Housekeeper (domestic worker)

A housekeeper (also called necessary woman) is an individual responsible for the supervision of a house's cleaning staff.

In the great houses of the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the housekeeper could be a woman of considerable power in the domestic arena.

The housekeeper, also called a necessary woman, was a position in the UK's civil service and royal household.

In nations where there is still a ready supply of inexpensive labour,[example needed] the middle classes may still be able to afford servants.

The following is a list of fictional characters who perform the role of a traditional housekeeper that supervises other servants.

Bridget Holmes was a necessary woman for a series of five monarchs, from Charles I to Mary II and so was one of the longest-serving royal servants.
Rules to be observed by the Housekeeper of a country house in Victorian Britain