The Queen's College Record 2020
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<strong>College</strong> Servants and Vacation Employment: Insights from Oxford’s Archives<br />
Dr Kathryne Crossley, Kellogg <strong>College</strong><br />
‘Diary (Butler’s) 1854-1898’ is a slim, nineteenth-century volume, its binding only<br />
loosely holding the foxed pages together. I encountered it on a visit to the Queen’s<br />
<strong>College</strong> Archive while researching my DPhil on the history of Oxford college servants.<br />
My thesis is a comparative study of nineteen Oxford colleges, and I have spent many<br />
hours with a fantastic variety of sources, including this diary, which provides a glimpse<br />
into college life from the perspective of a long-serving member of staff.<br />
Articles<br />
<strong>The</strong> second page of the diary records the appointment of the college butler, William<br />
Owen in 1857. I hoped the diary would offer some insight into an important tradition:<br />
college servants’ employment at resorts in the Long Vacation. Several college histories<br />
mention that servants often worked at resorts in England, Scotland and Wales in the<br />
Long Vacations, but existing accounts provided very few details. Preliminary research<br />
suggested that Owen was a key figure in the organisation of resort employment for<br />
servants in the Long Vacations.<br />
Butler’s diary, showing William Owen’s appointment in 1857<br />
<strong>College</strong> <strong>Record</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>The</strong> Queen’s <strong>College</strong> 109