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An Englishman's Home is his Mansion! #2

AN ENGLISHMAN'S HOME IS HIS MANSION! My parents took vacant possession of Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 and the whole process of moving house was done over the summer months. We lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there! Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child. My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1950s and before that he did motorcycle racing, often at nearby Donnington Park. During the 1960s...

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...

Panto Pranks! #30

During the 1970s Hoar Cross Hall was used from time to time for local community activities and one such event was the production in 1978 of a traditional pantomime, ‘Midnight and a Journey back to Happiness’. It was written by local people, Robert Leighton from Yoxall and the Hon. Alexandra Meynell, daughter-in-law of Mrs Jean Meynell whom we had purchased the Hall from. The words and music were written by local songwriter, David Matthews, who had written songs for quite a few pop artists during the 1960s, his most famous being Matt Munro’s ‘We’re gonna change the world’. So off to a good start there! For those of you who don’t reside in the UK an...

Moving Day Arrives #2

My parents took vacant possession of Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 and the whole process of moving house was done over the summer months. We lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there! Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child. My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1950s and before that he did motorcycle racing, often at nearby Donnington Park. During the 1960s he ran his own team, Shardlow Motor R...

Royal visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #10

From earliest times the king's court has traveled around the kingdom so the king could see first hand what was going on in his realm. When the king showed up, the local subjects were expected to provide food, entertainment, and accommodations usually in the form of mediaeval banquets.  For the King or Queen's subjects this could be very expensive and not all royalty was welcome! However, this was the only way that people could see their King or Queen and know that they were real. Fast forward from the twelve century to the 21st century and royals are still touring the country so their subjects can 'see them and believe in them'. The Queen's grandparents, King...

Royal Visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #20

From earliest times the King's court has traveled around the kingdom so the King could see first hand what was happening in his realm. When the King showed up, the local subjects were expected to provide food, entertainment, and accommodations in the form of mediaeval banquets.  For the King or Queen's subjects this could be very expensive and not all royalty was welcome! However, this was the only way that people could see their King or Queen and know that they were real. Fast forward from the twelve century to the 21st century and royals are still touring the country so their subjects can 'see them and believe in them'. Although I published this blog in June...