Great house
A Great House is a large and stately residence; the term encompasses different styles of dwelling in different countries. In Kerala, India, "Veliya" Great and "Veettil" House and it is correct to say "Veliyaveettil." The name refers to the makeup of the household rather than to any particular architectural style. It particularly refers to large households of times past in Anglophone countries (especially those of the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or Edwardian ages in the United Kingdom and the Gilded Age in the United States), such as the English country house, the "stately homes of England" and the homes of various "millionaires' row" (or "millionaires' mile") in some U.S. cities such as Newport, Rhode Island, with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. By some reports, the summer homes of the wealthy at Newport averaged four servants per family member. There was often an elaborate hierarchy among staff, domestic workers in particular. In Ireland, the term big house is usual for the houses of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy.
It was considered declassé to refer to one's own townhouses, estates, or villas (or those of friends) as mansions and modern etiquette books still advise that the terms house, big house, or great house be used instead.
As in the past, today's great houses are limited to heads of state, the very rich, or those who have inherited them; few in the developed world are staffed at the level of past centuries. The International Guild of Butlers estimates that the combined annual salaries of a 20-25 person household staff total in excess of US$1,000,000.
In countries with supplies of cheap domestic labor, the middle classes are still able to afford household help, but not approaching the numbers involved in the running of a great house.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Great_house ]
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