Abstract
This study of domestic servants in some upper-class Edinburgh households between 1861 and 1891 examines issues of diversity and ‘hidden and unexplored’ issues that are now recognized as lying behind the national aggregates. For instance, the more specific job titles revealed here would appear to reflect an increasing willingness to complete the census form properly rather than, as has been claimed, a growth in specialization within domestic service. This view finds support from the less precise description of place of birth in the earlier censuses. The number of servants per household remained virtually constant, as did the age distribution of the servants. Constancy was also a feature of the place of birth of the servants with, both in 1861 and 1891, a very distinct bias towards the eastern side of the country. Change did occur, however, in the demise of a local charitable institution that appears to have played an important role in the recruitment and welfare of Edinburgh servants and its replacement by commercial agencies and newspaper advertisements.
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