General Chat

No 9 till 5 working day in the dairy was there. But it seems Anna May was very happy in her work. Thank you Norah

Thanks for the insight into Mary May's history, I can't wait for the latest instalment. Helen

When I first set eyes on Mary May’s picture my first impressions was of a young timid, delicate little beauty who one would wish to protect. In effect, Mary May seems to have been a remarkable and characterful young woman, and judging by reports in contemporary newspapers her job was considered an important one. The Westminster Gazette reported that she had been “devoted to dairy work from her childhood, and is likely to justify the Queens choice” A London illustrated weekly included an announcement of her appointment amongst those made to top civil servants. officers, a professor and a peer. We do not know why she got off to a “bad and very miserable start. ”Maybe it was just homesickness; or maybe the jealousy of the upper royal servants who resented the attention Queen Victoria paid to her. John Brown, (later portrayed in the movie “Mrs Brown.” by Billy Connelly) in particular seems to have been jealous of her, Mary later described him as “A terrible old man”. Certainly she was pleased with the place and the dairy itself. She wrote, there is an exquisite view of valley and mountain scenery. The dairy is both ornamental and useful. The entire construction is of light grey granite, surrounded by a massive veranda of the same, while the interior has white marble and pink granite fittings. She also took delight in the “Wee House” she was to occupy with its red and yellow creeper growing right around the door and up the windows. Whatever her early misgivings may have been, she was very well qualified for her job. Her father, John Morgan Griffiths (Aidans G. Grandfather) of Penally Court, Pembrokeshire, was a progressive farmer, a well-known cattle breeder and show judge and a member of the Welsh Land Commission. His dairy, where Mary May was trained, seems to have been model of cleanliness, efficiency and economy. The butter is never touched by human hands and is well known not only in Wales but in England, too, quantities being sent weekly to customers. in London and Hereford and various other places. “All modern appliances find their way to Penally Court dairy on approval where they are given a fair test.” Lots of visitors came to see the farm at Penally, and Mary May was use to meeting and talking to strangers. This poise was a help to her at Balmoral, for, when the Court was there each autumn she had to receive many royal and aristocratic visitors in her dairy. We don’t know how she came to be offered the Balmoral appointment, but it seems that in the early 1890’s while she was working in Berwickshire she had acquired a kind of fame. Taken from “The Farmers Weekly” June 20th 1969 Mary May worked really hard for the Royals. Up very early and still working up to 9.30pm when she had just finished work for the day. She has made 180 butter pats for Mrs Mannering, “an upper room servant “ whose job was making coffee and getting breakfast ready for the household. Love Bridget x