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“My mother, Ivy was the cook at Kirtling Towers from 1925 until 1934 - from the time she was 20 to when she got married.
Ivy had two girls working for her both of whom were called Grace. There was Grace the scullery maid and Grace the kitchen maid. Ivy worked six days a week and was the only one of the kitchen staff to live in at the Towers. She had to start work around 6 o'clock every morning to prepare for breakfast for Lord and Lady North and was only able to go to bed late in the evening after all of the preparations for the evening meal had been cleared away.
This was a time when the landed families were still doing a lot of entertaining on a grand scale. I remember Ivy telling me how she was frequently called upon to do elaborate preparations for large weekend parties. The Norths even entertained Queen Mary and her household while Ivy was cook.
Every Sunday, on Ivy’s day off she used to get on her bicycle and cycle to her parents who lived at the village of Lode, near Anglesey Abbey. This would have been a round trip of over 20 miles.”
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