My mothers brother was a gamekeeper at Sparhsolt near Winchester for most of his life having learnt the skills from another gamekeeper at a very young age, he had three dogs two Spaniels and a labrador which were all working dogs. Not sure what his wages were but he was working right up to the 1960s before retiring. He lived in a cottage in the village but other gamekeepers used to sometimes live in a tied cottage, that is a cottage that goes with the job and normally on the estate. His duties had him up working at 6;30am and he often did not finish till it was dark, long days in the summer months. He was in charge of the rearing and keeping of pheasants and other game birds and also monitored some local deer, as well as keeping an eye open for poachers. Often there was a separate water bailiff in charge of the rivers but occassionally this came under the juristiction of the gamekeeper as well so they had a lot of responsibility Some of these gamekeepers used to do extra duties just ask Mellors from Lady Chatterley!! Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Parker" <parker3250@rogers.com> To: "HampshireLife List" <HAMPSHIRE-LIFE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 2:32 PM Subject: [HAMPSHIRE-LIFE] Gamekeeoers I have a number of ancestors who were described in the Victorian Censuses as "gamekeepers" 1. At that time were there professional standards or could anyone so describe himself? I presume that there was no formal training, simply learning from an "master" gamekeeper, a sort of informal apprenticeship. 2. I assume that all gamekeepers were employed on various estates. How can one discover on which estate an ancestor worked? 3. Is there a central record of gamekeepers? 4. During the Victorian period were there many gamekeeper and what would be their social status, and relative income? Was the social standing of the employer reflected in that of his gamekeeper? 5. Would a gamekeeper live on the estate or in the village? I would appreciate any information Thank you. David