We lived in one part of the castle while the gentry lived in another part called by the Mr Buckingham “the other side”. The castle had central heating and hot and cold water at all times. We had a bathroom for men servants and one for female servants. Our food was normally good and sometimes very good, it was varied and there was enough of it. It should not be forgotten that servants got warm rooms; hot and cold water; our own beds and often our own bedroom; four meals a day; time off and two weeks paid holiday a year; and generally speaking nice people to associate with.

The gentry used the north lodge and the north door. The nanny, assistant nanny, and the children - Miss Anne, Miss Rosemary and later Mr Mark - used the west door. If the gentry were going out for the day then Mr Buckingham or Edward, if Mr Buckingham was on holiday, would wait by the north door until the Major and the Mrs Dent-Brocklehurst were ready to leave. Mr Buckingham would then help first Mrs Dent-Brocklehurst and then the Major on with their overcoats. The Major or Mrs Dent-Brocklehurst would then say that we will be back for eight o’clock dinner. If they forgot it would be alright for Mr Buckingham to say, in a humble sort of way, “what time will you be back sir?” If the gentry seemed friendly and commented on the weather then Mr Buckingham would also comment briefly but no banter would be acceptable. One of my brothers, when a servant, once commented to the lady of the house “What a nice day it is Madam” to be told “if I wish to hear the views of a servant on the weather I will ask”. If they seemed frosty or sullen then Mr Buckingham would say as little as possible. That is often referred to as “losing a shilling and finding sixpence”. Mr Pearce, the chauffeur would be waiting for the Major and Mrs Dent-Brocklehurst. He had a uniform of black shoes, black gaiters, both of which were polished, breeches, double jacket with polished buttons and a smart cap. As soon as the main door of the house was opened Mr Pearce would open the door of the car and salute them both. If it was a cold day the chauffeur would put a rug around the lady’s feet, there were no heaters in cars at this time. With the gentry away for the day Mr Buckingham would look around to make sure their rooms were in order, put the papers in order then go back to the pantry, take his jacket off, put on a black or blue apron and help Edward to clean and polish the silver.

Each August the gentry and their children went on holiday and some of the staff also went on holiday for two weeks. Many factories did not allow paid holidays then. In both 1931 and 1932 the servants who did not go on holiday still had a good time with work only in the morning, leaving the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted to do. During that time I went to Stratford on Avon, Gloucester, Worcester, Malvern, Evesham etc. on my bicycle. In the evening we tended to look around the lovely gardens. We also used to spend quite some time in August bottling fruit from the Sudeley estate. Early in 1931 a young man from the Bothy called to have a talk with Edward and me. He let us see a book showing the wages of staff at Sudeley castle, I think in 1910. The head coach man had £1 per week paid weekly and he lived in the north lodge. He had the highest salary; the others salaries were set out in beautiful writing but set out in shillings and pence. We all looked briefly at this history of the time. Edward asked the young man where he found it. To which he replied that he found it in the rubbish bin.

On one occasion during August about three to four Americans in their cars came right up to the north door and politely asked to see the place. Mr. Buckingham explained to them that this was a private property and he asked them to leave. After a short discussion though he agreed to go with them to the church, gardens and the ruins.


The gardens and lawns were looked after by seven gardeners. I used to listen to Mr Pearce the head gardener when he would sit in the pantry ready to see Mrs Dent-Brocklehurst ready to discuss new plants to be planted in the gardens. He received 35 shillings per week plus a cottage. There was a farm owned by the Major from which we received milk, butter, cream and eggs etc. Soon after I came to Sudeley Castle in December 1930 at about 2.30 p.m. near the north lodge, and opposite the house of Mr Pearce, the chauffeur, a fox got into the chicken compound and killed 58 chickens out of about 100. The whole estate was controlled by a steward and he had a few workers who repaired and decorated the castle and the cottages, fences, gates etc.
During the two years five months I never spoke to the Major and Mrs Dent-Brocklehurst at all, although I had to deal with telephone calls in or out of the castle. In January 1932 I spoke to Miss Rosemary, at six years old their eldest daughter and she told me that I was “only a servant”. I thought about giving her ‘my mouth’, but I remembered my mother’s advice to think before you speak and I walked away. I saw her again in 1965 when I visited Sudeley Castle with my wife and son.

After six months at Sudeley Castle I got a three piece suit for £3 5s made by a Mr. Martin at Winchcombe. This was paid for by the Major. Mr. Martin was important in the local Methodist church. In December 1931, I had my sixteenth birthday; which meant that the Major had to stamp my sickness and old age card at the cost of 9d per week, 3s per month compared to a salary of £1 per month. No domestic servant could pay for unemployment benefit; they could only pay for sickness benefit. I requested Mr Buckingham to ask the Major if he could give me a rise. The Major said “no” and he told Mr Buckingham that he could replace me with four other boys while he doubted if I could get another job. I then asked Mr Buckingham if he could ask the Major if he could pay my stamp leaving me with the £1 per month. The Major asked Mr Buckingham what the boy wanted the money for, as he got his food, board and two suits a year. But he did agree to pay the stamp. Later, when I applied for another job, Mr Buckingham refused to let me put down my actual salary as it was so shamefully low; the Major should have paid me £24 per year and that he only paid me £12 per year reflected badly, in Mr Buckingham’s view, on the major and hence on Sudeley Castle as a whole.

In 1931 the Government presented the ‘May Report of the Economy of Great Britain’ in which it seemed our country was in debt to the amount of £74 million. This may seem small by modern standards but it worried people a lot at that time. In November there was a general election and only 49 Labour plus three I.L.P. members were returned; the rest were Conservatives or Liberals (National Government). Mr Buckingham had bought a radio which he said cost a lot of money; he kept it in the pantry. Mr Buckingham, Edward and myself listened to the results as Labour lost seat after seat. In my time at Sudeley castle the only wireless was in the pantry not with the gentry.

Mr Buckingham knew the relieving officer for Winchcombe and used to have tea with him. The officer lived and had his office in North Street opposite the Co-op shop. Mr Buckingham told me that the officer said that the town was quite poor and that he had to give tickets for coal, bread and groceries etc. to previously quite well off people who had now come on ‘hard times’. I was told that some people who did have jobs had to go by bike as far as Cheltenham or even Gloucester to work. In fact the area did not become prosperous until WWII started.

In 1932 the Major put himself forward for election onto the County Council and was elected and represented Winchcombe on the Gloucestershire County Council until his death. He was also a Justice of the Peace for Winchcombe. One day he ordered a tramp who had been living rough in the area, which was then illegal, to leave the area of Winchcombe within the hour.

Mr Henry-Dent-Brocklehurst also died in 1932 and his widow asked Mr Buckingham to make him presentable before the service at Sudeley church. Mr Buckingham and Mr Pearce took the corpse to the first floor in the modern part of the castle in the corner between the North Lodge and the church and placed him on the table. They shaved him, clothed him, putting on his dinner suit and shoes and sock before putting in the coffin. His widow, Mrs Marion Dent-Brocklehurst was very pleased with their efforts and a few people were allowed to see him.

After two years and five months I left Sudeley Castle to work for a Hon. Henry and Mrs Tufton from Castlehill, Engfield Green, Surrey about five miles from Windsor. If you wanted to leave and get another job then, with regard to references, the accepted practice was that you might ask for a written reference from your last employer in order to help you get another job. While that person may refuse to give you a written reference he must not give you a bad reference. The practice was also to give notice to leave by 12 noon and then to leave a month from that date.

When I left on 30th April 1933 Gilmore Whittle replaced me as hall boy. He left to become a footman elsewhere but later returned to become a footman at Sudeley castle. Gilmore told me that when he asked the Major to be allowed to keep his motor cycle on the Sudeley castle property he refused. One day, in the lounge, Gilmore spoke to Mrs Dent-Brocklehurst; she rebuked him for speaking to her first. She said that she could speak to him, but he was not to speak to her without her permission to speak.