The Valet
Duties
The
job of the valet, or ‘gentleman’s gentleman’, was to attend to the person of
his master, waiting on him while dressing and undressing, and attending to his
wardrobe and dressing needs. The model valet was invaluable, coping with the trivialities
of the day so that the master didn’t have to. He did everything from shaving
and dressing his lordship to ironing his bootlaces and newspaper. Boots were
polished, ties neatly arranged, cuff-links counted and clothes carefully
brushed and laid out for wear.
The
valet was expected to have an excellent knowledge of fashion and hairstyles, to
ensure his master was always beautifully turned out. When his employer
travelled, it was the valet who packed and unpacked his portmanteau. He was
also in charge of his lordship’s hunting gear and had to act as loader during
shoots, tramping after his master, carrying the heavy cartridge bag.
The
valet was often foreign and acquired a superficial gentility through his close association with his master, whom he accompanied on
trips to
Valets at
The valet was
something of a status symbol and many households adopted the cheaper
alternative of allowing the footman to act as a valet as well. This was the
case at
“Lord Carlow doesn’t mean to have any
valet-de-chambre but a footman, which I am very glad
of, as if he dresses hair well enough, he will be of much more use than an
upper servant.”
(Gleanings
from an Old Portfolio, I.157)
Subsequent Earls of
Portarlington do seem to have employed a full-time valet, and the intimate
nature of their work meant that many valets developed a close relationship with
their employer. This seems to have been the case for Godfrey Müller, valet to the 3rd Earl of Portarlington.
In the latter’s will, Godfrey was left all his master’s
wardrobe (except sables, furs and official robes), along with a sum of
₤200 and a generous annuity of ₤50 a year, which he received for
the rest of his life (indeed, tax returns for the estate show that he received
the annuity for another 29 years!) Equally, the valet of the 5th
Earl, William Penny, was bequeathed a sum of ₤50 by his late employer.
Although they
performed similar services, valets typically earned twice as much as lady’s
maids, approximately ₤40-70. As a member of the upper staff, the valet
joined the housekeeper and butler in the ‘Pug’s parlour’ at mealtimes and had
relatively comfortable accommodation. At