Long before there was Downton Abbey there was the British television series Upstairs, Downstairs. Upstairs, Downstairs made its television debut on October 10, 1971. The series was set in London and followed the lives of the rich Bellamy Family who lived upstairs and their servants who lived downstairs. The series chronicled the interconnected lives of the members of the Bellamy household from 1903 to 1930.
The Bellamy Family consisted of Richard Bellamy, his wife Lady Marjorie Bellamy, their son James and their daughter Elizabeth. The main Downstairs “family” of servants consisted of Butler Mr. Hudson, Cook Mrs. Bridges, chief maid Rose Buck, parlor maid Daisy and footman Edward.
The series was a fun drama to watch as it showed what life was like in London during the first three decades of the twentieth century.
The series was co-created by Jean Marsh who portrayed maid Rose Buck and ran for five seasons. The program was shown on PBS in the United States.
The series remains so popular that a sequel to the program also called Upstairs Downstairs* made its debut in 2010 and it too stars Jean Marsh as Rose Buck!
Here’s a link to a YouTube clip showing scenes from the original Upstairs, Downstairs series which gives you a good idea of what the series is like!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSPacDUm5dk
The library owns all five seasons of Upstairs, Downstairs so if you’d like to check it out you can!
Have a great day!
Linda R.
*You’ll notice the second series called “Upstairs Downstairs” doesn’t feature a comma between the words Upstairs and Downstairs – and in noticing that you’d be right! The first series is titled “Upstairs, Downstairs,” and the second series is indeed titled “Upstairs Downstairs” with no comma!
The American Dream Starts @ The Southeast Steuben County Library 