Narrator: 100 YEARS AGO, THE BRITISH MANOR HOUSE WAS IN ITS PRIME.
AN INSPIRATION TO THIS DAY FOR POPULAR TELEVISION COSTUME DRAMAS.
TWO SEPARATE WORLDS, EXISTING SIDE BY SIDE.
MANY TOILED AS SERVANTS, WHILE A FEW LIVED IN LUXURY, AS THEY HAD FOR 1,000 YEARS.
BUT A CENTURY AGO, A PERFECT STORM WAS BREWING... IRREPRESSIBLE FORCES THAT WOULD CHANGE THIS WORLD FOREVER.
NOTHING WITHIN THE BRITISH MANOR HOUSE WOULD EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
♪ Narrator: THE BRITISH MANOR HOUSE... DRIPPING WITH OPULENCE, BURSTING WITH GRACE, DIGNITY, POWER.
DESIGNED TO IMPRESS, THESE WERE SECRET WORLDS OF PRIVILEGE BUILT BY BRITAIN'S GRANDEST FAMILIES-- HER ARISTOCRACY.
Man: THE ARISTOCRACY IS AN ELITE.
THEY ARE AN ELITE BY REASON OF THEIR BREEDING.
THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS APART AND ABOVE OTHER MEN AND WOMEN.
Woman: NOW, THE WHOLE EDIFICE FOR THE ARISTOCRACY, IT'S PREDICATED ON STATUS.
THESE ARE TYPICALLY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE MAGISTRATES.
THEY OFTEN HAVE TITLES.
THEY'RE OFTEN POLITICIANS.
THEY'RE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, AND IT'S PREDICATED ON BEING MORE WEALTHY THAN EVERYBODY ELSE.
Man: YES.
IT'S BEGUN AS A WARRIOR CLASS, AND THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL FIGHTING MEN.
THEY WERE THE NATURAL OFFICERS.
THEY LED THE NATION IN WAR, AND THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE INHERITED COURAGE.
IT'S NO WONDER THE ARISTOCRATIC SPORT IS RACING, STEEPLE-CHASING, IN WHICH THE BEST HORSE IS THE THOROUGHBRED.
HE SEES HIMSELF AS A SORT OF EQUIVALENT OF THIS HORSE.
Narrator: BRITAIN'S LINE OF ARISTOCRATIC THOROUGHBREDS STRETCHES BACK 1,000 YEARS.
KINGS REWARDED THE LOYALTY OF WARRING CHIEFTAINS WITH LAND AND NOBLE TITLES.
OVER THE CENTURIES, THEY FORMED INTO A STRICT HIERARCHY-- MONARCH AT THE TOP; BELOW HIM, 30 DUKES; THEN MANY MORE EARLS AND BARONS, EVERYONE KEENLY AWARE OF HIS PLACE.
BY 1912, THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY WAS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL POWER ELITE THE WORLD HAD EVER KNOWN.
THEIR WEALTH WAS BEYOND MEASURE, WITH VAST LANDED-ESTATES, ALL CENTERED ON THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN-- THEIR BEAUTIFUL, MANOR-HOUSE HOMES...
BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE UPPER CLASSES WHO CALLED THESE MANSIONS THEIR HOME.
HIDDEN BEHIND THE GRAND FACADES WAS A SECRET ARMY OF SERVANTS, AS MANY AS 100 TENDING TO EVERY NEED OF A SINGLE ARISTOCRATIC FAMILY.
BY 1912, THERE WERE MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION SERVANTS IN BRITAIN, ALL TRAPPED WITHIN THE SAME SORT OF HIERARCHY AS THEIR UPSTAIRS MASTERS.
THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE BUTLER WERE AT THE TOP OF THE TREE; BELOW THEM, LADY'S MAIDS AND VALETS LORDING OVER FOOTMEN WHO WAITED AT TABLE, THEN LOWLY HOUSEMAIDS... AND SCURRYING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE, KITCHEN MAIDS AND SCULLERY MAIDS.
THE SYSTEM RELIED ON DEFERENCE AND OBEDIENCE.
FROM MASTERS UPSTAIRS TO SERVANTS DOWNSTAIRS, TRADITION KEPT THEM ALL IN LINE... AND IN THE WIDER SOCIETY A CENTURY AGO, JUST AS IN THE GREAT MANOR HOUSES, THE INEQUALITIES HAD NEVER BEEN GREATER.
THE POOR WERE DOOMED TO SERVITUDE WHILE THE RICH GREW EVER MORE EXTRAVAGANT.
MANDERSTON HOUSE IN BERWICKSHIRE IS A TESTAMENT TO THE ARISTOCRATIC EXCESSES OF THAT TIME.
Man: WELL, I'VE BEEN A BUTLER HERE NOW FOR 25 YEARS.
THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE UPSTAIRS PEOPLE, THE OWNERS, AND THEIR UNDERLINGS.
THEY WERE KEPT IN THEIR PLACE BY THEIR POSITION.
Narrator: GEOFFREY DYMOND WORKS FOR THE FOURTH BARON OF READING, THE PRESENT-DAY LORD OF MANDERSTON HOUSE.
Dymond: WELL, I REFER TO HIM AS YOUR LORDSHIP.
ETIQUETTE.
IT'S ETIQUETTE, REALLY, THAT IS THE IMPORTANT THING.
Man: THIS HOUSE HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS REALLY THE SWAN SONG OF THE GREAT CLASSICAL HOUSE, AND IT'S THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL EVERYWHERE WHICH IS REALLY RATHER OUTSTANDING.
THERE WERE, I THINK, JUST UNDER 100 EMPLOYEES AT THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY, WHICH INCLUDED 22 IN THE HOUSE, 24 IN THE GARDEN, AND THE REST BASICALLY FORESTERS AND AGRICULTURAL WORKERS.
Narrator: LORD PALMER INHERITED MANDERSTON HOUSE IN 1978.
IT WAS TO THIS 109-ROOM MANOR HOUSE THAT HE BROUGHT HOME HIS AMERICAN BRIDE LORAINE McMURREY II-- THE CURRENT LADY PALMER.
Lady Palmer: WHEN I MARRIED MY HUSBAND, I BECAME THE LADY OF THE HOUSE, AND THE BUTLER WHEN HE COMES IN FOR DINNER WHEN WE HAVE COMPANY, HE SAYS, "MILADY, DINNER IS SERVED," AND, OF COURSE, THAT'S A BIT DIFFERENT THAN BEING IN TEXAS, ISN'T IT?
Lord Palmer: ONE OF THE GREAT JOYS ABOUT THIS HOUSE IS THAT EVERY ROOM INTERCONNECTS, AND THIS DOOR HERE GOES BACK INTO THE HALL.
SO ALL THOSE BOOKS ARE, IN FACT, FALSE.
PERHAPS THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THINGS ARE THE CURTAINS, THE DRAPES, WHICH WERE WOVEN IN PARIS IN 1904 AND LOOK AS IF THEY WERE DONE YESTERDAY.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY WOVEN WITH GOLD AND SILVER THREAD.
IT REALLY IS QUITE, QUITE EXTRAORDINARY.
Narrator: THE CURTAINS COST AN ASTONISHING $1.5 MILLION IN TODAY'S MONEY WHILE SCULLERY MAIDS WERE EARNING THE EQUIVALENT OF $50 A YEAR.
YES.
THIS IS THE SERVANTS' HALL, AND ALL OF THE SERVANTS WOULD COME IN THIS ROOM TO RELAX AND HAVE THEIR MEALS, BUT EVEN WHEN THEY WERE HAVING THEIR MEALS, THEY WERE STILL ON DUTY.
THERE ARE 56 BELLS THERE, AND YOU'LL NOTICE THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT SOUNDS.
SO THEREFORE, THEY ALL MADE DIFFERENT RINGS, AND IT WAS THE SERVANTS' JOB TO MEMORIZE THE BELLS OF THE AREAS WHICH THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
Narrator: ACROSS BRITAIN, SERVANTS WERE HOUSED IN ATTICS AND BASEMENTS WHILE MANDERSTON'S RACE HORSES ENJOYED AN ARCHITECT-DESIGNED STABLE BLOCK.
Lord Palmer: THESE WERE BUILT IN 1895 AS A TEST OF SKILL FOR THE ARCHITECT, AND THEY COST £25,000 IN THOSE DAYS, WHICH IS A FABULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THAT PROBABLY A GROOM WAS EARNING £50 A YEAR MAXIMUM.
THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT 16 ALTOGETHER WORKING IN THE STABLES-- GROOMING THEM, RIDING THEM, GETTING THEM FIT, KEEPING THEM FIT, ET CETERA.
Narrator: FOR THE ARISTOCRAT, HIMSELF A THOROUGHBRED, THE RACE HORSE WAS ALMOST PART OF THE FAMILY.
Lord Palmer: MY GREAT-GREAT-UNCLE DECIDED TO KEEP ALL THE TEETH OF HIS FAMOUS HORSES, AND IT'S QUITE A GOOD COLLECTION.
THEY'VE BEEN ALL AROUND THE WORLD ON EXHIBITION.
Narrator: NO EXPENSE WAS SPARED FOR THE HORSES, AND FOR ONE OF LORD PALMER'S ANCESTORS, THE SAME WENT FOR THE GREAT HOUSE ITSELF.
Lord Palmer: MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER DECIDED TO KNOCK THE OLD HOUSE DOWN AND START AGAIN, AND HIS ARCHITECT SORT OF SCRATCHED HIS HEAD AND SAID, "WELL, WHAT'S MY BUDGET?"
AND HE WAS TOLD IT SIMPLY DIDN'T MATTER, AND WITH NO BUDGET, I MEAN, THE SKY LITERALLY WAS THE LIMIT.
Narrator: THE FINAL BILL FOR THE REBUILD, COMPLETED IN 1905, CAME TO THE EQUIVALENT OF ALMOST $20 MILLION IN TODAY'S MONEY.
TO SUCH WEALTHY ARISTOCRATS, EVERYTHING SEEMED POSSIBLE.
Man: MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN POWER AND AUTHORITY HAD A PROFOUND BELIEF IN THE INFINITE POSSIBILITIES OF ECONOMIC EXPANSION.
Narrator: THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF THE ERA WAS EMBODIED BY ONE MAN-- KING EDWARD VII.
James: EDWARD WAS A PLAYBOY.
HE HAD A WEAKNESS FOR WOMEN, CIGARS, AND BRANDY, AND PEOPLE THAT GRAVITATED TO HIM WOULD BE REGARDED BY MANY OF THE MORE OLDER GENERATION OF ARISTOCRATS AS CERTAINLY HIGHLY UNDESIRABLE FIGURES.
Narrator: BUT FOR THE YOUNGER ARISTOCRATS, EDWARD, SEEN HERE ENJOYING A SHOOTING PARTY, WAS THE ROLE MODEL FOR A LIFE OF INDULGENCE.
James: THE ENDLESS SHOOTING PARTIES AND RACE MEETINGS, THIS WAS GLAMOROUS, GLITTERING LIFE.
Narrator: THE PLAYBOY KING ALSO GAVE THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20th CENTURY ITS NAME-- THE EDWARDIAN ERA, HEYDAY OF BRITAIN'S GREAT MANOR HOUSES.
Kehoe: THE ARISTOCRATIC LIFE, FOR THE MOST PART, CENTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY ESTATE, AND IT IS ABOUT HUNTING.
IT'S ABOUT OUTDOOR PURSUITS, AND IT'S ABOUT MEN AND WOMEN BEING ABLE TO GET TOGETHER IN WHAT I WOULD CALL SET PIECES.
IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL AND GOING WELL, BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK HARDER, THAT'S WHEN ALL OF THE CRACKS AND FISSURES AND WEAKNESSES ARE EXPOSED.
James: THIS WAS A LIFE OF RELAXATION AND PLEASURE, AND AT THIS TIME, IT CONTRASTS WITH A GROWING POVERTY.
IT SEEMED TO PEOPLE AT THE TIME THAT THE GAP BETWEEN THE VERY RICH AND VERY POOR SEEMED TO BE WIDENING.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A REVOLUTION.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF TURBULENCE, BUT THERE ARE INEQUITIES.
Narrator: BUT MOST EDWARDIAN ARISTOCRATS CARRIED ON REGARDLESS.
IGNORING THE PROBLEMS OF THE POOR, THEIR WILDLY EXTRAVAGANT PARTIES WERE LEGENDARY.
THE GRAND ROOMS OF STATE IN THEIR VAST MANOR HOUSES PROVIDED THE BACKDROP FOR UNBRIDLED PLEASURE.
Lord Palmer: THIS BEING THE BALLROOM, YOU CAN IMAGINE THE SOUND OF MUSIC BEING PLAYED.
Kehoe: THE PARTIES ARE ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS] THEY'RE OFTEN COSTUME BALLS, ALL OF THIS WITH BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL CANDLELIGHT AND SERENADED WITH MUSIC.
ONE WOMAN WENT, I THINK, AS A ROMAN GODDESS, AND SHE HAD A SHIELD AND HER SPEAR AND A HELMET, PEOPLE JUST LOOKING LIKE PICTURES.
Narrator: EDWARDIAN COSTUME BALLS COULD HAVE AS MANY AS 700 ARISTOCRATS IN ATTENDANCE.
IT WAS A TIME OF LOOSE AND LAVISH EXTRAVAGANCE, SOMETIMES WITH MORALS TO MATCH.
[WOMAN GIGGLES] Kehoe: THE AFFAIRS THAT WENT ON WERE JUST LEGENDARY.
IT ADDS A LITTLE BIT OF THINGS GOING ON UNDER THE TABLE, GLANCES ACROSS THE CANDLELIGHT, SO LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF FLIRTATIONS, LOTS OF AFFAIRS, AND AS LONG AS IT'S DISCREET, IT'S PERFECTLY OK.
I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THESE BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL HOUSES WHERE THE PARTIES ARE JUST SPECTACULAR.
THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF THESE FRISSONS UNDERNEATH.
Narrator: FOR THE PRIVILEGED FEW, IT SEEMED THAT SUCH EXTRAVAGANCE NEED NEVER END, NO REASON TO BELIEVE THE SOURCE OF THEIR WEALTH WOULD EVER CHANGE.
FOR 1,000 YEARS, THE POWER BASE OF BRITISH ARISTOCRATS HAD BEEN ROOTED IN THEIR LAND.
BY THE EDWARDIAN ERA, THEY OWNED MORE THAN HALF THE LAND IN THE COUNTRY.
James: FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, LAND WAS POWER.
THE MORE LAND YOU HAD, THE MORE POWER YOU HAD, THE RICHER YOU WERE.
Narrator: DUNHAM MASSEY IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND HAS BEEN PRESERVED AS A CLASSIC EDWARDIAN MANOR HOUSE.
Woman: DUNHAM MASSEY WAS THE HOME OF THE EARLS OF STAMFORD.
THIS FAMILY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INFLUENTIAL.
THEY'VE ALWAYS ENTERTAINED POLITICIANS, AND THEY WERE KINSMEN TO THE KINGS AND QUEENS.
SO THEY HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF POWER.
THEY MAINTAINED THEIR POWER THROUGH HOLDING A LOT OF LAND BECAUSE LAND WAS EVERYTHING.
PEOPLE WHO LIVED ON YOUR LAND PAID YOU RENT, AND THAT'S HOW YOU MADE MONEY.
YOU BASICALLY OWNED THE LAND THAT THEY WERE LIVING ON.
Narrator: GIVEN THIS DEPENDENCE ON LAND, IT WAS VITAL FOR THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY TO KEEP THEIR GREAT COUNTRY ESTATES UNTOUCHED AND INTACT.
SO A TRADITION DEVELOPED OF HANDING THE ENTIRE ESTATE TO THE FIRST-BORN SON, THE HEIR.
THIS PRACTICE, KNOWN AS PRIMOGENITURE, PROTECTED THE INTEGRITY OF THE ESTATE.
Kehoe: PEOPLE WHO ARE IN POWER LIKE TO PERPETUATE POWER.
THEY LIKE TO HAND IT ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION.
THAT'S HOW IT WORKS.
James: NOTHING WAS TO BE WHITTLED AWAY OR PASSED IN OTHER AREAS OF THE FAMILY.
IT WENT FROM ELDEST SON TO ELDEST SON.
SO YOU HAD AN ACCUMULATION OF LAND.
LAND EQUALS WEALTH.
WEALTH EQUALS POWER.
THAT WAS THE EQUATION.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT PRIMOGENITURE IS THE PRIDE THAT ACCOMPANIES IT.
THE GOAL OF EACH DUKE OR OF EACH PEER OR OF EACH PERSON WHO OWNS A LARGE COUNTRY ESTATE IS TO HAND IT INTACT TO HIS SON.
IT IS SEEN TO BE A REAL FAILURE, A REAL FAILURE TO NOT HAND OVER THE ESTATE.
Narrator: AND, NOT CONTENT WITH JUST ALL THE LAND AND ALL THE MONEY, THE FORTUNATE FIRST-BORN SON INHERITED THE TITLE, AS WELL.
EACH BECAME AN EARL, A MARQUESS, OR A DUKE THE MOMENT HIS FATHER DIED... AND WITH THE TITLE CAME POLITICAL POWER.
NO NEED TO STAND FOR BOTHERSOME ELECTIONS.
ARISTOCRATS WERE ENTITLED TO SIT IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, BRITAIN'S UPPER HOUSE OF GOVERNMENT.
THERE, THEY COULD VETO ANY LEGISLATION... NOT THAT ELECTIONS WERE FREE AND FAIR, ANYWAY.
ONLY THOSE WITH LAND HAD THE VOTE.
POWERFUL FAMILIES RAN THE COUNTRY FROM BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, DRAWING THE POWER BROKERS OF BRITAIN INTO THEIR DINING ROOMS.
Taylor: IF YOU WANTED TO PUT A POLITICAL IDEA ACROSS, YOU'D INVITE SOMEONE TO DINNER, TO STAY WITH YOU FOR A WEEKEND.
THEN YOU CAN HAVE THEM AS A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE.
YOU CAN SPEND TIME.
YOU CAN VIRTUALLY LOBBY THEM ACROSS THE DINNER TABLE.
YOUR GUEST OF HONOR WOULD HAVE BEEN SEATED IN THE CENTER OF THE TABLE, SO IN ONE OF THESE TWO CHAIRS, YOUR GUEST OF HONOR.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE PERSON WHO YOU'D INVITED AS THE CENTER FOR YOUR DINNER PARTY.
Narrator: FOR CENTURIES, THE EARLS OF STAMFORD RUBBED SHOULDERS WITH THE GREAT AND THE GOOD OF THE NATION.
SO HERE AT THIS DINNER PARTY, THE GUEST OF HONOR IS THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON, AND SEATED RIGHT NEXT TO HIM IS THE COUNTESS OF STAMFORD, SO VERY HIGH UP IN TERMS OF GUEST OF HONOR, AND WE'VE ALSO GOT THE GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF POWER AROUND THIS TABLE.
Narrator: LAND HAD UNDERPINNED ALL POWER IN BRITAIN FOR 1,000 YEARS, BUT BY EDWARDIAN TIMES, THINGS WERE BEGINNING TO CHANGE.
THE AGRICULTURAL REVENUES OF THE GREAT COUNTRY ESTATES WERE DECLINING.
James: THE ARISTOCRACY HAD NOT INVESTED WELL IN THEIR OWN AGRICULTURE.
A LOT OF THEM WERE ON HARD TIMES, ALTHOUGH WHAT THE ARISTOCRATS CALLED HARD TIMES WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED AS HARD TIMES BY ANYONE ELSE.
WHAT'S HAPPENING FROM THE 1870s ONWARDS IS THAT YOU'RE GETTING BETTER TRANSPORTATION FROM AUSTRALIA AND FROM AMERICA.
YOU'RE GETTING BETTER REFRIGERATION.
SO YOU'RE ABLE TO TRANSPORT THESE GRAINS, AND YOU'RE ABLE TO TRANSPORT MEAT, AND IT'S MUCH CHEAPER.
Narrator: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BALANCED THE FALLING INCOME FROM AGRICULTURE FOR A WHILE.
INDUSTRIALISTS PAID TOP DOLLAR TO USE THE ARISTOCRATS' LAND...
BUT AS LAND BECAME LESS IMPORTANT, POWER SHIFTED AWAY FROM THOSE WHOSE FORTUNES WERE ROOTED IN AGRICULTURAL ESTATES.
Woman: THE DECLINE OF THE ARISTOCRACY IS COMING PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE CHANGING NOTIONS OF WEALTH.
SO WEALTH IS MOVING INTO BANKERS AND FINANCIERS AND AWAY FROM LAND.
Narrator: AND WHAT'S MORE, THEY COULDN'T EVEN SELL THE LAND.
A 13th-CENTURY LEGAL DEVICE KNOWN AS ENTAILMENT FORBADE AN HEIR FROM SELLING OFF ANY PART OF THE ESTATE.
IN CHANGING TIMES, THESE VAST ESTATES, THEIR GRAND HOUSES, AND THEIR RETINUES OF SERVANTS WERE BECOMING RUINOUSLY EXPENSIVE TO RUN...
BUT THE UPPER CLASSES COULD DRAW ON ONE FURTHER SOURCE OF WEALTH-- THE RICHES OF THE FAR-FLUNG BRITISH EMPIRE.
BRITAIN'S ARISTOCRACY RULED THE COLONIES IN MUCH THE SAME WAY AS THEY DID AT HOME-- MAKING MONEY FROM LAND AND AGRICULTURE.
Man: THE GREAT STATELY HOMES OF BRITAIN RESTED UPON INVESTMENT IN IMPERIAL POWER.
THAT'S HOW THEY COULD PAY ALL THEIR SERVANTS.
THERE IS NO "UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS" WITHOUT THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
Man: BRITISH EMPIRE WAS THE LARGEST EMPIRE THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN, AND THE FAMOUS PHRASE IS, THE SUN NEVER SET ON THE BRITISH EMPIRE BECAUSE AT SOME STAGE, THE SUN WAS ALWAYS SHINING ON BRITISH TERRITORY, AND I THINK AT ONE STAGE, THE BRITISH EMPIRE WAS ABOUT 25%, ROUGHLY A QUARTER OF THE TERRITORY OF THE GLOBE.
THIS WAS A PERIOD OF IMPERIAL CERTAINTY.
IT LOOKED AS THOUGH THE EMPIRE WOULD LAST FOREVER, RATHER LIKE THE AMERICAN EMPIRE TODAY.
Narrator: BUT IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE 20th CENTURY, THE SUPREMACY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE WAS UNDER THREAT.
THERE'S ALSO THE PERIOD OF THE RISE OF NATIONALISM.
PEOPLE WANTED THEIR OWN NATION STATE, AND THIS CAUSED A CRISIS BECAUSE IT'S A PERIOD OF THE RISE OF EMPIRE, BUT YOU ALSO SEE WITHIN IT THE BIRTH OF MOVEMENTS SUCH AS NATIONALISM THAT WILL DESTROY EMPIRE.
Narrator: THE SEEMINGLY INEVITABLE DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE WAS BEGINNING TO THREATEN THE BANKROLL OF BRITAIN'S RULING CLASSES.
MEANWHILE, A NEW THREAT WAS LOOMING MUCH CLOSER TO HOME.
AT THE HEART OF THE MANOR HOUSE, THE DIVISION BETWEEN UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS WAS CREATING AN UNDERCURRENT OF FRICTION AS THE CENTURY DREW ON.
THE GLITTERING SOCIAL WHIRL UPSTAIRS CONTRASTED EVER MORE SHARPLY WITH THE ENDLESS DRUDGERY OF LIFE BELOW STAIRS.
Woman: IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE 20th CENTURY, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 100 MEALS PREPARED IN THIS ROOM EVERY DAY.
AT THIS TOP END OF THE TABLE WITH HIS BACK TO THE WINDOW, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE CHEF.
HE WAS USUALLY FRENCH BECAUSE FRENCH CHEFS WERE HELD IN VERY HIGH ESTEEM AND IT WAS A SIGN OF GREAT PRESTIGE TO HAVE A FRENCH CHEF.
OPPOSITE HIM WOULD BE THE HEAD KITCHEN MAID, AND THEN DOWN AT THE OTHER END OF THE TABLE WOULD BE THE TWO JUNIOR KITCHEN MAIDS, AND THEY WOULD DO THE BASIC PREPARATION-- CHOPPING VEGETABLES, ALL THE SIMPLE JOBS.
BASICALLY, IT WAS NONSTOP, REALLY, BECAUSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN MEALS BEING SERVED MORNING, NOON, AND EVENING, AND IF THERE WERE ANY SPECIAL EVENTS OR SPECIAL DINNERS, THEY MAY HAVE TO STAY UP, YOU KNOW, TILL THE LAST GUEST HAD GONE TO BED.
SO, YES, THEY WERE LITERALLY ON THE GO ALMOST ALL DAY LONG.
Narrator: A KITCHEN MAID EARNED $28 A YEAR.
AN EARL WOULD EASILY SPEND MANY TIMES THAT SUM ON THE MONTHLY BILL FOR HIS FOOD.
THESE MAIDS RARELY STRAYED OUTSIDE THE KITCHEN, BUT THE HOUSEMAIDS HAD TO WORK ALL OVER THE BUILDING.
A HOUSEMAID'S DAY STARTED WELL BEFORE DAWN-- 17 HOURS OF SCRUBBING FLOORS, EMPTYING GRATES, CARRYING COAL, AND TENDING THE HOUSE.
Herbert: THE HOUSEMAIDS WOULD SPEND ALL THEIR TIME IN THE HOUSE CLEANING BEDROOMS, CLEANING LIVING ROOMS.
THEY SPENT THEIR DAYS CONSTANTLY RUNNING THROUGH TUNNELS CARRYING HEAVY BUCKETS AND CANS.
Woman: IT WAS WORK MOST OF THE TIME, AND THE WORK WAS JUST THE SAME THING EVERY DAY-- THE STAIRS, THE ROOMS, POLISHING, DUSTING.
EVERYBODY HAD THEIR OWN JOBS.
Narrator: BATH TIME TRULY TESTED A HOUSEMAID'S STAMINA-- HAULING 45 GALLONS OF WATER FOR JUST ONE BATH, AND THERE WERE DOZENS OF BATHS EACH EVENING.
EVEN WORSE, THEY HAD TO STAY OUT OF SIGHT.
Herbert: THE HOUSEMAID'S ROLE WAS TO BE INVISIBLE.
SO IF THEY WERE IN THE HOUSE, THEY HAD THEIR OWN SEPARATE STAIRCASES.
THEY HAD THEIR OWN CORRIDORS.
THEY WERE, IN THEORY, SUPPOSED TO STAND STILL AND LEAVE THE ROOM IF THE LORD ENTERED THE ROOM WHILE THEY WERE THERE.
THEY WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, BASICALLY, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AND LADY OF THE HOUSE.
James: THE HOUSE IS DIVIDED.
THE SERVANTS LIVED, IF YOU LIKE, IN THEIR OWN QUARTERS, WHICH WERE, TO AN EXTENT, CUT OFF.
OF COURSE, THEY HAD TO MOVE IN THE REST OF THE HOUSE.
THEY HAVE TO DO SO DISCRETELY, QUIETLY, NOT TO SPEAK UNLESS SPOKEN TO, AND TO GIVE A DEFERENTIAL AND HUMBLE MANNER.
Herbert: BETWEEN HERE AND THE MAIN HOUSE THERE WAS A TUNNEL GOING UNDERGROUND, AND THAT WAS SO THAT STAFF COULDN'T BE SEEN CROSSING THE COURTYARD, SO THAT ANY VISITORS OR GUESTS OF THE FAMILY WOULDN'T BE TROUBLED BY SEEING STAFF MILLING ABOUT THE PLACE.
Narrator: ALL MAIDS WERE CONTROLLED BY ONE WOMAN-- THE HOUSEKEEPER.
Herbert: THE HOUSEKEEPER WAS A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON.
SHE WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT FEMALE MEMBER OF STAFF.
DISCIPLINE WAS VERY STRICT.
EVEN IN THE SERVANTS' QUARTERS WHERE THE BEDROOMS WERE, THE MALE AND FEMALE STAFF HAD TO USE SEPARATE STAIRCASES, AND IF YOU WERE CAUGHT ON THE WRONG STAIRCASE, YOU COULD BE INSTANTLY DISMISSED.
Narrator: ABOVE THE MAIDS, THE FOOTMEN WOULD SERVE THE LORD AND HIS FAMILY, WHICH MEANT WEARING A LAVISH UNIFORM.
IN EDWARDIAN TIMES, A FOOTMAN'S LIVERY WAS A STATUS SYMBOL, SOMETIMES COSTING MORE THAN HIS ANNUAL SALARY.
Herbert: CERTAINLY, FOOTMAN IN THEIR UNIFORMS PROBABLY FELT QUITE SUPERIOR TO SOME OF THE OTHER-- THE SORT OF HOUSE MAIDS AND SO ON.
Narrator: APART FROM THE FOOTMEN, IT WAS ONLY THE BUTLER WHO NAVIGATED THE BOUNDARIES THAT SEPARATED UPSTAIRS FROM DOWNSTAIRS.
SPECIALLY MADE DOORS WERE INSTALLED TO KEEP THE ARISTOCRATS FREE FROM THE NOISES AND SMELLS OF THE SERVANTS.
WELL, THIS DOOR IS A GREEN BAIZE DOOR, AND THIS MARKS THE END OF THE SERVANTS' QUARTERS AND THE START OF ABOVE STAIRS.
Narrator: ABOVE STAIRS, EVERYTHING HAD TO BE PERFECT.
Taylor: WELL, IN THE EARLY 1900s, THIS IS HOW A DINING TABLE WOULD HAVE BEEN SET FOR ANY FORMAL LUNCHEON OR DINNER, AS WELL.
THE FOOTMAN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING THE TABLE, FOR LAYING IT OUT IN THIS STYLE.
THE BUTLER WOULD HAVE COME ROUND AFTER THE FOOTMAN AND MEASURED USING WHAT WE CALL A YARDSTICK, WHICH IS AN OLD ENGLISH MEASUREMENT.
IN THE DINING ROOM DURING DINNER, ONLY THE BUTLER AND THE FOOTMAN WOULD HAVE BEEN SERVING, BUT IN THE KITCHENS AND BEHIND THE SCENES, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A HIVE OF ACTIVITY, BUT ONLY THOSE MALE SERVANTS WOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED IN THE DINING ROOM.
IT WAS VERY STRICT SEGREGATION.
Narrator: THE GREATEST SEGREGATION, HOWEVER, REMAINED THE GULF BETWEEN THE WORKING POOR AND THE ARISTOCRATIC RICH.
WITH SOCIAL TENSIONS RISING AND THEIR WEALTH FROM LAND DECLINING, THE BRITISH UPPER CLASSES NEEDED AN INJECTION OF NEW CAPITAL.
IT WAS TO COME FROM AN UNLIKELY SOURCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC.
Winter: THE AMERICAN FAMILIES THAT BENEFITED FROM THE EXPANSION OF TRANSPORT, THE EXPANSION OF TRADE, IRON AND STEEL, AND SO ON WERE FABULOUSLY WEALTHY.
THE ULTRA RICH OF AMERICA GRAVITATE TOWARDS EUROPE, AND AT THE SAME TIME, THEY ARE INTRIGUED BY TITLES.
THEY ARE MESMERIZED BY THIS GLAMOROUS WORLD OF THE ARISTOCRACY.
Narrator: FREE FROM ANCIENT TRADITION, MANY AMERICAN MILLIONAIRES COULD SHARE THEIR FORTUNES AMONGST THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS.
IT CREATED THE PERFECT MATCH-- PLENTY OF ELIGIBLE AMERICAN HEIRESSES AND PLENTY OF AILING BRITISH ESTATES THAT NEEDED FUNDING.
A THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT ALL THIS LOVELY ENGLISH ARISTOCRACY IS, THEY'RE TOUGH.
THEY UNDERSTAND ESTATES, AND THEY UNDERSTAND HOW TO MAKE SURE THEY GET A GOOD DEAL.
THE BEST KINDS OF BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS ARE WHEN BOTH SIDES ARE GETTING WHAT THEY WANT.
Narrator: MILLIONAIRE LEONARD JEROME WAS ONE AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN WHO KNEW HOW TO GET WHAT HE WANTED.
Kehoe: LEONARD WAS A SELF-MADE MAN.
HE STARTED WITH NOTHING, AND HE ENDED UP CREATING A HUGE FORTUNE.
NOW, HE MADE AND LOST SEVERAL FORTUNES, BUT AGAIN, HE HAD A CERTAIN DEBONAIR, INSOUCIANT ATTITUDE TOWARDS MONEY.
Narrator: LEONARD JEROME WAS PREPARED TO GIVE SUBSTANTIAL SUMS TO HIS 3 DAUGHTERS... AND HE SENT ALL OF THEM ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO MARRY INTO THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY.
CASTLE LESLIE IN COUNTY MONAGHAN IS HOME TO THE BARONETS OF GLASLOUGH.
IT WAS HERE THAT ONE OF THE JEROME SISTERS, LEONIE, ARRIVED FRESH FROM AMERICA.
HERE IN THE DRAWING ROOM, WE HAVE THE USUAL COLLECTION OF FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OVER HERE WE HAVE A NICE, LITTLE PORTRAIT OF THE 3 JEROME SISTERS, AND HERE WE HAVE LEONIE, KNOWN AS THE WISE, WHO MARRIED JACK LESLIE.
Narrator: JACK LESLIE WAS THE SECOND BARONET OF GLASLOUGH.
BY THE TIME HE MET LEONIE, HIS FORTUNE WAS BEGINNING TO FADE.
Leslie-King: LAND REFORM WAS COMING INTO PLAY, AND THESE BIG ESTATES, WHICH IS WHERE HIS INCOME CAME FROM, WAS BEING CHOPPED DOWN THE WHOLE TIME, AND HE KNEW THAT HE WAS GOING TO HAVE TO EITHER MARRY A LOT OF MONEY OR CHANGE HIS WHOLE ESTATE STRUCTURE.
HE HAD BEEN TOLD HE MUST GO OUT AND MARRY AN HEIRESS.
Narrator: WITHOUT LEONIE, THE GRAND ESTATE WOULDN'T BE WHAT IT IS TODAY.
YET IT WASN'T EASY FOR AMERICAN GIRLS TO ENTER BRITISH HIGH SOCIETY.
LEONIE HAD MARRIED INTO A FAMILY WHOSE ARISTOCRATIC ROOTS CAN BE TRACED BACK MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS, TO THE EARLIEST DAYS OF THE NOBILITY.
Leslie-King: OLD FAMILIES MARRIED INTO OTHER OLD FAMILIES OR APPROVED FAMILIES, WHICH WAS WHY THEY WERE ALL QUIETLY GOING MAD, AND THESE NEW AMERICANS-- NEW MONEY, NOUVEAU RICHE-- COMING OVER ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, THEY WERE UNKNOWNS.
Narrator: THE BARONET'S MOTHER-- THE DOWAGER LADY CONSTANCE LESLIE, KNOWN AS GRANNY BOO-- WASN'T BEST-PLEASED BY THE MATCH.
Leslie-King: GRANNY BOO REFUSED TO MEET HER, WOULDN'T TALK TO HER, WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HER FOR A LONG TIME.
I MEAN, I'M TALKING YEARS.
SHE HAD QUITE A SEVERE AND CONTROLLING VIEW ON LIFE AND ON WHO HER SON SHOULD MARRY, AND SHE WAS ACTUALLY QUITE A DRAGON, I SUPPOSE YOU'D CALL HER.
Narrator: THE DINING ROOM WAS THE PROVING GROUND.
Leslie-King: YOU'VE GOT 8 OR 9 KNIVES, FORKS, SPOONS LAID OUT ON EITHER SIDE, AND YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW WHICH KNIFE, WHICH FORK TO USE WITH WHICH COURSE, WHICH GLASS YOU'VE GOT TO DRINK FROM, WHEN YOU DRINK FROM IT, HOW YOU DRINK FROM IT.
IF YOU GO INTO A DINNER PARTY AND IF YOU'RE NOT AU FAIT WITH THE SOCIAL GRACES LIKE THAT, YOU WON'T LAST 10 MINUTES.
IT ALWAYS MEANT THAT LEONIE AND HER SIBLINGS WERE ALWAYS ON THEIR TOES WHEN IT CAME TO BEHAVING IN SOCIAL GATHERINGS OF ANY DESCRIPTION BECAUSE TO THEM, IT WASN'T NECESSARILY SECOND NATURE.
IT WAS AN ADOPTED LIFESTYLE.
[PIANO PLAYING BEETHOVEN'S SONATA NO.
14 IN C# MINOR] Narrator: MODERN-DAY BARONET JACK LESLIE, NOW 96 YEARS OLD, REMEMBERS LEONIE, HIS GRANDMOTHER.
OH, SHE WAS DELIGHTFUL, SO WITTY AND AMUSING, FULL OF AMUSING CONVERSATION, VERY TEMPERAMENTAL.
NO.
I THINK SHE LIKED IT FROM THE BEGINNING.
[PIANO CONTINUES] SHE WOULD CATCH ON IMMEDIATELY AS WHAT TO DO AND NOT TO DO.
Narrator: LEONIE MOVED IN A WORLD OF STRICT CONVENTION, BUT IF YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING, YOU COULD BEND THE RULES.
Leslie-King: IN THE EDWARDIAN WORLD, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO HAVE LOVERS, MAYBE ENGAGED IN OTHER MARRIAGES, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS DONE IN A SUBTLE WAY, AND LEONIE WAS VERY MUCH PART OF THAT WORLD.
SHE HAD A LOVE AFFAIR WHICH WAS DISCREETLY TOLERATED WITH ARTHUR, DUKE OF CONNAUGHT.
IT WAS SUBTLE GAME THAT YOU PLAYED, BUT IT COULD, AND IT DID, GO ON.
Narrator: OVER THE COURSE OF HER 84-YEAR LIFE, LEONIE MADE HER MARK ON CASTLE LESLIE, BUT SHE WASN'T THE ONLY ONE OF THE 3 SISTERS TO BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY.
LEONIE'S SISTER JENNIE JEROME ALSO BROUGHT IN FRESH BLOOD WHEN SHE MARRIED RANDOLPH CHURCHILL, THIRD SON OF THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.
I WOULD SAY THAT JENNIE WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST GLAMOROUS AND ATTRACTIVE WOMEN THAT ONE COULD EVER SEE.
SHE WAS MORE OF A PANTHER THAN A WOMAN, AND JENNIE WAS ONE THESE PEOPLE WHO WAS SO CHARISMATIC AND SO BEAUTIFUL THAT SHE WOULD JUST WALK INTO A ROOM AND EVERYBODY WOULD STOP WHAT THEY WERE DOING TO LOOK AT HER.
Narrator: JENNIE'S SON WINSTON CHURCHILL WOULD BECOME BRITAIN'S MOST FAMOUS PRIME MINISTER...
BUT THE FUTURE STATESMAN GAINED MORE THAN MONEY FROM HIS AMERICAN LINEAGE.
Kehoe: WINSTON DID FEEL THAT HE INHERITED A LOT OF HIS DRIVE FROM HIS AMERICAN MOTHER AND FROM HIS AMERICAN SIDE.
SHE DOES PASS ON A WORK ETHIC TO HIM.
SHE NEVER EVER, EVER GIVES HIM ANY SENSE OF ANYTHING OTHER THAN HE MUST MAKE HIS MARK ON THIS WORLD.
Narrator: BY 1912, THE WAVE OF TRANSATLANTIC MARRIAGES HAD CONTRIBUTED ALMOST $60 MILLION TO THE BRITISH ECONOMY.
Kehoe: STARTING FROM THE 1880s RIGHT UP THROUGH THE 1900s UP TO THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, THERE WERE, I WOULD SAY, PROBABLY ABOUT 100 OF THESE TRANSATLANTIC MARRIAGES, AND THEY WERE KNOWN AS CASH FOR TITLES.
Narrator: THE AMERICAN HEIRESSES MAY HAVE BROUGHT CASH, BUT THEY ALSO HAD TO PROVE THEMSELVES WORTHY OF THEIR NEW TITLES.
Lady Palmer: I THINK THE AMERICANS WERE QUICK LEARNERS, AND I THINK THEY FELL INTO PLACE VERY EASILY WITHOUT TOO MUCH EDUCATING ON THE ARTS OF BEING A LADY.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE ARISTOCRACY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VERY GOOD ONE.
THEY WERE ALL VERY KIND TO ME AND INTERESTED IN ME.
Narrator: BUT AMERICA WAS NOT ONLY ATTRACTIVE TO THE ARISTOCRATS.
THOUSANDS OF WORKING-CLASS BRITONS LOOKED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC FOR A BETTER LIFE.
THE THIRD-CLASS CABINS OF THE GREAT EDWARDIAN OCEAN LINERS WERE PACKED WITH HOPEFUL EMIGRANTS.
MANY BOARDED THE TITANIC IN 1912.
Kehoe: THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC REALLY HIGHLIGHTS A WHOLE HOST OF ISSUES THAT ARE JUST DOMINATING WHAT IS HAPPENING.
THE CLASS DIVIDE IS SO PERVASIVE IN ENGLAND, AND IT'S REPRESENTED BY THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THE FIRST- AND SECOND- AND THIRD-CLASS PASSENGERS.
Winter: THE SINKING OF THAT SHIP DESCRIBED INEQUALITY IN A WAY THAT PROBABLY FEW OTHER EVENTS COULD.
WATCHING THE TITANIC WAS LIKE WATCHING THE ENGLISH STRUCTURE GOING UNDER THE WAVES.
Narrator: THE DIFFERENT STRATA OF BRITAIN'S SOCIETY WERE HOUSED ACCORDING TO RANK, JUST AS THEY WERE WITHIN BRITISH MANOR HOUSES.
ON THE TITANIC, THIS HARSH SEGREGATION COST LIVES.
Kehoe: THE SURVIVAL RATES WERE TERRIBLE FOR THE THIRD-CLASS PASSENGERS, VERY BAD FOR THE SECOND-CLASS PASSENGERS, BUT MOST OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FIRST-CLASS SURVIVED.
IT WAS REALLY A SEISMIC MOMENT ON MANY LEVELS AND IN MANY WAYS A PRECURSOR TO THE END OF THE ERA.
THIS REALLY, REALLY JUST HIGHLIGHTED AND SHOWCASED ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE WRONG.
Narrator: THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON THE DIVISIONS IN BRITISH SOCIETY IN A WAY THAT WAS DIFFICULT TO IGNORE.
Winter: THERE WAS A STRONG REACTION IN BOTH BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES AGAINST THE ENORMOUS DISPARITIES OF WEALTH PRODUCED BY GLOBALIZATION AND BY INDUSTRIALIZATION.
THESE ARE INEQUALITIES THAT WE ASSOCIATE WITH THE THIRD WORLD TODAY.
THERE WAS A NEW SHADOW ON THE POLITICAL HORIZON, AND THAT SHADOW WAS WORKING MEN DEMANDING THEIR RIGHTS.
Narrator: THE CERTAINTIES OF TRADITIONAL MANOR HOUSE LIFESTYLE WERE UNDER THREAT, AND THE DISGRUNTLEMENT HAD FILTERED THROUGH TO THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT.
DAVID LLOYD GEORGE WAS SECOND-IN-COMMAND TO THE PRIME MINISTER.
HE TRIED TO TAX THE RICH TO HELP THE POOR.
Winter: LLOYD GEORGE BELIEVED THAT THE 20th CENTURY WOULD BE THE CENTURY OF THE COMMON MAN, THAT EQUALITY WOULD BE A MUCH MORE POWERFUL ELEMENT IN 20th-CENTURY LIFE THAN IT HAD BEEN IN 19th-CENTURY LIFE.
Narrator: BUT THE ARISTOCRATIC HOUSE OF LORDS RESISTED THE CHANGES.
Hughes: THE HOUSE OF LORDS WAS ABLE TO BLOCK ALL THE LEGISLATION THAT WOULD CHANGE THE CONDITION FOR WORKING-CLASS PEOPLE.
Narrator: BATTLE WAS JOINED.
IN AN INCENDIARY SPEECH, LLOYD GEORGE DECLARED THE DAY OF RECKONING WAS NIGH.
Hughes: THERE WAS A WAVE OF STRIKES ACROSS BRITAIN BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
SO THE WORKING CLASS WERE AGITATING FOR CHANGE.
Richardson: THERE'S A SORT OF FLEXING OF THE INDUSTRIAL MUSCLE.
THIS INDUSTRIAL MILITANCY ALSO HAS A POLITICAL VOICE IN PARLIAMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Narrator: THE COUNTRY WAS ON THE BRINK OF REVOLUTION.
Hughes: IT GOT TO SUCH A DIFFICULT SITUATION THAT THE KING FORCED THE HOUSE OF LORDS TO ACCEPT LEGISLATION.
Narrator: WITH THE HOUSE OF LORDS STRIPPED OF ITS ABSOLUTE POWER, MANOR HOUSE POLITICS WERE ON THE WAY OUT.
AND WHAT'S INTERESTING TO ME AND TO ANY HISTORIAN IS WHAT DO PEOPLE DO WHEN FACED WITH CHANGE.
CHANGE IS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL PRISM THROUGH WHICH YOU CAN SEE THINGS.
IT'S EXCITING BECAUSE IT'S A PERIOD OF TRANSITION AND YOU GOT WORKING CLASS BECOMING MUCH MORE ASSERTIVE.
Hughes: IT'S THE BEGINNING OF A PERIOD OF CHANGE, BUT THE ARISTOCRATIC WORLD THAT YOU OFTEN SEE IN PERIOD DRAMAS CARRIES ON AS BEFORE.
EVEN THOUGH THE WORLD IS CHANGING, THE ARISTOCRACY HASN'T YET MADE THE SHIFT FROM THE OLD WORLD TO THE NEW.
Richardson: THE ARISTOCRACY, I THINK, IN THIS PERIOD, THEY'RE PRETTY MUCH IMMUNE TO WHAT'S GOING ON.
THEY'RE IN THEIR COUNTRY HOUSES SURROUNDED BY SERVANTS.
SO THEY SEE, YOU KNOW, THE WORKERS AS DEFERENTIAL.
IT'S A SORT OF PARALLEL UNIVERSE.
IT'S AN INDIAN SUMMER FOR THEM.
THEY'RE VERY COMPLACENT AND ASSURED IN THEIR ROLE AS SORT OF LEADERS OF SOCIETY.
Narrator: BUT THOSE LEADERS OF SOCIETY WERE BEING CHALLENGED ON ALL FRONTS, AND THE WORLD OF THE BRITISH MANOR HOUSE WAS CHANGING IN OTHER WAYS, TOO.
THE NEW WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY WAS MAKING ITS MARK.
Man: TOWARDS THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY, THERE WAS ONE OF THESE PERIODS IN HISTORY WHERE ALL KINDS OF AMAZING INVENTIONS AND NEW TECHNOLOGY OCCURRED.
Narrator: FRESH IDEAS, SUCH AS ELECTRICITY, WOULD SOON REVOLUTIONIZE THE MANOR HOUSE AND THREATEN THOUSANDS OF JOBS IN SERVICE.
I THINK A LOT OF ARISTOCRATIC PEOPLE LIKED ELECTRICITY, BUT THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT IT.
IT WAS A BIT BRIGHT, AND YOU FIND LADIES SAYING, YOU KNOW, "IT'S GHASTLY.
"WELL, YOU KNOW, EVERY WRINKLE IN MY FACE SHOWS WITH THESE THINGS."
Narrator: BUT THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THREATENED FAR MORE THAN EXPOSING A LADY'S COMPLEXION.
Weightman: THEY SUDDENLY DISCOVERED WITH ELECTRICAL THINGS, THEY COULD RUN THIS BIG HOUSEHOLD WITH FAR FEWER STAFF.
Narrator: THE WORLD OF SERVICE WAS SHRINKING.
Kehoe: IT REALLY IS DURING THIS TIME THAT THE SEEDS OF CHANGE ARE BEING SOWN.
THEY'RE BEING SOWN BECAUSE THE WORLD AROUND THEM IS CHANGING.
Narrator: YET FOR MANY OF THE WOMEN IN SERVICE, NEW TECHNOLOGY OFFERED NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
IN 1912, WOMEN OUTNUMBERED MEN IN SERVICE BY A FACTOR OF 12 TO ONE, BUT ANOTHER INVENTION WAS EMERGING THAT THREATENED TO LURE THOSE WOMEN AWAY FROM THEIR MANOR HOUSE LIVES.
Weightman: THERE WAS THIS AMERICAN INVENTION, REALLY.
THE TYPEWRITER IS A VERY CLEVER MACHINE.
CERTAINLY BY THE EARLY 1900s, THERE WERE TYPEWRITERS IN OFFICES, AND THE TYPEWRITER WAS GRADUALLY TAKEN OVER BY WOMEN.
IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PERIOD FOR YOUNG WOMEN.
YOU GOT THE RISE OF THE SECRETARY, FOR EXAMPLE.
THE SORTS OF WOMEN WHO'D GO INTO THAT SORT OF ROLE ARE PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE GONE INTO DOMESTIC SERVICE.
Kehoe: SO YOU GOT TECHNOLOGY CHANGING.
YOU'VE GOT THE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE ON WHICH THE NATION IS BASED, WHICH IS CHANGING.
YOU'VE GOT REALLY THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
Narrator: IT WAS AMID THIS SEA OF CHANGE THAT THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY EMBARKED ON THEIR FINAL GOLDEN SUMMER.
JULY 1914.
THE SUMMER PARTY SEASON IS IN FULL SWING.
James: NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
SO EVERYTHING WAS GOING ON AS USUAL.
Kehoe: THERE'S ALMOST THIS ELEMENT OF FIDDLING WHILE ROME BURNS.
SO EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE THESE DARK UNDERCURRENTS, THERE ARE THESE LAVISH, INCREDIBLE PARTIES THAT TAKE PLACE.
WHAT WE SEE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING SHAKEN, SLOWLY SHAKEN, SLOWLY STIRRED.
THEY HAVEN'T QUITE YET BEEN LAUNCHED INTO AN EXPLOSIVE SITUATION, BUT IT'S COMING.
James: WHAT HAPPENED ADDED TO THE POIGNANCY OF THE LAST GLORIOUS SEASON.
MANY WHO TOOK PART IN THAT SEASON WOULD BE DEAD WITHIN 4 YEARS, MOST WITHIN TWO YEARS.
[BELL TOLLS] Narrator: FAR FROM THE GARDENS OF THE BRITISH COUNTRY HOUSE, CONFLICT DARKENED THE HORIZON.
DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20th CENTURY, THE EMPIRES OF EUROPE WERE PREPARING FOR WAR.
Hughes: STORM CLOUDS WERE BREWING-- THIS HUGE WAR AND THEN BIG IDEOLOGICAL CLASHES.
THIS THING WOULD BE A GREAT TRAUMA FOR EUROPE... AND IT HAPPENS VERY SUDDENLY.
SO IT'S A SHOCK TO EVERYONE.
Narrator: OVER 4 TRAGIC YEARS, BETWEEN 1914 AND 1918, THE FIRST WORLD WAR WAS A DECISIVE BLOW TO THE STABILITY OF THE BRITISH MANOR HOUSE.
Winter: THE FIRST WORLD WAR WAS A CHOICE, AN ABSOLUTELY INSANE AND DOOMED CHOICE ON THE PART OF THE MILITARY AND POLITICAL ELITE, AND WHAT THEY DIDN'T REALIZE IS THAT THEY HAD OPENED PANDORA'S BOX.
Narrator: THE BRITISH ARMY MIRRORED THE CLASS STRUCTURE OF MANOR HOUSE LIFE.
ARISTOCRATS BECAME THE OFFICERS OF MEN WHO ONCE MAY HAVE WORKED ON THEIR COUNTRY ESTATES.
Hughes: THE BRITISH ARMY THAT WENT TO WAR IN 1914 WAS SHARPLY DIVIDED BETWEEN THE OFFICERS WHO CAME FROM AN UPPER SOCIAL CLASS AND THE MEN WHO, GENERALLY SPEAKING, WERE AGRICULTURAL LABORERS OR CAME FROM AN INDUSTRIAL WORKING BACKGROUND.
THERE WASN'T, PERHAPS, THE BREAKING DOWN OF THE SOCIAL DIVISION BETWEEN OFFICERS AND MEN THAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT.
Narrator: BUT MANY OFFICERS DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE CENTURY'S NEW TECHNOLOGIES WOULD CREATE MECHANIZED WARFARE.
THE RESULT WAS CARNAGE.
20,000 BRITISH SOLDIERS WERE KILLED ON THE BLOODIEST DAY OF THE WAR AND AROUND 600,000 MORE OVER ITS 4-YEAR COURSE.
THE ARISTOCRATIC OFFICER CLASS HAD LOST THEIR STANDING AS LEADERS OF MEN, AND THE ONE-TIME DIGNITY OF A LIFE "IN SERVICE TO YOUR LORD" WAS PERMANENTLY TAINTED.
Winter: THE MAJORITY OF WORKING MEN IN BRITAIN IN 1914 WHO DIED FOR THE COUNTRY DIDN'T HAVE THE VOTE.
Hughes: THE FIRST WORLD WAR ACCELERATES CHANGE THAT'S HAPPENING BEFORE THE WAR.
THERE'S A LOT OF SOCIAL DISCONTENT.
SO THE PASSING OF AN OLD WORLD AND THE COMING OF A NEW WORLD IN THIS PERIOD CAPTURE THAT MOOD OF CHANGE AS YOU GO FROM THE OLD WORLD TO THE NEW, THE ONE THAT WE'RE LIVING IN NOW.
Narrator: IT MEANT UPHEAVAL FOR BOTH SERVANT AND MASTER.
James: THE SHOCK IS ENORMOUS-- CASUALTY LISTS AND THE NEWSPAPERS PRINTED WITH BLACK EDGES WITH THE LIST OF DEAD, PLENTY OF ARISTOCRATIC NAMES, PLENTY OF BLUE-BLOODED NAMES.
THIS IS A SURPRISE.
THIS IS NOT WHAT ANYONE EXPECTED.
Narrator: FOR THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY, IT WAS THE END OF LIFE AS THEY KNEW IT.
James: AND YOU HAVE ARISTOCRATS FACING EXTINCTION.
SO IN 1918, I THINK, THE DEEP SENSE OF PESSIMISM-- THIS HAD GONE HORRIBLY WRONG-- AND I THINK ALSO A SENSE THAT NO ONE KNEW HOW IT COULD BE PUT RIGHT AGAIN.
Narrator: THE UPSTAIRS-DOWNSTAIRS WORLD OF THE EDWARDIAN MANOR HOUSE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
Lord Palmer: THE WHOLE SOCIAL SCENARIO WAS COMPLETELY CHANGED BY THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
ALL THE FOOTMEN WENT OFF TO FIGHT, AND, OF COURSE, AN AWFUL LOT OF THEM DIDN'T COME BACK.
THERE WERE 98 EMPLOYEES JUST PRIOR TO THE ACTUAL FIRST WORLD WAR, WHEREAS I SHOULD THINK BY THE 1920s, IT WAS PROBABLY DOWN TO ABOUT SORT OF 30 OR 40, WHICH IS A HUGE DROP, IF ONE THINKS ABOUT IT.
Narrator: THE BRITISH MANOR HOUSE WAS HEADING FOR VIRTUAL EXTINCTION.
Lord Palmer: THE VAST FORTUNE THAT MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER LEFT WAS DWINDLED TO VIRTUALLY NOTHING BY THE TIME MY GRANDMOTHER DIED IN 1956.
EVERYBODY ASSUMES BECAUSE ONE LIVES IN A BEAUTIFUL, HUGE HOUSE THAT ONE IS IMMENSELY RICH, AND, OF COURSE, IF WE SOLD THE ENTIRE HOUSE AND THE CONTENTS, ONE WOULD BE EXTREMELY RICH, BUT I DO FEEL VERY, VERY RESPONSIBLE.
Lady Palmer: I THINK LINEAGE IS IMPORTANT, AND WE ALL RESPECT THAT, THAT HE CARES SO MUCH FOR HIS PROPERTY, AND IN THE NEXT GENERATION, WE HOPE THAT'LL CONTINUE.
Narrator: THROUGHOUT THE 20th CENTURY, THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY, AND THE UPSTAIRS-DOWNSTAIRS WORLD OF THE GREAT MANOR HOUSES CONTINUED TO CHANGE.
Hughes: THE CHANGE FROM AN EDWARDIAN BRITAIN TO A MODERN BRITAIN DIDN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
EVENTUALLY, THE ARISTOCRACY DISAPPEAR IN THE FORM THAT YOU SEE THEM IN THE EDWARDIAN PRE-1914 WORLD.
Kehoe: WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH AND WE HAVE TO LEARN TO ADAPT AND TO EMBRACE IT, TO SAY IT'S FAIR.
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