Female servants working ‘upstairs’ – in the main part of the house, would usually wear a smart black uniform with a pristine white apron. This was because they would be seen by the family they worked for and so had to be ‘presentable’. Women and girls working behind-the-scenes ‘below stairs’ wore a red and white striped dress like this one. This dress would have belonged to a scullery maid or laundry maid, or a maid of ‘all work’. It dates to 1910 but the style of this type of dress hadn’t changed for the poorer classes since the late Victorian times.
Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum and Grounds