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The country house in society #48

Country houses are to be found throughout the British Isles and are a peculiarly English phenomenon. Houses range from mediaeval manor houses to classical Palladian mansions, elegant Georgian residences to the Gothic buildings of the Victorian era. A great many have survived for two main reasons: Britain has been spared much of the havoc of war and revolution affecting other countries. Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire   Wentworth Woodhouse (above) is one of the largest stately homes in Europe and was visited by King George V and Queen Mary in 1912. It is now with the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and is much bigger than this photo shows!   The...

The Church of the Holy Angels #55

Many stately homes had churches built near them or even a chapel inside them, as was done at Hoar Cross Hall. However, the church that was built in the grounds of the Hall became known as 'The Cathedral of the Midlands' due to its magnificent structure and is generally regarded as one of the finest Victorian churches in the country. It resembles a cathedral in miniature, being more like an English minster than a humble village church. When Emily Meynell Ingram's husband, Hugo died in 1871 from a hunting accident, she wanted to keep his memory alive. They had only been married for eight years and she had no children to comfort her and so in 1872 she commissioned...

The graveyard shift #24

...sentially English and the local gentry were quite eccentric  – even to the point of one gent bringing a horse into the pub one lunchtime and standing with it in the bar while he sipped his G & T !   Only in rural England!   Don’t miss next week’s exciting instalment:  Whodunit in the Library? If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends.  ...

Calendar Girls and Front Covers #7

...CALENDAR GIRLS AND FRONT COVERS During our time at Hoar Cross Hall people would occasionally hire the house for a day’s filming or whatever. During the summer of 1973 a photographer from London hired the house and grounds for a day and he brought two models with him, one English and one German - they were taking photos for a glamour calendar! We children were told to keep right out of the way as they were taking photos in the gardens as well as the house. Naturally we wanted to see everything that was going on and my younger brother Gavin especially was very keen to watch – so much so that he found a pair of binoculars to follow all the proceedings! We mana...

Anyone for tennis? #62

...With the summer season well and truly upon us and Wimbledon in full swing, I thought a blog about tennis might be in order!  The game of tennis first started in the Mediaeval days and involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove.  By the 16th century the glove had become a racquet and the game had moved to an enclosed playing area and the rules had stabilized.  This was known as ‘real tennis’.  The word tennis came into use in English in the mid-14th century from French, via the Anglo-Norman term Tenez, which can be translated as 'hold', 'receive' or 'take', a call from the server to his opponent indicating that he is about to serve....

Meet the Neighbours - Alton Towers #82

...uring the English Civil War. A painting of Alton Towers in 1880   Moving on a few centuries to the 17th century, the former castle was redeveloped and turned into a hunting lodge.  The house was three stories high and incorporated one of the castle’s towers, which remains part of the present-day building.  The Talbots split the house into two properties and used their half as a summer residence.  By 1801, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury decided that the hunting lodge was beyond repair and commissioned a gothic-style country house to be built on his estate.  This doubled the size of the property and took 10 years to build!  (A bit like Hoar Cross Hall...