Good morning, and welcome to Apsley House. My name is Matilda Cross and I am the housekeeper.
You may call me Matilda.
I do have a number of very important tasks to complete this morning so I can't dally
for too long. I understand some of you children have some questions for me though.
Come on, don’t be shy, speak up.
Hello, I’m Aden and I’m 10 years old.
How do you do. What’s your question?
What does a housekeeper do?
I work behind the scenes of the house, keeping everything clean and tidy for his Grace, the Duke of Wellington.
I manage the household staff, make sure the house is very clean and keep
the kitchen well stocked for the chef.
I rarely do any of the cleaning myself but I manage all of the staff that do.
Including 4 housemaids and a head housemaid.
Today we are preparing for a banquet so everyone is very busy.
I mostly work in the service area of the house away from where his Grace and family live and entertain their guests.
I will meet with the Duchess to discuss what needs to ordered and to see if she has any special instructions for me.
I also manage the household budget to ensure we have the food for the grand banquet
as well as the normal weekly meals.
This can be quite a challenge since the banquets require a significant amount of unusual food.
More about that later.
I haven't been in the employment of his Grace for very long, so I need to make sure everything is absolutely perfect.
Thank you Matilda.
You're welcome child. Do you have another question?
Hello, I’m Karmjeet and I am 8 years old.
Very nice to meet you. What's your question?
Who owns this house?
His Grace The Duke of Wellington has owned the house ever since 1817.
Since then his Grace has done extensive refurbishment work including the dining room
which can seat up to 45 people.
His Grace’s success at the Battle of Waterloo where he lead our troops to victory against Napoleon
was so significant that every year we hold a grand banquet to celebrate
on the evening of the 18th of June.
Thank you, Matilda.
You're welcome child. Now I must be about my duties. I’ll meet you at the stairs.
Ah, do you have another question for me?
Hello, I’m Laaibah and I’m 9 years old.
Good day. What’s your question?
What is a banquet, and how many people come?
A banquet is a very large, formal meal.
Guests will normally attend in their finest clothes. and make speeches themselves
or invite people to do so for them.
His Grace, the Duke of Wellington, holds a banquet every year to celebrate his victory at the Battle of Waterloo.
There can be up to 45 people at the banquet.
Fortunately his Grace has plenty of space to seat all of the gentlemen who attend.
There’s often little room to spare once everyone is present.
The banquets are attended by military colleagues of his Grace, politicians of high regard and royalty.
It’s very busy for the serving the staff, such as the butler and the housemaids and I rarely get a break.
Thank you Matilda.
Shall we go to the dining room?
Oh. Good day to you.
Hello, my name is Khalaf and I am 9 years old.
What's your question?
What is the Duke of Wellington’s favourite food?
His Grace the Duke of Wellington has very plain tastes like mutton and potatoes from years on campaign.
As a soldier, his Grace would take bread and a hard-boiled egg.
But his Grace loves to entertain and so was expected to host fashionable dinners.
It requires a very special chef to make all of these dishes and we have a gentleman all the way from France.
Mr Louis Auvrery makes wonderful meals for his Grace’s guests.
Everything is served a la Françoise, which means that various sweet and savoury dishes are
brought to the table at the same time so that guests can help themselves
and eat at their leisure.
To serve in such a manner means everyone, from those in the kitchen to the serving staff are constantly working.
His Grace enjoys everything that the chef serves but the particular favourite is
Parmesan ice cream.
I’m not sure that I’d enjoy it but then perhaps my tastes aren’t that adventurous.
Thank you Matilda.
Speaking of his Grace, there is a lot of work to do before the banquet this evening
and I'd better be on my way.
Goodbye.