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RAGS TO RICHES! #15

RAGS TO RICHES:  My parents were married in Derby in July 1952.  Mum was 19 and dad was 36 so quite a bit older.  They both lived in Derby and were very arty; my dad went to the Derby Sketching Club in his free time and my mum attended art college.  I’m not sure where they met but it was either at something art related or at a dance, as was usual in those days.  My dad was a sculptor by trade; I think his interest was sparked by seeing All the beautiful alabaster in Italian churches during the war.  After the war he set up his own business making alabaster lamps, bowls and candlesticks among other things (see header picture).  He would go to the alabast...

The Graveyard Shift..... #24

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT...... Life carried on at the HAll as best it could in difficult circumstances.  My dad continued to go to arms 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 Benbow so quite sturdy, although in need of a lick of paint and...

Here comes the bride (Part 2)

HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Part 2)      And so our wedding day 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!  Gavin drove my dad’s Mercedes Benz car All the way down the drive and back up the road to the church – this was one of the drawbacks of having a church in your grounds; you don’t get to drive All through the town with Everyone looking at you!  NEve...

Hoar Cross HAll - Life below stairs #20

HOAR CROSS HAll – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:       This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the HAll from the 1870s to the 1950s when the HAll became empty.  They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one.  They had to rise at 5am to clean and light All the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight.  No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days!  By the end of the 19th century there were nearly...

Suits you sir! #24

SUITS YOU SIR!       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 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 la...

The haunting of Hoar Cross HAll #15

THE HAUNTING OF HOAR CROSS HAll:       (Based on a true story)   The typewriter keys clattered away as Viv wrote her story.  It was coming along nicely and she was feeling pleased with herself.  The attic room that she and her brothers had made into their ‘den’ was ideal for getting away from Everybody and having some peace and quiet and she quite forgot about the time as she lost herself in the plot.  Suddenly she looked up and realised how dark it was getting; the December nights were pulling in and it was already quite dusky by 3.30pm.  Quickly she packed her books and folders away and prepared to go downstairs.  How she hated being up in the a...