"MAITRE D'HOTEL."

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13640, 26 August 1937, Page 3

" MAITRE D'HOTEL."

LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S TASK. BUCKINGHAM PALACE STAFF As a self-eontainecl residence, Buckingham Palace is not surpassed by even the “wonder” hotels of London or New York, states a London writer. The resources of this Royal home have been severely taxed throughout the last few months, and they will continue to be so during the rest of Coronation Year. Yet the 500 workers who form the household staff of the building are not perturbed. They know', more than an “outsider” can realise, that only the most extreme contingency is likely to catch the palace unawares. Always on the spot are experts ready to cope with any emergency, for workrooms of many kinds are to be found within its walls. They range from a post-office to a cabinet-makers 5 workshop. Tucked into the palace are workshops for motor mechanics and electrical engineers ; therd is a small photographic darkroom (a converted clothes closet) ; and another of the ’numerous rooms is set apart for experts who maintain the valuable tapestries which form a striking feature of the building. In recent years, the increasing number of trades and professions actually carried on within the palace has somewhat worried the Lord Chamberlain and his staff, who have to find accommodation for these workers. Oil the other hand, upon the Lord Chamberlain’s department falls the duty of running and preserving the residence, and his staff is the first to admit the necessity for the host of skilled workers who have to be accommodated there to-day. IN THE BASEMENT.

For .instance, nobody can deny the present-day need for a motor repair shop, conveniently situated. The fleet °f Koval cars is of the utmost importance. and the possibility of a mechanical breakdown must be kept to the minimum.

But this I act has not in any way eased the task of the Lord Chamberlain. While .t is true that fewer horses ar now kept at the palace than at one time, and that it has been possible to convert stables into garages, a considerable number of animals have had to bo retained for use oil ceremonial occasions. Thus, to accommodate the cars and the engineers, careful planning has been essential, and the fullest use has had to be made of every foot of space. The basement of Buckingham Palace contains some of the least-known yet important departments. The splendour ‘‘above stairs,’ which visitors see, is largely dependent upon the efficiency of the “below stairs” workers.

To one of the basement workshops go. in turn, the various pieces of lurniture in the palace. The inception of this -workshop, with its permanent staff of cabinetmakers, dates from the reign of King Edward VII. At an important function, a chaijr collapsed under a guest—fortunately without disastrous results. But his Majesty immediately 'insisted that cabinetmakers be permanently engaged as members of the palace staff, so that every piece of furniture could l>e examined periodically and kept in perfect repair. The cabinetmakers employed to-day are not only required to be t*p-top craftsmen; they have to know all about antiques, too, for the valuable old furniture in the residence conies under their inspection. MODERN KITCHENS.

I he kitchens, situated in the basement on the Buckingham Palace Road side, would astonish most sightseers. Though all the food for the Palace comes from these kitchens, they are astonishingly small in x zo. One moderately large'kitchen and tour small ones comprise the arrangements. But their size is not a measure of their efficiency. It is doubtful whether any modern hotel could show a greater number of labour-saving devices packed within s<» small a space. Ihe photographic darkroom. already mentioned, serves a unique purpose. It is for the use of photographers who photograph the various apartments before any article is removed for repair or cleaning. The resulting records enable the objects to bo replaced in exactly the same position. When china ware and glass are removed from cabinets for washing, they are photographed similarly. The precaution may seem unneces'sarv, but Queen Mary (while she lived at tm* Palace) was always able to detect a misplaced piece. Such errors struck a jarring note in her nature ; so the photographic idea was adopted. Buckingham Palace never sleeps. In addition to the sentries, and guards who watch the building both inside and out. by night as well as by day, a staff of cleaners —is alwavs working. When a battery of electric vacuum cleaners was being bought for the I a lace a lew years ago, the order was given to the firm offering the most silent ones, the reason being that tin* cleaners would be used durum- the night! The purchase of these electric cleaners was an immense boon, for hitherto it had been necessary to remove. the carpets for cleaning—not only because they could be more thoroughly cleaned that way, but because rising dust would otherwise have harmed the pictures on the walls. Now that vacuum cleaners arc employed, the carpets have to be removed far 1 ess frequently. Keeping the interior perfectly gilded is another full-time job. * Everv mch of the decorations is gone over methodically, at times when the work will not interfere with the more jmportant tasks carried out in the building. The decorators estimate that a complete tour of the palace, attending to every flaw that may have arisen, takes about a fortnight. I hen. they start over again. Pure gold leal, and not gold point, is used for the gilding operations.

Other experts are not permanently employed at the Palace, but are under contract to visit the 4 residence periodically and undertake all repairs which seem necessary. The liquid fire extinguishers at numerous, easily accessible points have their contents periodically renewed by outside experts, and the radio receiving sets in both the private and staff apartments are under the care of skilled radio tuners, who visit tbe building at regular intervals. Co-ordinating all these varied duties, however, is the duty of the Lord Chamberlain. He is the maitre of this most famous and most ef-ficiently-run residence in the world.