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Memories of Regency England

RHRam

RHRam

New Member
I was the young housekeeper of a modest country estate in England in the early 1800s. I believe my name was Rachel Maria, and that people called me Maria. It's possible that I was a cook-housekeeper, because I recall spending a lot of time in the kitchen, preparing food for the family I served. Or perhaps it was part of my duties to help the cook prepare scented and flavoured waters, pickles, and baked goods. The lady of the house, a kind but reserved woman, came down to the kitchen to oversee or even lend a hand in food preparation before dinner parties. The lady had two daughters, very close in age who often dressed and styled their light brown hair identically. She might have had other children, but I don't remember them.

I delegated tasks to three or four house maids, two of whom were at least the same age as I was when I became housekeeper (about twenty-five), and were often surly, because they didn't like taking orders from a younger woman, even if I outranked them. The servants in this house did not wear any kind of uniforms, like the black dresses that many maids of yesteryear seem to have worn; they wore practical, modest gowns with shawls crossed over their bodices. Because I was the highest-ranking female servant, I was allowed to wear finer garments, sometimes even things the lady of the house no longer wanted.

I don't remember a great deal more from this life, only what was grown in the large kitchen garden, some of the work I did, such as keeping accounts, in my sitting room (I had my own windowless sitting room, which I lit with rushlights), some of the clothes I wore, goings-on in the kitchen, helping the lady of the house and her daughters to dress on occasion, and other little things.
 
That is really cool, great memories. :) Do you remember anything that could help you pinpoint the era or the name of the home or mistress of the house? It sounds like your memories are quire vivid.
 
I really love your memories, RHRam. The Regency is my favorite era, probably from reading Georgette Heyer novels. There was a reality show called "The Country House" that the BBC produced. I am currently streaming it on Acorn Television. Even though it was a recreation of the Edwardian Era, I would guess there would be some similarities between the periods. Mama is right - it would be really cool if you were able to remember the name of the estate where you were employed.
 
Mama2HRB, unfortunately I don't remember the name of the house or its lady. coffee I remember little of how the house looked - it wasn't very large, made of some pale grey-brown stone, and it had a kitchen garden that I remember well. I'd be happy to describe it, if anyone is interested. :)
 
Please do describe it. We are all interested - reading people's memories is like time-travel, or living history.
 
Okay! Well, as I said before, the kitchen garden was quite large. It was surrounded by high walls made of the same stone as the house. In it grew many varieties of herbs that were used for cooking and other purposes. There was lavender, and many pink rose bushes, the blossoms of which were used to make rose water. There were some fruit trees, apricots I think, which had been trained to grow against the walls in the shape of a candelabra. Poppies, marigolds, and two kinds of irises, pale purple and dark purple and white, grew in the garden as well in beds bordered by vertically-placed bricks. There were smooth brick walkways between the flower and herb beds, and a young man used to keep the garden tidy, pulling weeds, pruning, and sweeping the brick walkways. He used to whistle while he worked; we could hear him from the kitchen, and it was very nice. I don't remember the gardener's face, though, only the grey back of his long coat. How I wish I could remember more of this life; I get the feeling that it was a good life, full of contentment.


I remember a few things about the house maid that I had the most trouble with. Her name was Bernadette, Beatrice, or Betty. She was tall and thin, with dark brown hair and a sharp nose. She often wore a blue and white striped muslin gown with some kind of black accents - ribbons of ties - on it. I think her gown had a wide plain white muslin collar. Does anyone know about Regency era clothing? Does that sound like anything a working-class woman might have worn back then? I also remember what my everyday gown looked like. It was long and heavy, made of some kind of brown brocade with a matching short, long-sleeved jacket of the same material that I wore over it.
 
The clothing descriptions are fairly accurate for the Regency, particularly the short, long- sleeved jacket that you wore. It was known as a "Spencer". The attire of the other maid sounds accurate in it's fabrication, particularly the black and white stripe, which was fashionable. However, it would have been atypical for a servant. Is it possible that she was a daughter of the house? It sounds like a morning gown. The apricot trees you referred to are called "espaliers". They still exist in formal gardens. I don't know if apricots were grown that way, but many fruit trees were, so that detail makes sense. I grow espaliered plants myself. What lovely memories! Lucky you!
 
Thank you for the link, Shiftkitty! :D


BriarRose, are you sure that a striped gown would have been atypical for a servant? The woman I remember was definitely a servant. Her gown wasn't fine or anything, just made of blue- and white-striped fabric with some kind of black accents, perhaps ribbons, on the sleeves. By morning gown, do you mean like a dressing gown?


I think the two daughters of the house were named Margaret and Sofia.
 
RHRam, I am a person with no past live memories whatsoever, so please do not interpret my question in the way that I had doubts on the truth of your memories; I don´t doubt the reality of your experience! What I am very curious about is how and when you remembered your past life. Did you have those memories from since you were a very young child? Or did the come to you in dreams, during meditations, in a regression session? I am asking for you are very matter-of-fact as those memories have always been with you and I am so curious about how it "feels" to have memories from another lifetime!
 
Hi, Iris! Yes, I've had some of the memories of this life from earliest childhood, and other memories came from things I dreamed about. I can remember several past lives, some much more than others; and when I was young, I didn't get the lives mixed up, but I felt more of a connection to some lives than others.
 
The term "morning dress" referred to simple gowns that women wore inside the house only, and sometimes all day. They "dressed" for evening. I think it referred to a more casual style of dress, but keep in mind that I am not an "expert", just a devotee' of the period. I would think that servants would have worn clothing that was plainer, and more serviceable, perhaps darker colored. Of course, you said in your post that you wore the cast-off gowns of your mistress - perhaps other servants did also? Could the woman have been a companion to the young ladies? Maybe she was a governess, or impoverished relative who made herself "useful", by doing light work. That was very common. If she came from a higher social class than a house keeper, she might have behaved in a way that the jargon of the day termed "high in the instep". Of course, a housekeeper was considered a "better sort of servant". There is also the possibility that since you worked on a "modest" country estate, the mores of the day were somewhat relaxed in a smaller, less formal household.
 
Perhaps you're right, BriarRose! :) Thanks for the input. I don't think that Bernadette, or Beatrice, or whatever her name was, was an impoverished relative, because then I probably wouldn't have been allowed to order her around. Ugh, I wish I could remember more from this life. There isn't too much else to tell about it, just little details I remember about people's clothing and hairstyles and all that. Oh, and I seem to remember that the family I worked for had ongoing financial difficulties. The master of the house was dead, and his heir was only about seven years old. The lady of the house had no brothers or father or anyone to take care of her, and she hadn't found anyone to remarry, so she was quite depressed, and felt hopeless about the future. Her daughters were perhaps twelve and thirteen, too young to marry yet.
 
In any event, your memories are really interesting. If you were British, or a huge Jane Austen fan, your mind might be filling in details, but I don't think it is! You are right, you wouldn't have been ordering around a family member. I, too, would love to know how the story turned out! Did the mistress find love again? Did the daughters marry well? For that matter, did you? how delicious! Please keep us posted.
 
Thanks for shairing your memories, you have such a lovely way of describing :) I do not know so much about this time period and place, but please share if you find out more about what happened to you and how you think this life is affecting you in the present. I'm also fascinated with this period, but I have no reason to believe Ive had a life there, as I don't have any dreams etc about it. I do not doubt that you do though!
 
You're right, BriarRose, I'm not British, I've never been to England, and I'm only vaguely familiar with the works of Jane Austen. I've never read a single book by her, I've only seen the 2011 version of Jane Eyre...I don't know if my mistress ever found love again, and I don't remember anything about her daughters except for their faces, mannerisms, their names, and a little of their voices. I can't imagine how my life might have turned out after I became housekeeper...For some reason, the year 1811 stands out in my mind when I remember all this stuff; I think I might have turned twenty-five in 1811. I also forgot to mention that one of the maids of this household might have been called Lettice. Pronounced like Letitia. She was the youngest maid, thirteen or fourteen years old. Probably a scullery maid. She was sacked (by me, regretfully, I hated to do it) for stealing some silver coins; but I have no idea of where she might have gotten them.
 
Was it? I don't know a thing about those wars. I only know that Napoleon would have been a contemporary of these people. I read the other night that his favourite colour was Pomona Green, which was a very popular colour for all kinds of things then.
 
I think those wars were on-going during the period of the Regency. They were a concern for people of all social classes.
 
The wars caused smuggling of French goods into England, and of course, many households either lost family members, or dealt with the disabilities and psychological problems that they acquired. The weapons may change, but war is war. I understand that you meant effects specific to your household.
 
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