There are a few who preceded this movement: William Lancely, who wrote one of the earlier memoirs, just missed out on the Elementary Education Act, and ‘was educated under an old-fashioned schoolmaster, before the year 1870, when it was considered that if a boy could read, write and cast accounts fairly accurately, he wanted no more.’ William did want more, and educated himself in the houses of his employers.Įnormously influential, servants’ memoirs have informed popular social histories about life in the great house at the turn of the century. Servant’s memoirs only began to make an appearance after the first batch of children, educated under the new system, retired from their long and varied careers in service, and turned their hand to autobiography. Although frequently written between the wars, (some as late as the 50s and 60s) these recollections often span the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, and are a direct result of Gladstone’s education reforms in the 1870s. Florence (Flo) Georgiana Wadlow ( née Copeland), cook and author, was born on 8 December 1912 in West Ham, London, but was later taken to live in Wells-next-the-Sea with her siblings and mother.‘William Lancely,’ from William Lancely, From Hall-Boy to House-Steward, dustcover.Įnter, the Servant’s Memoir.

wrote the book ‘Over a Hot Stove: A Kitchen Maid’s Story’ about her life in domestic service. She began her working life aged 16 as a kitchen maid working in South Kensington, and at the age of 23 was appointed cook at Blickling Hall by Lord Lothian – the last private owner of Blickling. She lived on the fourth floor of the house. In this article, she recalls cooking for the Astors, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Queen Mary.įlo left Blickling in 1939 when Lord Lothian was appointed Ambassador in Washington. Lord Lothian had asked Flo to cook for him in Washington, but instead she went to cook for the Bulwer-Long family at Heydon in Norfolk, where she met and married Robert Wadlow, and had two sons.įlo and Robert retired from Heydon to Fakenham in 1998. Flo died 9 January 2013.įind out more: You can view photographs and portraits of Flo at the Norfolk Record Office – click here and search for ‘AUD 27’. Hard copies of the photographs of Flo can also be viewed at the Record Office – FX 347/1/1-7. In 20, Bob Carter interviewed Flo Wadlow as part of Blickling Hall’s oral history project – you can hear Flo’s interviews here and here.

Flo wadlow over a hot stove