A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey: Seasonal Celebrations, Traditions, and Recipes (38 page)

‘We’ve no proper kitchen maid anymore so we must all muck in.’
DAISY

Below stairs, the effect is not quite as astonishing, but the servants will have jollied up their quarters with some decorations, even a tree of their own in the servants’ hall. For most, however, the Christmas period means an increase in their workload. Mrs Patmore will have even more cause to grumble, as she begins to plan the feast several weeks in advance. This year, of course, there are fewer servants in the kitchen than usual to help out, with Ivy having gone to work for Harold Levinson in America.

‘There’s a different dynamic downstairs,’ says Lesley Nicol, the actress who plays Mrs Patmore. ‘It’s such a small unit down there that each individual contributes to the atmosphere. Now we don’t have the rivalry between Ivy and Daisy anymore. Instead, Daisy’s trying to develop her mind.’

Christmas Day, of course, has its roots in the Christian celebration, still keenly felt in 1924, and the morning church service would have been attended by the family and servants together. Back at the house, the family line up by the fire in the Great Hall to hand out their presents to the servants. Lord and Lady Grantham are generous and kind to their staff, so may occasionally give more than the traditional bolt of cloth for the maids to make their uniforms or stiff white collars for the footmen. In the past, Carson has received a book of the history of European royal families from Robert, while Lady Mary gave Anna a gold brooch in the shape of a heart, a token of her grateful affection.

At Downton, the servants are given luncheon off to have their own festive feast, while the family helps itself to cold cuts laid out in the dining room. This is one of only two occasions in the entire year that the Crawleys must fend for themselves (the other being drinks at midnight on New Year’s Eve). Even today, says Julian Fellowes, ‘The Queen has a big luncheon, fully attended, but a quiet nosh in the evening, which a small group of staff can easily manage, while they all have their beanfeast downstairs.’ In the afternoon, the Crawleys amuse themselves – Mary might be persuaded to sing, while Edith plays the piano. There’s an audience in the small house party staying for the week, including Rosamund, Isobel and Violet. Other guests would be encouraged to display their talents for either music or recitation. Robert will almost certainly want a walk with Isis.

‘It’s a Downton tradition. They have their feast at lunchtime and we have ours in the evening.’
LORD GRANTHAM

The servants will have had to save hard to buy presents, with their choice restricted to whatever is available in the shops on Ripon High Street. With their small wages, these are not grand gestures, but thoughtful items – perhaps Carson can find an umbrella for Mrs Hughes; Daisy may seek out a hat pin for Mrs Patmore. Anna and Bates are sure to spend the time thinking carefully about what the other would like and, with their occasional trips to London as lady’s maid and valet, have rather more choice than the rest of their below-stairs colleagues. It seems unlikely that Thomas will go to any great effort for anyone else, but if no one else buys him even a small token, perhaps it’s just as well if he ensures he has something to unwrap at the luncheon.

The servants’ hall will be laid with Christmas crackers, merrily pulled to reveal the paper hats and jokes within. For once, above stairs and below enjoy more or less the same feast, from roast to plum pudding. Frederick Gorst, butler at Carden Park after the First World War, recalled a sumptuous repast for the servants: ‘Four long tables and wooden benches had been set up for the dinner, which was served at one o’clock. First a great hog’s head, stuffed with sausage meat and pate de foie gras from the Squire’s own geese, was carried in by four men and set upon a separate table. It had a shiny red apple in its mouth and the ferns and greens which decorated the huge board lent a pagan touch. Then came the cold meats and roasts. The main dish consisted of the finest joints of beef and Yorkshire pudding and many kinds of vegetables. And finally the plum pudding was brought in, burning and flaming with brandy.’

Mrs Patmore is a powerful figure at Christmas, when so much of the attention is focused on the foodstuffs. The truth is, the cooks were pretty powerful most of the time. They ran their own dominion in the kitchen. Mrs Patmore may have to ask Carson if she wants time off, but the kitchen maids are hers to boss as she wishes. Cooks were set apart by the fact that although they were servants, they did not directly serve the family; aside from her weekly meetings with Cora to decide the menu, Mrs Patmore would have very little to do with anyone beyond the green baize door. Combine that with many long hours in a steamy basement room and the daily tick-tock pressure to send out delicious dishes on time, and it’s not hard to see why their blood pressure often reached the same boiling point as the kettle. Good cooks who bore the conditions were treasured by the families that employed them and any foibles were considered the price you paid for delicious food on your table.

For Christmas Day, Mrs Patmore will have her kitchen staff make as much as they possibly can, but it is a time for luxurious indulgence too. Hampers will have been ordered from London’s Fortnum & Mason and Harrods. The larder will be full of game from the estate’s shoots. There’s a plentiful supply of vegetables, meat and dairy from the home farm too. In 1924, more and more foods are being imported from abroad, bringing exotic delights to the dining table via the bigger stores, and even one or two ambitious York suppliers.

But even with all this at her fingertips, Mrs Patmore is driven to work as hard as she ever did – she needs to prove to her employers that she is indispensable. Talk of refrigerators frightens her and the introduction into the kitchen of electric beaters and toasters will not prevent an old-fashioned cook like Mrs P. from making absolutely every element of the Christmas feast from scratch, from quince jelly to brandy butter.

A page from the Fortnum & Mason Christmas catalogue and (inset) a menu card from the Crawley dinner table.

No Christmas at Downton Abbey would be complete without plum pudding, as it is also known (somewhat confusingly, it does not contain any plums – this was a pre-Victorian word for raisins). The pudding should be prepared up to three months in advance and kept in a cool, dark place.

MAKES 1 LARGE PUDDING TO SERVE 8–10

Place all the dry ingredients, fruit, almonds and citrus zest in a large mixing bowl and stir well. Combine the eggs, Guinness and 2 tablespoons of the brandy in a separate bowl and whisk together, then pour into the mixing bowl and fold in until well combined – it should now have a dropping consistency, but add a little more stout if necessary. Cover and leave overnight to allow the flavours to mingle and the mixture to thicken.

Next day, butter a 2 pint pudding basin. Use the basin to trace and cut out two circles of parchment paper – one the size of the bottom and one the size of the top. Line the bottom of the basin with the small circle of paper. Fill the basin with the mixture to about ½ inch from the top and pat down with a wooden spoon. Cover the pudding with the larger circle of parchment paper, so it is sitting on the mixture. Lay a sheet of foil over the top, doming it slightly to allow the pudding to swell. Tie a piece of string around the basin, under the rim, to secure the foil in place.

Place a pastry cutter or muffin ring in the base of a large pan, and set the pudding on the ring in the bottom of the pan (this ensures the basin does not crack). If the basin is a tight fit in the pan you can tie an additional loop of string over the top of the pudding, to help you lift it out of the pan later. Add boiling water to come halfway up the side of the basin. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer steadily for 8 hours, adding more boiling water from time to time, as needed.

Wearing oven gloves, carefully remove the basin from the pan and leave it to cool.

When the pudding is cold, wrap in foil and store in a cool, dark place.

Before serving, the pudding should be steamed once again for 2 hours. On Christmas Day, turn it out on to a flat dish and stick a sprig of holly in the centre. Warm a ladleful of brandy, pour it over the pudding and set light to it just before you carry it to the table.