England Occupations, Lodging, Eating, Coffee Houses (National Institute)

Lodging for travellers
In mediaeval times the monasteries and inns provided overnight accommodation for those few who had to travel. Inns flourished after the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII and the 2,000-3,000 inn keepers had to be licensed at the brewster sessions. As lodging places, inns along the coach routes tended to be displaced by public houses close to railway stations from the 1830s, although those situated in market places prospered. The first hotel was built in Exeter in 1768 and was called simply, The Hotel, but when it was enlarged in 1827 it became the Royal Clarence Hotel after the visit of the eponymous Duchess that year. There were few other hotels before 1800 but the Regency fashion for holidays by the sea, and the necessity for accommodations close to the larger railway stations caused them to multiply.

In earlier centuries inn keepers were members of the Innholders Company. Coaching inns and their more modern counterparts needed to advertise for trade and it is not hard to find annual listings in the various directories, including the Law List and in newspapers.

Hotel workers
This level of hotel worker was not the person who works in the kitchens or as maids. The titles for this group would be the hotel manager, the concierge, the maître d’, the sommelier, and the restaurant manager. Each of these specialized positions required an ability to interact with the gentry, to resolve their problems, and to make their stay seamless and uneventful.

There were two major classes of hotels in Victorian times; those for the gentry, and those known as family hotels.

Grand hotels were built near the great railroad stations and they would be considered sumptuous even by our standards (if primitive in some ways). Upper and wealthy middle class people/families would stay there. It would have been considered a treat for local people to have lunch or dinner in a grand hotel, maybe once a year, for a special occasion. Many of the ‘Five Star’ hotels would not even allow locals in the front door! This type of person was arrogant, expecting that his or her every whim would be taken care of. Enter the hotel management.

Upon arrival the guest would be greeted by name and by title. The hotel manager would ensure that there were bus boys at the curb to collect the luggage. He would have arranged with the concierge and the sommelier to have a bouquet of flowers, and a quality wine to be sent to the room. He would request of the guest whether they would like a private meal in their room, or a table reserved in the Main Restaurant.

If in the restaurant, the restaurant manager would then take over, sending a First Waiter to the room to take the order and also to determine the time the guest(s) would arrive.

Today this seems to be ‘over the top’, but it was very common in Victorian times. Each of these managers would know that, in most instances, there would be a handsome gratuity for them, both during the stay and also as the guest(s) departed. Hotels such as CLARIDGES, The GREAT WESTERN, and VICTORIA were indicative of the caliber of hotels in this class.

Eating places
Food had traditionally been available for the traveller at monastic houses, and then from inns, taverns, public houses, hotels and restaurants as they successively developed to meet the increasing demand. The early records of the London Cooks’ Company are kept at the Guildhall Library and Webb (London Apprentices Volume 26. Cooks’ Company 1654-1800. Society of Genealogists, 1999) has indexed over 3,000 apprenticeships from 1654-1800. Those who ran premises licensed to sell alcohol will be found in the Victuallers Licences (Gibson and Hunter). Hudson (Where We Used to Work. J. Baker, London. , 1980) has discussed the practice of eating out mainly in the 20th century, and if your ancestress was a nippy at a Joe Lyons teahouse there is a great history of the company by Bird (The First Food Empire - A History of J. Lyons and Co. Phillimore).

Coffee Houses
Coffee was introduced into England about 1650, chocolate about 1657 and tea about 1660 (Rumens), and the coffee house, where all three could be consumed, became so popular that by 1698 there were over 2,000 of them in London (Miniature Books). They became the centres of commercial and literary life in the capital and Lloyd’s coffee house went on to become a major shipping and insurance concern. Since much business was transacted therein they tend to be listed in directories and the Law List.

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