Below Stairs
Experience life in Victorian domestic service in our original Victorian kitchens.
This immersive, drama-based workshop is led by two costumed characters – a Victorian kitchen maid and a Housekeeper or Butler.
Pupils will be able to dress in aprons, mob caps and waistcoats, and to role-play as maids and footmen, working alongside our Victorian servants. They will experience the hierarchy and etiquette of working in a household that was once owned by the wealthy and illustrious Rothschild family.
Duties will include pounding sugar and spices with a pestle and mortar, scrubbing the floors, beating carpets, learning how to serve dinner, and pretending to do the ironing. Well-mannered children may be interviewed by the Housekeeper or Butler for a permanent position in the household!
Below Stairs is a very popular workshop – the combination of drama, hands-on activities and unique surroundings provides an unforgettable learning experience.
"Teaching information with imagination. A 'real life' experience that also taught children to empathise and appreciate. It was fantastic!"
Fielding Primary
"Staff had amazing subject knowledge and fantastic actors. I am very impressed with the new facilities! I haven't been here for 2 years and the improvements are fantastic. Staff were extremely attentive and couldn't have done more to make us feel welcome. The children thoroughly enjoyed the day - Thank You!"
Burford School
Duration: 90 minutes
Price: £155 per workshop of up to 32 children
Learning objective
To experience working life as a Victorian domestic servant and to discover the local and national importance of the Rothschild family who once owned the Gunnersbury estate.
National Curriculum links
History
- A study of an aspect or theme in British history beyond 1066
- A local history study
- Historical concepts – similarity, difference and significance, drawing contrasts
English
- Spoken language and listening skills, role-play, increasing vocabulary