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Suits you Sir! #22

When we moved to Hoar Cross HAll in 1970 the organ in the private chapel wasn’t working as the house had been empty for 20 years. It was such a shame as it had been designed by George Bodley, the famous organ maker of the 19th century. The chapel itself had been added about 25 years after the house was built at the staggering cost of just under £1000! When one of the visitors to the house said he could fix the organ, my dad readily agreed. This chap reAlly loved organs and volunteered his services free of charge just for the love of mending this musical work of art; my dad was over the moon! Alas, after removing All the pipes and laying them out in the baseme...

Gardeners' World #38

In it’s heyday Hoar Cross HAll had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tidy and weed free. In Victorian England the most common of All male servants was the gardener. At Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectionately as ‘digging slaves’! They were responsible for producing fruit, vegetables and growing luxury items in and out of season, much of it under glass. Adjacent to the house was the carp pool and greenhouse area along with a palm house; next to these was a wAlled kitchen garden (see header picture). This supplied the house with All its fruit, vegetables and herbs. The palm house produced palms an...

Things that go bump in the night #3

Going to sleep in a big old house is quite scary when you’re young but going to sleep in a big old house that’s haunted is Even more scary!! That first winter at Hoar Cross HAll was like that. Every time there was a windy night I could hear a window banging in the attic – All night long it kept me awake. The next day I would go upstairs to close it but there would be no windows open or Even loose. They were All tightly shut as they had been for 20 years. I remember standing there in the attic rooms feeling a tingling down my spine and goose bumps All over as I felt the atmosphere closing in on me - and I quickly legged it back downstairs! On other nights...

The Graveyard Shift #23

Life carried on at Hoar Cross HAll as best it could in difficult circumstances. My dad continued to go to Arms and Armour Fairs to buy and sell antiques and we also went to a mediaeval banquet in Cheshire one night, although it wasn’t anywhere near as good as ours! Once or twice we took my dad out with our friends to Derby, where he originated from, and that seemed to cheer him up. But he reAlly needed to get away from the house for longer periods of time and when he saw a boat advertised for sale at Caernarvon he jumped at the chance and bought it. It was an ex lifeboat cAlled The Bembo so quite sturdy, although in need of a lick of paint and a bit of TLC. Th...

Get me to the church on time #31

And so our wedding day at Hoar Cross HAll arrived bright and clear, All thoughts of solicitors, legals, fights and arrests behind us! Myself and my bridesmaids went to get our hair done in the morning and Kev slapped a piece of steak on his jaw to bring the swelling down after the rather unfortunate fight at his stag do. Fortunately, the bruise didn’t show up too much on the photos! My brother Gavin drove my dad’s Mercedes Benz car All the way down the drive and back up the road to the church – this is one of the drawbacks of having a church next door to your house; you don’t get to drive All through the town with Everyone looking at you! At least a sma...

Gardeners World at Hoar Cross #43

In this week's blog I am focusing again on the servants who spent their lives looking after the Meynell family along with their home and gardens. In it’s heyday Hoar Cross HAll had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tidy and weed free. In Victorian England the most common of All male servants was the gardener. At Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectionately as ‘digging slaves’! They were responsible for producing fruit, vegetables and growing luxury items in and out of season, much of it under glass. Adjacent to the house was the carp pool and greenhouse area along with a palm house; next to these wa...