upstairs-downstairs

Servants and masters

Upstairs-downstairs describes the traditional class division in grand houses between wealthy residents who lived on the upper floors and servants who worked below: an upstairs-downstairs drama about Edwardian aristocrats and their staff.

The term evokes rigid social hierarchies and the intimate yet segregated relationships between masters and servants.

class

servants

Hired household workers

Edwardian · aristocracy · domestic · gentry · butler · housemaid · lady · lord · estate · manor

spatial

floors

Walking surfaces inside

lower · rooms · bannister · split-level · two-story · ascend · descend · above · below · layout

television

ITV

UK commercial broadcaster

  • dramaTheatrical art or turmoil
  • 1970sFourth decade, twentieth century
  • HudsonMajor northeastern river

Bellamy · London · series · costume · period · ensemble · reboot · PBS · episodes · nostalgia

Opposites
social hierarchy/class division

upstairs-downstairsegalitarian

Equality principle supporter

classless · democratic · non-hierarchical · meritocratic · socialist

living arrangement style

upstairs-downstairscommunal living

Shared domestic arrangement

open-plan · commune · co-housing

spatial separation

upstairs-downstairssingle-story

Having one floor

ranch-style · bungalow · open-plan · integrated · undivided

Family

upstairs, downstairs, stair, stairs, stairway, stairways, staircase, staircases, stairwell

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G