Harriet Waller

Harriet Waller, 1825 - 1899, house servant, good friend and landlady.

Hello visitors. It is wonderful to see you. My story is one of a successful escape, with my friend, from the chains of servitude. 

I am Harriet and was born in the village of Clayton, north of Brighton. I was still living there aged 14, in our home in Wood Cottage, with my father William, an agricultural labourer, my mother Sarah and my five siblings. We also had a lodger, another labourer called Henry White. 

It wasn’t long before I had to earn my own keep. By the time I was 26, I was working at 6 Brunswick Terrace in Hove as a house servant to Martha Harrington. There were many servants from the Sussex villages working for the rich of Hove. Our work was tough and with no limits. Imagine most days having to scour coal scuttles, kettles, and fire irons; beat and clean the carpets; scrub the floors, stairs, and passages; wash the dishes, help make the beds and carry up the stairs coals and water; help mend the household linen and stockings. It was endless and exhausting! And not a life for a clever person. 

I had the good fortune to meet and make a good friend of Mary Thompson, another house servant working locally. She was two years younger and from Framfield. Together we hatched a plan by putting our minds together and somehow, with luck on our side, we were able to scramble away from our hopeless existence. 

Within a few years, by 1861 when I was just 36, we were in partnership, running a boarding house in Norfolk Square. We moved on from there to 17 Grand Parade and finally to 30 Russell Square. We did this work together for thirty happy years. It was hard work, but better to be working for yourself than be at the beck and call of a ladyship!

We retired to 46 Warleigh Road in Brighton and had some peaceful years together. I died at the age of 74, leaving Mary alone to join me seven long years later. At least I was able to leave some money to my family and on the whole I had a happy life. 

I wish you all well, Harriet