Tjänarnas matsal

Vy från familjens matsal mot det som var tjänarnas matsal. Arlington House, Virginia, USA.

Tjänarnas matsal är en term för matsalar i större hem, med flera husligt anställda, som framför allt fanns i England under stora delar av 1800-talet, där målen åts under butlerns överseende. Rummet kan även användas som fritidsrum, om separat sådant rum saknas.

Sverige

I Sverige har termen använts mycket mer sparsamt, men ibland förekommit på en och annan större herrgård eller slott.[1] Förhållandena med husligt anställda var inte lika organiserade, antalet anställda var oftast mycket mindre, och dessutom var manliga betjänter mycket ovanliga i Sverige.[2]

Noter

Media som används på denna webbplats

Question book-4.svg
Författare/Upphovsman: Tkgd2007, Licens: CC BY-SA 3.0
A new incarnation of Image:Question_book-3.svg, which was uploaded by user AzaToth. This file is available on the English version of Wikipedia under the filename en:Image:Question book-new.svg
Arlington House - Rear Passage - looking south - 2011.jpg
Författare/Upphovsman: Tim Evanson, Licens: CC BY-SA 2.0
Looking north at the Servants' Hall from the Family Dining Room at Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial, at Arlington National Cemetery. The Family Dining Room is in the rear half of the center section of the house, north of the Main Hall (the entrance). Once an open-air arcade, this area was later enclosed by the Lees and turns into a Servants' Hall.

This area is now off-limits to the public, due to earthquake damage.

Beginning in 2008, Arlington House began a major conservation and restoration effort. A modern HVAC system was installed to help prevent moisture and mold damage to the house and its contents, and conservation and restoration of its structural elements also occurred. The effort was due to end in 2012, but the August 2011 earthquake resulted in moderate structural damage to the house. The back wall separated from the mansion, requiring the rear passageway and conservatory to be declared off-limits. The second floor is also closed to visitors. The National Park Service says it has no idea when the house will reopen, as most NPS money is going for repairs to the Washington Monument.

Arlington House was built by George Washington Parke Custis, adopted son of George Washington, in 1803. George Hadfield, also partially designed the United States Capitol, designed the mansion. The north and south wings were completed between 1802 and 1804. but the large center section and portico were not finished until 1817.

George Washington Parke Custis died in 1857, leaving the Arlington estate and house to his eldest daughter, Mary Custis Lee -- wife of General Robert E. Lee.