September 30, 2022 The Butlers Pantry

The butler’s pantry is on a lot of clients’ wish lists when planning their new homes. It is a great space which offers clients a ‘messy’ second kitchen area with additional workspace and storage.

Emerging in 19th Century England and America, the butler’s pantry saw the greatest popularity in the latter half of the century.

Butler’s pantries were typically used by butlers or other household staff as a transition space between the kitchen and the dining area. This allowed kitchen smells to be separate from the dining area.

Some contained warming ovens and iceboxes to keep foods at the ideal temperature between preparation and serving. There were also cabinets to store china, glasses, silverware, and linens, and often included locked cabinets to protect the most valuable items.

Some included desks and other materials for the butler to manage things, and in Europe, some butlers even slept in the pantry to prevent theft.

Very lavish homes had the most state-of-the-art technology in their butler’s pantries, including bell or call systems to order specific food from the butler, with a servant call bell system connecting their rooms to the pantry.

The great Mrs Elizabeth Ellet from The Practical Housekeeper once wrote “Let there be a place for every article, and when not in use let every article be in its place” at Felton we incorporate this idea when planning our butler’s pantries across all our projects.