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Race day Parties! #25

My dad used to be a racing driver so he was often invited to parties and open days at various racing circuits. He naturAlly knew lots of racing people and on this particular occasion he was invited to an Open day at Donington Park. Tom Wheatcroft, a local entrepreneur, had bought Donington Park in the 1970s as he owned the largest collection of Grand Prix cars in the world at that time. In 1973 he opened a museum there to house them All and cAlled it the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition.  This sadly closed in 2018. Donington became the favoured home of the British round of the MotoGP motorcycling championships but he was reAlly hoping to bring Formula 1 racing b...

Here Comes the Bride (Part 2) #33

HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Part 2):    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! 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 the grounds; you don’t get to drive All through the town with everyone looking at you...

Moving house to a mansion #1

MOVING HOUSE TO A 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 Donington Park.  During the...

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...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story #36

For the first 75 years of Hoar Cross HAll’s history about 50 servants were employed by the Meynell family in the house and grounds. Among these was a young girl of fifteen who started work in 1920 as a Schoolroom Maid. Her name was Miss Inez Sophia Large and she had connections to Hoar Cross through her grand-parents, William and Mary Tooth, who lived in the village where William was the blacksmith; his smithy was just along from the Meynell public house. He had worked on the ironwork of the HAll during its construction in the 1860s. Inez’s aunt, Constance Madeley, was the wife of the landlord at the Buffalo Inn, in nearby Newborough, and it was through her...

An Edwardian Schoolroom Maid #40

For the first 75 years of Hoar Cross HAll’s history about 50 servants were employed by the Meynell family in the house and grounds. Among these was a young girl of fifteen who started work in 1920 as a Schoolroom Maid. Her name was Miss Inez Sophia Large and she had connections to Hoar Cross through her grand-parents, William and Mary Tooth, who lived in the village where William was the blacksmith; his smithy was just along from the Meynell public house. He had worked on the ironwork of the HAll during its construction in the 1860s. Inez’s aunt, Constance Madeley, was the wife of the landlord at the Buffalo Inn, in nearby Newborough, and it was through her...