An un-indexed wages ledger for the Bankes estate in East Dorset presents a snapshot of the employment of a rural workforce and particularly female workers. Day rates and hours allow trends before and after the Napoleonic Wars to be clearly identified for named and unnamed female workers. The payment of board wages helps identify not just the role, but the name of trusted domestic staff. Fascinating case studies are used to show young women changing occupation from an outdoor day labourer to domestic staff and widowed women continuing to ply their husband’s trade.