was now helping out in the house unpaid, together with Julia's incapacitated husband Frederick.
At Mary's 90th birthday, she wrote to Gerald Hurst, "my faithful old Annie" was brought to the house by car from her retirement home so they could have tea together. When Annie died in 1948, the notice in the Manchester Evening News read
She faithfully served the Hopkinson family for many years and continued with Miss Mary Hopkinson, The Firs, Bowdon, as dear friend and helper. Deeply mourned by her Nephews, Brothers, and Sisters.
We can't say whether Alice had the same gift of keeping her staff's loyalty. The Hopkinsons, especially at the beginning, were employing young women, under 25 and often in their teens. They were always likely to move on or get married. The maids can't be easily tracked or even distinguished from each other as the letters always refer to them by Christian name only. Some aren't mentioned in the letters or censuses at all. We have no idea, for example, of the identity of the nurse that Alfred described when he wrote that he was "a very young child when an elderly nurse who belonged to the sect of the Plymouth Brethren first made her appearance looking excessively solemn and gloomy". [1]
But there are some interesting points.
On 3 March 1854, when Alice was in the early weeks of expecting her fourth baby (though she very probably didn't yet know it), she was in Skipton and she was engaging a new nurse. She wrote to John
Baby's nurse will only bring her baby; she is obliged to leave her little girl in the work house as they will allow her nothing. I was sorry for the poor woman this afternoon; she finds that the woman she is lodging with here is a bad character. This she was told at the board, and at the same time taunted with her own past misconduct. I did feel for her. God is indeed more merciful than our fellow men [2]
She was taking on a woman who probably had one or two illegitimate children and whose little daughter was in the workhouse. It seems the Board would not give an allowance for the child to be boarded out of the workhouse, presumably with the Hopkinsons. It's true that this is a cheap hire, but Alice's sympathy is very real.
And we do know more about the women who worked for the family in 1861 and 1862.
On 7 April 1861 John and Alice were living at 12 York Place and there were three servants living in the house: Mary A Smith, aged 24 from Darlington, was the cook; Emma Wood, aged 24 from Manchester, was the housemaid; and Anne Cookson, aged 23 from Blakeley in Lancashire, was the nurse.
A month earlier, on 11 March 1861, Alice had written to a friend
Our three servants are all members of the Church; two of them are really conscientious Christians. The nurse exerts a good influence over the children [3].
But she didn't always get on with Anne (often called Annie) Cookson the nurse. On 3 July 1862 she wrote from Skipton, where she had taken the new baby and 4 year old Mary, to John, who was in London with John and Alfred. Anne was in Manchester with the other four children
I have good accounts of the home children. In writing to Anne I told her we would give her £11 next year and received a reply in which ignorance, impudence and self conceit pointed every sentence. My indignation towered high. Her aim is not to give up her place but to get £12 by some means or other. I have not particularly liked any of the girl's letters; they are somewhat presumptuous in tone
Later she wrote
I had a long letter from Anne this morning the result of a repentant spirit. [4]
Anne stayed on because she did not want to leave the children. John's notebook shows that she went on the family seaside holiday a few weeks later, together with Emma Wood as cook and Alice's "mother's help" Maria Neild.[5] Anne seems to have stayed on for several more years, and it seems likely that Alice is complaining about Anne Cookson in letters from 1865 and 1866. On 16 March 1865 she wrote
Anne does not seem disposed to make any great effort to relieve me; she is not in her most agreeable mood [6]
And on 7 July 1866
this is one of her disagreeable days. [7]
But in 1867 when two year old May was ill, fractious and difficult, Alice had to admit Anne's skill and good qualities
Annie is very patient and nice with her. I do admire and respect her in her vocation, but do not enjoy companionship with her. [8]
Was Alice expecting too much and too low a wage from her servants? In March 1872 when she was trying to find servants, John wrote to her from Stockport
Mr Barton was quite interested in your want of servants and promised to make enquiry in his neighbourhood and held out prospects of success, said the girls liked to get to Manchester, that one must give good wages for good servants and mentioned £11, 12, 13 and 14 as requisite to secure good ones [9]
So if girls liked to get to Manchester, how was Alice finding it difficult to hire someone? Mr Barton seems to be saying she should expect to have to pay more.
In the Preface, Gerald Hurst drew attention to this episode [10], noting that the highest yearly wage required by a good Manchester servant in November 1872 was £14. He made no comment, leaving his readers to draw their own conclusions. Inflation was very low in those years, and prices rose very little between 1862 and 1872. A wage of £11 in 1862 might have risen with inflation to £11-10s (£11 and 10 shillings – 20 shillings made £1). It rather seems that Alice, frugal herself and accustomed to self-denial, did not expect to pay much for servants.
Notes
[1] Sir Alfred Hopkinson, K.C., LL.D., Penultima (1930) pub. Martin Hopkinson Ltd, p. 65
[2] John and Alice Hopkinson 1824-1910 (1948) ed. Mary Hopkinson and her niece Lady Ewing, with a Preface by Sir Gerald Hurst, K.C., p. 24
[3] ibid., p. 34
[4] ibid., p. 34
[5] ibid., p. 35
[6] ibid., p. 43
[7] ibid., p. 48
[8] ibid., p. 50
[9] ibid., p. 61
[10] ibid., p. IX
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