The whole duty of a steward

Summary

If I had a thousand eyes, hands and hearts I should use them all in your employment and account them too little to express my engagements to you and to testify myself, sir, your obliged and faithful servant,

William Thynne

Since 'tis from you alone that I can have any punctual account of the progress of my work so from you only 'tis that I hope for any life in my business; though I know 'tis not your proper employment … I know how to value service that depends upon punctilios of order. That will never do me nor no master good.

Sir John Lowther of Lowther

Considering the multiplicity of duties and responsibilities which confronted many stewards they might well have thought at times that William Thynne's thousand eyes and hands were hardly extravagant qualifications for their employment. Inevitably, stewards' experience of their employment varied greatly from estate to estate and employer to employer. Some estates were very large, comprising several dozen manors, and required the watchful care of a chief steward with several understewards and a small army of estate servants to carry out his orders. Some consisted of but one small manor and the stewardship could be carried out on a very part-time basis by a country attorney as part of the ordinary business of his legal practice. It was not just a question of size, however, but rather the degree of complexity.