Story Search Results

What the Butler Saw! #35

...ng in the morning so that they could be clean and properly dressed for breakfast. From midday they would be dressed in their livery, fully-tailored outfits from London firms. With their plush breeches, silk stockings and powdered hair, they were the ‘peacocks’ among domestics. Footmen were responsible for answering the door, delivering messages and waiting-on in the evening. There were numerous footmen in the large houses but probably only two or three at Hoar Cross. They were constantly leaving to better themselves as butlers were usually picked (or ‘head hunted’) from the footmen, but they would only consider men who were tall and well built. John Barn...

Doing up a stately home #4

...ys in the mornings. Where children were to be seen and not heard, servants were to be neither seen nor heard by members of the family and all the areas to the house were accessed via the spiral staircases and then inner hallways and corridors so they could go about their duties quickly and quietly. My dad spent a lot of his time at auction houses buying and selling antiques and so he went back there again to source carpets and kitchen equipment. He also installed huge electric heaters to keep our new tenants warm. The West Wing was smaller than the East Wing so was made into a two-bedroomed apartment. The tenants entered the house through the basement entrance...

Eat, drink and be merry! #10

...30 in the morning; as the day wore on the organist played a few of the songs we would be doing at the banquets, and everyone started dancing and singing along – it was 4pm by the time we finished! And so arrived the day of the first banquet. All the furniture and costumes from the Chinese Room and Ballroom had been removed and put into storage elsewhere in the house. A local carpenter had made long tables and benches to seat about 200 guests in the Ballroom, which was now known as the Banqueting Hall. We had employed caterers to do the food and the Chinese Room was used as a food preparation area next to the kitchen/café. A bar had been built in the middle o...

Ghouls Galore! #17

...on in the morning, the windows would all be shut tight in the empty rooms. The haunted attic corridor   Because of these stories, someone suggested a seance in the attic itself as they fancied a spot of ghost hunting by candlelight, so we dared them to try it! Well, they certainly found them! They all sat around in a circle on the bare wooden floors and joined hands; the candle was placed in the middle of the circle creating an eerie glow and making shadows dance in the corners. The more experienced people did a bit of chanting and then they all waited to see what happened. We carried on partying downstairs turning the music up loud – to be honest, I d...

See you in Court #31

...ents. One morning we came home at 8am after being out all night and met my dad on the stairs as we were going to bed. He looked surprised and said “You’re up early today aren’t you?” to which we just nodded and carried on to our bedrooms! We consoled ourselves by spending a lot of time in the Meynell Arms, the local pub in the village. When we walked in of an evening, everyone was keen to know the latest updates on the divorce and we would spend half an hour telling them all the news – it was like a real life soap opera! On Tuesday nights a bunch of the local businessmen would all meet up for a drink. These men were all middle aged, respectable profes...

What the Butler Saw! #38

...ng in the morning so that they could be clean and properly dressed for breakfast. From midday they would be dressed in their livery, fully-tailored outfits from London firms. With their plush breeches, silk stockings and powdered hair, they were the ‘peacocks’ among domestics. Footmen were responsible for answering the door, delivering messages and waiting-on in the evening. There were numerous footmen in the large houses but probably only two or three at Hoar Cross. They were constantly leaving to better themselves as butlers were usually picked (or ‘head hunted’) from the footmen, but they would only consider men who were tall and well built. John Barn...