Defining a Morning Call

Dame Maggie Smith looking perfectly splendid

Tip of the day: paying someone a MORNING CALLS does not refer to ringing their doorbell in the morning.  Morning calls were always done after lunch.  Why call it a morning call then rather than an afternoon call or an after-luncheon call?  I really haven't got a clue.

Morning calls were what the ladies of the house did after balls, after dining at a friend's house, or to call on new or old acquaintances.  One certainly never wore a formal outfit (one designed for dinner or a party which meant one that exposed any skin below the neck line or on the arms).  One never removed their hat (thus accommodating for a speedy exit) and one only visited for fifteen to twenty minutes to discuss everyone's health, the weather and the state of the roads.

Often, those who expected many visitors that day (say they had just recently thrown a lavish ball) had an "at home" day.  This may have been routine, depending on the community, when women knew which day of the week was an acquaintance's "at home" day and when the acquaintance would be out and about paying visits.  If I didn't have rehearsal tomorrow morning, I would consider an "at home" day myself.


Many thanks to Isabella Beeton for publishing all of her valuable knowledge in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management which is published by the Oxford University Press, 2000.