The Top Floor
The rooms on this floor were used for a variety of purposes, including bathrooms and maids’ rooms.
Although by 1912 there were no children living here, there was a playroom at Preston Manor, which Ellen’s half-sisters would have used when they were growing up here, as would Ellen’s grandson Vere on his visits.
At the far end of the corridor is a maids’ storeroom, which contains some fascinating cleaning devices from the period. The other rooms contain Charles’s bathroom and WC. It was not considered appropriate for a husband and wife to share a bathroom, so these rooms were converted for the use of Charles when Ellen’s bathroom was installed. Charles didn’t get them entirely to himself, however, as they were also used by overnight guests. The bathroom has an early shower, which would have been quite unusual at the time.
The white door opposite the top of the stairs led to the servants’ bedrooms. The rooms were small and had no insulation, meaning they were very hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. Maids slept two to a room and were issued with two thin blankets each.
Before the time of Charles and Ellen there were no windows in these attic rooms, but a visiting doctor described the conditions as “Godforsaken”, which prompted Ellen to have skylights and dormer windows installed.