Workshop 1: The material culture of country house servants

The country house is known across Europe for its grand interiors and elite lifestyle, but heritage professionals and historians have increasingly noted the everyday activities and consumption practices that under-pinned life at the country house. This workshop will explore the ways in which servants, who formed the majority of the inhabitants in any country house, fitted into these processes. It will bring together researchers from a range of European countries to explore how the accommodation and possessions of servants varied across space and through the long eighteenth century, thereby bringing a broader context to our understanding of the country house and its material culture.