During the early modern period many English young people spent five
to ten years as servants, leaving their parental families in their teens to live with
and work for another household until they were financially able to set up their
own homes, usually in their mid- or late twenties. Servants were employed in
agriculture, crafts, retailing, and domestic work. The place of servants in the
large manor of Havering, Essex, 1560-1620, may be examined through a listing
of communicants by household unit, parish registers, and other local records.
The mean projected household size in the urbanized parish of Romford was 4.2
people, including 0.9 servants. Servants constituted about 20 percent of the total
population; around 40 percent of all households included a servant. Havering's
servants gained occupational training, accumulated cash and goods, and often
formed lasting friendships with their masters and peers.
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