Work at Cliveden

Work at Cliveden. . , In the 18th and 19th century, the approximately 55 acres at Cliveden was a flurry of work. Behind the Main House was the work yard, an area between the Kitchen and the Wash House. This area was used for service tasks such as food preparation, cooking and laundry. There was likely a kitchen garden and areas for livestock to graze adjacent to the work yard. The 1798 Direct Tax reported a frame, or wood, poultry house and a milk house, which illustrate the range of work duties on the property. Many overlapping service traffic patterns show movement connecting the buildings through the workyard., The work of enslaved laborers and indentured and paid servants supported the elite lifestyle of the Chews at Cliveden. Much of their work was hidden from view behind doors and took place in separate service spaces. The service stair in the Main House ran from the cellar to the garret with access to all four floors of the house. Service traffic through this passage and others allowed enslaved workers and servants to carry out their duties without disturbing the Chew family and their guests., Some of the as many as 16 laborers in the 18th century were gardener Robert Burnett, Dinah the cook, enslaved manservant Will and washerwoman Betty and Katy. In the 19th century, the staff was smaller and consisted of mostly Irish women like maid and cook Hanna Welsh and free African Americans such as coachman and servant James Smith.