Research session on Wednesday 13th March

The session began with a trip to Aston Parish Church to discover more about the seventeenth century and working life. The first monument we discovered was a memorial to a servant from the Holte family.

The memorial from the Holte's to Henry Charles reads as follows: “Near/ To this Place / Lyeth ye Body of / HENRY CHARLES / Servant for the space of 33 Years to / Sr ROBERT HOLTE & Sr CHARLES HOLTE, / of ASTON, Baronets. / He DIED / On the 30^th of January in the / Year 1700 / And in ye 54^th year of his Age, / In Memory / of whose True & Faithfull Service / His Master Sr CHARLES HOLTE / Caused this Momument / To be / Erected.”    



Aston Parish Church exterior




Baptism pool




Church altar




Eagle Lectern




Parish pews




Stained glass windows





The group enjoying the tour



The group reconvened and were asked to create an image of their first job in Aston, drawing on the smells, feelings and images of the workplace for inspiration. A common image was that of the clocking in machine so participants began writing a poem with the beginning of the workday in mind. Other ideas included:

*        The noise of the radio filtering through the speakers from the office.

*        Piecework.

*        Everyone had to stop when the bell sounded for breaks as the factory was not insured for production line accidents during these periods.  

*        If you lived near a factory you would know what time it was from hearing the factory’s bell for different breaks throughout the day.

*        Everybody was paid on a Friday. Wage packets were brown envelopes containing cash.

*        You would put your wage packet in your pocket for security.

*        Most of the images conjure working life in a factory, but we discovered that many of the facts are also applicable to hospital work.          

The Factory Way

Clocking in and out:

Feeding the machine with your work card,

Biting and stamping.

Radio Luxemburg and Caroline

Calmly murmurs its mellow sounds

To the factory floor.

Your mind and your hands were busy,

But talk was limited.

Piecework meant you kept the pace up.

When the hooter sounds for break,

One stops, everyone stops.

Coffee, lunch, tea, home.

Working for Friday paypacket:

Little brown envelopes,

With name, number, payslip, pound, shilling and pence;

Overtime package always a little bit fatter.

Friday payday a happy day,

For some a time to put some by,

For others the money’s already spent.

For Mollie a time to pay back

Before she headed to the pub

For a martini and lemonade.

Research session on Wednesday 6th March

Session summary: The group met with Rosie Barker, a Community Learning Officer at Aston Hall and Birmingham Museums Trust. Dairymaid and housekeeper characters were created and interviewed by participants. Jenni’s research unearthed a poem about an eighteenth century servant that details the amount of pain a working woman was forced to endure.

The group began the session by conducting some research into seventeenth century working life. Rosie provided some key facts regarding servants, specifically those at Aston Hall:

*        Most of the staff at Aston Hall would have been male.

*        The highest male servant would have earned £30 a year and the highest female servant £27.

*        Only some servants would have been paid, the rest would work for bed and board. Servants relied on tips to supplement their income and though seventeenth century life seems extremely harsh in comparison to modern society, the servants would have viewed jobs at houses such as Aston Hall as an achievement and they did have the opportunity to move up the servant hierarchy. 

Rosie also brought some pictures and items to illustrate the realities of seventeenth century working life.   

17th Century wood ash and lime soap

Sheep fat candles

Pewter plate - the pewter will become the same colour as the spoon if cleaned and scrubbed enough.

The group then made a list of the staff positions a house like Aston Hall would have. They listed grooms, dairymaids, ale wives, gentleman servants, yeomen, falconers and gardeners.

Ali asked the group to pick a job from the positions listed to create a character. The occupation of dairymaid was chosen and participants decided she would be fifteen years old and named Mary Field. After learning that individuals could be hired at any age as long as they possessed the physical strength required for the role, participants decided Mary would have been working at Aston Hall since she was twelve and have been hired to work under somebody else. It was also suggested that Mary would have been responsible for making the butter and cheese, feeding the chickens and cleaning all the necessary equipment. Participants concluded that it would have been an extremely physically demanding role.

Rosie advised that Mary may not have done the milking, as a large house like Aston Hall would perhaps not have been able to keep as many cows as needed for the milk supply. The Hall was mainly self sufficient though as the estate could boast a fish pond, orchards, pigs and sheep. It was treats and unusual items such as wine and spices that would have been brought in from other suppliers. Rosie also identified the dairymaid’s working quarters as the courtyard where the café is now located. Mary would therefore not have needed to go up to the Hall itself. It was also suggested that her clothes would be dull and colourless.

Jenni also unearthed some research and discovered that an average servant in 1729 would be paid 6 or 8 pence a day. Jenni also found a poem written by Mary Collier in 1739 entitled ‘The Woman’s Labour.' This interesting poem details the pain and hardship of servant life. It brought to mind the inscription above the fireplace at Aston Hall. Servants definitely had to be “content to take some pain” if they were to succeed at their job.

Laura was then asked to take on the role of Mary the dairymaid and participants were invited to interview Mary. You can listen to the interview on our SoundCloud, simply click on the recording name: Laura as Mary the dairymaid. 

The character interview process was repeated with Rosie taking on the character of Elizabeth the housekeeper. Elizabeth detailed her employment responsibilities, Sir Thomas Holte’s expectations of his staff and working life at Aston Hall. Elizabeth explained how a housekeeper would have hoped to obtain financial security from the Holtes and to be cared for once she retired; however there were no guarantees that this would happen so staff were very much at the mercy of the Holtes. Rumours surrounding the cook’s death and the suicide of a young boy in Dick’s garret were also addressed with Elizabeth stressing her loyalty to Sir Thomas.  

You can listen to the interview on our SoundCloud, simply click on the recording name: Rosie as a seventeenth century housekeeper

Participants then interviewed Rosie and discovered how she became a Community Learning Officer at Aston Hall and Birmingham Museums Trust. She discussed her job role and how she engages the community with Aston Hall.

You can listen to the interview on our SoundCloud, simply click on the recording name: Interview with Rosie Barker, Learning Officer at Aston Hall and Birmingham Museums Trust.  

We need you!

Women and Theatre are currently working with Birmingham Settlement and Aston Hall to produce a new piece of theatre to be performed at Aston Hall on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May 2013. The piece will be made up of eight short stories, four from the 1600s and four from the present day, each informed by research into the lives of servants and workers in Aston. Each story will be performed in a different location at Aston Hall, with the audience moving round to each room in turn.

Cast members

We are looking for people age 16+ from the Aston area to help tell the stories as cast members. Each story will be between 2-5 minutes long and may take the form of a monologue, a group scene or a tableau with voice-over - so you may not necessarily have to learn any lines. 

If you are interested, come along to our casting session on Thursday 2nd May between 4.30-6.30pm at the Stable Cafe, Aston Hall to meet the team and get involved. 

Cast members will be required for:

• Short rehearsals on Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th May.
• A dress rehearsal on Friday 17th May between 3.00-8.00pm.    
• All day for performances on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May.

Volunteers

We will also need people during the performance days - Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May - to welcome the audience, guide them between rooms, and as general helpers. Come and get involved!

For more information, please contact the Project Co-ordinator, Rachel Snape, on 0121 449 7117 or email rachelsnape@womenandtheatre.co.uk

www.womenandtheatre.co.uk                                                                               Twitter: /womenandtheatre

Research Session on Wednesday 27th February 2013

During the warm up session participants sat in a circle holding a piece of wool connected to a chair at the centre of the circle. The chair represented Aston and the string participants’ connection to the area. Participants were asked to work in partners and describe their strongest connection to Aston, their partner then fed that information to the group. The idea was that though participants may not feel comfortable talking about their own experiences with a large group of people, they would be comfortable speaking on behalf of another.

Participants then split into three groups to practice interviews. You can listen to the interviews on our SoundCloud, just click the recording name to follow the link:

Ram interview 27.02.2013

The session closed with a creative writing activity

The group exchanged ideas and produced two poems. The first poem was created through participants sharing their memories of past neighbourhoods, and the second through describing sounds, smells and images of Aston.  

 

Neighbours

In the olden days,

Neighbours watched out for each other without being nosey.

There was no need to lock up,

If you knocked, your neighbour’s door would always be open.

It was OK to ask for sugar and tea,

Or even borrow a few penny.

No one borrowed to beg,

One good favour deserve another.

Chatter across the fence pass the time away.

People from different places,

But we all sailed forward in the same boat.

Together.

Aston is…

Football – let them cheer and shout and floodlights through your nets.

Rich smells in the air tugging at your belly.

Quiet mornings, busy afternoons.

Traffic jams on match days with road rage.

Passing busy pubs on Villa days.

The smell of baking bread hits me in the face and says “come buy me.”

Little shops filled with things like brick-a-brack and knick-a-knack.

Stories from my grandfather.

Aston is a hidden place, a pocket of people tucked away.

The Manor on the hill that outsiders come to see, but we do not.

Aston is enjoyable time just for me.

Aston is my heritage, a big bubbling pot of different people.

It’s where I get my hair cut.

The last creative writing exercise invited individuals to write about their own experiences and personal memories. Dorothy and Joyce shared theirs with the group. You can listen to the recording on our SoundCloud, click on the recording name to follow the link:  

Dorothy and Joyce share their memories 27.02.2013 

Inspiration

Participants were invited to a snow covered Aston Hall to gain inspiration for the seventeenth century aspect to the project. Dr Chris Upton began the session by detailing the history of Aston Manor.    

We discovered some interesting facts about the Hall during the seventeenth century that will be extremely useful as we compose our drama and attempt to imagine working life during this period.  

Notes from Dr Chris Upton’s lecture ‘Five-hundred Years of Aston’

Aston’s roots

Aston Manor is mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086.The total population at forty four households was very large and the area yielded a lot of tax. Thirty villagers or families, twelve smallholders, one slave and one priest lived in Aston at this time. The mention of a priest indicates that there would have been a Catholic church in Aston.

Interestingly, Birmingham did not have a church at this time, or a mill. Aston was a thriving community and worth five times the value of Birmingham at five pounds to Birmingham’s one pound. The Aston area stretched over three thousand acres and included the prison, Brownell Hold, which would have been located close to where the Rainbow Pub in Digbeth currently stands. Legend has it that beer was sold to the prisoners.

You can view all this information online at Domesday Map. Have a look at the entries for Aston and Birmingham and compare the areas.

Sir Thomas Holte and the building of Aston Hall

Sir Thomas Holte was an extremely ambitious man that wanted to create a grand country house to reflect his status and ambition. The building of Aston Hall began in 1618 and took sixteen years to complete.

Thomas made his money through renting land from his estate. He also had a mill, an iron forge and a blade mill. 

Life took an unexpected turn in the 1640s when a British Civil War broke out between Parliament and the King. This period was referred to as a time when the world was turned upside down.

Man could be at war with his son and women ran estates and businesses while their husbands and sons were at war. There is some interesting information to be found in reference to women at this time. The Early Modern Web is once such website.       

Aston was at the forefront of this civil war and supported Charles I. Sir Thomas Holte was a friend of the king and knighted by Charles’s father. King Charles passed through Aston the day before the war and lodged at Aston Hall. In December 1643 Aston Hall was sieged and damage caused to the great staircase by a cannon ball can still be seen today. Aston Hall surrendered and had to pay a fine for supporting Charles.

Sir Thomas Holte’s staff: 

*        Sir Thomas employed about forty servants at Aston Hall. His servants lived at the Hall or at lodgings on site or close by.  

*        There was a hierarchy of servants divided into upper and lower class servants. The lower servants reported to the upper servants and referred to them as Mistress and Mister. The lower servants would be referred to by their first name.

*        Servants did have the chance to move up the hierarchy.  

*        Servants employed at an estate like Aston Hall had job security if they were good at their jobs and polite to their masters.

*        Servants often remained unmarried as their long working hours made it difficult to meet prospective spouses. However some did marry other servants at their place of work.

*        Maid is short for ‘maiden’ meaning an unmarried woman.

*        Servants at Aston Hall had a better diet than the average labourer as they would have had access to their employer’s leftovers. It was quite probable that Sir Thomas Holte’s servants had access to venison as Sir Thomas had deer on his estate.

Servant hierarchy

Upper servants:

*        Steward of Hall and Estate – responsible for overseeing everything upon his master’s estate e.g. checking all servants completing their jobs to an acceptable standard, collecting rent from estate tenants. The Holtes often left money to their Stewards in their wills.

*        Ladies in Waiting – responsible for dressing their female employers and being a companion. Ladies in Waiting had a minor education and often came from families of the minor gentry.  

*        Cook – part of the gentry the cook was always a man. He didn’t prepare food or cook but gave orders to his female kitchen staff.  Seventeenth century food was very elaborate and what the food looked like mattered as much as the taste. The cook also received a perquisite (perk). He was allowed to sell and profit from the spare fat from meat used in his employer’s kitchen.      

Lower servants:

*        Kitchen Staff

*        Laundry maid

*        Dairymaid – often also had to look after chickens

*        Grooms

*        Gardeners

Rooms of domestic service:

*        Kitchen

*        Scullery

*        Pastry

*        Buttery

*        Wet Larder

*        Dry Larder

*        Brewhouse

*        Bake house

*        Laundry

Participants were then treated to a private tour of the house and we identified some key areas for performance.

Below are some photos of Aston Hall with some interesting facts relating to servants.

The Kitchen

Sir Thomas is rumoured to have killed his cook by hitting him on the head with a cleaver.

It was a neighbour of Sir Thomas’s, William Ascrick, who took the matter to court, suggesting that the cleaver had split the cook’s head in half. However there was no evidence for the cook’s death so Ascrick was sued for slander and ordered to pay Sir Thomas damages. This verdict was later overturned.       

The Entrance Hall

There is an inscription above the fireplace that details how to be a good servant. It reads:

‘If service be thy means to thrive, Thou must therein remain.

Both silent, faithful, just and true

Content to take some pain.

If love of virtue may allure

In hope of worldly gain.

In fear of God may thee procure

To serve do not disdain.’

It was probably inscribed after Sir Thomas’s death but is a good indication of what a seventeenth century gentleman would have expected of his staff. 

Dick’s Garret

This low attic was used as accommodation for servants. During the siege of Aston Hall during the Civil War, Parliamentary troops used the attic for their sleeping quarters.

The hooks on the left would have been used for hanging meat.

The room is named after the tale of a ten year old boy called Dick who committed suicide. He was found hanging from the meat hooks after he had been dismissed for stealing bread. It was a cold winter and Dick would have been expected to walk home – he knew he would not survive the walk so ended his life quickly.     

 

Images from external sources:

1) Aston Manor’s entry in the Doomsday Book taken from <http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SP0889/aston/  > [accessed 14.03.2013]   

2) John Taylor, ‘The World Turned Upside Down’, 1647, taken from < http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://redfellow.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/world-turned-upside-down2.gif&imgrefurl=http://redfellow.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/the-world-turned-upside-down/&h=542&w=400&sz=45&tbnid=gqdPQyBsO53XFM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=59&zoom=1&usg=__BnH-ZvhUeO_LM_Z4TBmW9YgcvDU=&docid=hS5c92yHvqsK9M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0rJBUaHJGIf7PPK1gcgE&ved=0CDEQ9QEwAA&dur=3078>[accessed 14.03.2013]

   

Telling Tales with Women & Theatre

The stories of women and working people have typically been excluded from history. Women & Theatre want to address this imbalance and tell the tales of the un-chronicled majority. The time periods we will focus on will be the seventeenth century and the mid twentieth century to present day. We will research and uncover stories of those working at Aston Hall during the seventeenth century and record contemporary oral histories through interviewing those that currently live or work in the vicinity of the Hall. We hope that by focusing on these two strands of history, participants will draw links between historical and contemporary life and connect with heritage sites such as Aston Hall.      

All research will be archived at the new Library of Birmingham and an audio play and live site performance will also be produced from the stories collected. Community members will work alongside the Women & Theatre team to transform research material into short monologues and play scripts. Residents will also be involved in the creative process and inform the audio sound effects and the staging of live performances.

We invite you to the unveiling of our work which will take place at Aston Hall on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May 2013.

Aston Telling Tales is an exciting new project in partnership with Aston Hall and Birmingham Settlement. The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s ‘All Our Stories’.

For more information please email info@womenandtheatre.co.uk