A growing category

Introduction

Victorian Bournemouth (127) begins a series of articles which analyses want ads for indoor, female servants appearing in the Western Gazette 1878-1881. Subjects studied include types of servant sought, qualities desired, ages, and pay. The analysis also touches on such larger issues as Bournemouth’s economic health, the social profile of employers, and workplaces.

Victorian Bournemouth (127): Western Gazette

Marketing success

Charles Clinker, a journalist, established the newspaper in 1863. He based it in Yeovil, whose position within the railway network provided the opportunity for wide distribution. The newspaper reached Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, and Berkshire. By 1865, circulation had reached 10,000. His success enabled him to buy another Yeovil paper within a few years. Substantial increases occurred during the next decade. In 1881, the paper claimed a circulation of 31,000 per issue. On publication day, the paper offered access to interested parties to support their claimed circulation figures. It also offered a list of distribution agents. Clinker published the newspaper each week.  Deciding to sell the paper, Clinker first offered it to Liberal supporters, but, on their refusal, he sold it to their Conservative counterparts. Clinker came from a humble, working background, but on his death (1886) he left an estate worth almost £28,000.

Advertising business

The Western Gazette during this period comprised eight pages across seven columns. Content consisted of news and advertisements. The paper recognised four types of advertising: farming; real estate; standing trade announcements; situations wanted (including servants) and other short announcements. Page four carried employment advertising as well as other classified subjects. The rate card for short announcements charged at a cost per word, a minimum of fifteen words or less (including address), where on average eight words needed a line. At around 250 lines on each of seven columns, at sixpence a line, the Gazette would look for its classified advertising to deliver £40-£50 per issue or around £2,000 per annum. The paper carried advertising on other pages. It also charged a penny a copy as cover price. Thus, the Gazette perhaps turned over around £10,000 per annum, out of which came production and distribution costs.

Victorian Bournemouth (127): employment business

Contact

The Gazette offered to receive letters sent by job candidates, charging sixpence per advertisement. The paper made it very clear that it would not accommodate candidates’ visiting their office. In most cases, the advertisers sought written responses but, on occasion, they wanted people to call, setting the time in the copy. Thus, a candidate had to have personal literacy or have a friend capable of this for their application to succeed. The advertiser often, but not always, required a ‘character’ or an address from which they could obtain a reference. A handful of employment agencies also advertised their services on this page. In addition, there occurred an increase in the number of retailers who appeared to act as middlemen. For the most part, these consisted of stationers and bookshops. It seems plausible that they also acted as agents for the paper, taking space perhaps at special rates.

Agents

A minority of Bournemouth’s fifteen or so ‘media businesses’ appeared amongst the Western Gazette’s advertisers for servants 1878-1881. Recent arrivals, these companies may have viewed personnel recruitment as a useful way to combat such established retailers as Bright and Hankinson. Thomas Powell may have acted only as a means of private contact for advertisers, but John Biden appeared to have registered candidates. The town also had a small number of recruitment agencies. Caroline Mootham announced hers, perhaps operating from her husband’s umbrella shop located in The Arcade. Mrs Goldstein’s Old Established Registry often took space in the Gazette. It operated from the same address as her husband’s loan business, although he also sold fine art. Some agents charged both parties in a transaction, but Bertha Goldstein did not advertise her terms. Genealogical analysis suggests that these booksellers and stationers came from humble backgrounds, perhaps useful in recruiting servants.

Victorian Bournemouth (127): employment market

Volume levels

In 1878, the Western Gazette on average carried advertisements for four domestic service jobs per week in Bournemouth. By 1881, it had reached ten per week. Thus, over this short period more people sought servants to work in Bournemouth. On the surface, this appears to suggest a healthy and growing economy as measured by a willingness to pay staff. Bournemouth’s population continued to grow each decade, the 1881 census recording over 20,000 people. What proportion of the employers consisted of visitors to Bournemouth remains unclear. Many of the advertisers, however, appeared in the 1881 census or contemporary directories. The increase, therefore, may register middling people having the income and confidence to employ servants, if only those working in a general capacity, including the cooking. On the other hand, the growth may reflect success by the Western Gazette at boosting its circulation in the town thereby building advertisers’ confidence. 

Types of employers

Analysis shows that most advertisers seeking servants fell into two categories: hospitality businesses and private families. On occasion, schools and hospitals or homes looked for staff, but on a scale far below these two. For the most part, the advertisement made the work context clear, but comparison with census and directories helps in uncertain cases. ‘Superior’ or ‘first-class’ often described the lodging-houses. Sometimes people advertised for those with hospitality experience, but some families wanted to avoid anyone with such a background. Household advertisers often glossed their context as ‘private’ or ‘gentleman’s’ or ‘doctor’s’ family as an initial filter to attract the right person. Sometimes, advertisers used the term ‘business house’, but this did not seem to mean working in a shop. Business owners would seek such staff describing specific relevant skills. W. B. Rogers, the draper, a frequent advertiser for servants, would place different notices when they needed dressmakers. 

Takeaway

Victorian Bournemouth (127) has provided an initial review of the employment market specialising in recruitment of female domestics as reflected by the Western Gazette‘s job ads. It has found an apparent healthy category, perhaps increasing in size during the late 1870s. Most advertisers took space under their name and address, but some preferred to use intermediaries, for example, stationers or even recruitment registries. Private households and hospitality businesses together accounted for most advertisements in about equal quantities.

References

For references and engagement, please get in touch. Main primary sources: here and here (subscriptions needed). See also here and here for Bournemouth servants. Thanks for the illustration.