Thousands of Brits visit stately home s each year at the weekend or while on a staycation.
The incredible mansions are steeped in history and fascinate us as they give us a glimpse into how the super rich and titled live.
Some stately homes even welcome visitors and operate as fancy hotels for those who want to pretend they’re in an episode of Downton Abbey.
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Brits looking to do just that can book a room at the gorgeous Cliveden House in Berkshire or Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire.
Booking.com even lets you reserve a room in the gorgeous Cowley Manor Hotel in Gloucestershire.
But, while staying in a stately home is fun few of us have ever lived in them.
Giving Brits a look into the life of the aristocracy a butler has opened up about his life serving the aristocracy on Reddit – and said they'd done a "masterful job" of welcoming tourists.
When asked how the experience compares with the upstairs downstairs lifestyle the butler had much to say.
He wrote: “You do call them by their title (your grace for a duke), you do wait for them to come down the stairs if you are going up.
“One time the duchess walked into our coffee break to tell someone something and we all stood up when she came in (I did because everyone else did).
“But they often drive themselves places, the kids are like normal kids, they don't dress in expensive clothing on normal days, they let their couches get worn out before they send them for upholstering.”
And, he walked people through a typical day in the life of a butler.
The man said: “Morning: turn off the alarms, sort the mail, lay new fires if they used any of the fire places the night before, squeeze oranges for OJ, make coffee, set the breakfast table, lay out the mail in holders and place them at everyone's spots at the table.
“Let the dogs out, take the dishes back to the kitchen when they are done, find out what the lunch menu is, polish any silver they used at breakfast and put at away for the next day, bring out any silver and porcelain that the kitchen needs for lunch, check the drinks and snack tables, coffee break, walk the dogs again.”
At lunch time he said that the butler made more coffee and set the table before delivering food from the sideboard and then cleaning up.
He added: “Odd jobs (anything from changing the flag to running a chair into the upholsterer), leave vases out for the gardener to put fresh flowers in, long break.”
And, back in his uniform he claimed that he’s deliver laundry and set up for the mealtime again.
The butler said: “Check chocolates and drinks in anteroom, check the breakfast table to see if linens need changing, pull out linens for the dinner table (for after dinner), serve the meal.
“Eat staff meal when they have dessert, clean up the dining room after staff meal, clean porcelain and silver from dinner and put it back in the strong room, set alarm for strong room, pull their friends' cars up to the front door if they had guests, set alarms at 10pm.”
Originally he claimed he was hired as a cook before being trained up as a butler in the home which was partly open to the public.
And, there are some perks to doing the job.
The poster said: “The kitchen provides all food int the house – for staff and the family. If you live in the house, you only need to buy things like milk, snacks, fruits and stuff because the rest is provided.
“All uniforms laundered and provided.
“Housekeeping in staff flats once a week (just vacuuming and dusting).”
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He added that he often got to travel to the family’s other houses in France and Ireland – but he was only paid around £20,000 a year.
However, he admitted he loved the job and the family he served.
The butler noted: “The family I cooked for were loved by the community, but the couple I was a butler for were not as well known.”
He also added that he never, ever referred to them as “masters”.
The butler said: “We never called them masters – just ‘their graces’.”
And, it wasn’t always as expected.
He wrote: “We found a small diamond tiara in a box that was being moved to eventually be thrown out. That was a secret from everyone.”
And, his most embarrassing moment?
The butler said: “I put finger prints in the Duke's peaches when I picked them one day. Usually the garden staff were supposed to, but no one was available that day so I picked them myself. He thought they looked like a dog mangled them because my finger prints were in the fuzz, and told me while yelling at me.”
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