There’s a chance to see what it was like downstairs at Leeds Castle for servants in the 1920s and 1930s. Visitors will be able to hear stories of the people who worked there and visit rooms not normally seen by the public.

The image portrayed in Downton Abbey is of a cosy partnership between servant and master. In reality, in many stately homes, servants were little more than slaves, living in squalor, working 14 hour days and often abused.

It seems workers at Leeds fared better than most. But unlike in Downton, the lady of the house did not tend to mix with the help. Staff had plenty of doors and long curtains to hide behind should the master walk past. And maids would be locked out of the castle as punishment if they missed their curfew.

But upstairs and downstairs mixed during Christmas, when Lady Baillie would organise children’s parties. And during the New Year’s Eve servants’ ball she and her third husband, Sir Adrian Baillie, would dance with the butler and the housekeeper.

The Below Stairs Tour: A Servant’s Life runs on Thursday, March 13. Tickets £5 – in addition to the normal entry fee. The tours starts at 11.30am, last one hour and must be booked online.

There’s a rare opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes at the castle on Thursday, March 20.

Take a tour of the Maiden’s Tower, home to the ladies in waiting of Henry VIII.

Find out why this tower has its name, learn about the roaring 1920s, and what it was used for during the Second World War.

Meet outside the Maiden’s Tower.

Tickets £2 – in addition to the normal castle entry fee.

Tours start 12.30pm and must be pre-booked online.