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Eat, drink and be merry! #10

EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY!       It was the end of the summer season at Hoar Cross Hall in 1973 and rehearsals had started for the new venture of Mediaeval Banquets when the cast would come round to the house each week to practice their routines. My mum and one or two other ladies were busy making the skirts and blouses for the wenches; my mum also made about 200 bibs which the guests were going to be wearing as eating five courses with a dagger can be quite messy! We had a King, a Jester, a Fire-eater, a Halberdier, an organist and various wenches and serving ladies. To launch the banquets my parents decided to hold a Press Reception about a month before and...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #37

THE KITCHEN MAID’S STORY:    If you were young, free and single – oh, and very well-to-do – the 1920s were the decade to be a part of. The upper classes had lots of time on their hands and enjoyed post-First World War delights such as the theatre and jazz clubs. Not so for the lower classes, in particular a young girl who was to become the kitchen maid at Hoar Cross Hall in the 1920s. The ‘depression’ after the First World War brought stark poverty to her home and many like her. Her name was Jean Rennie, and she was extremely intelligent having won a scholarship to Glasgow University to study French and music. However, the £5 bursary she got was ta...

Mediaeval Mayhem! #11

It was the end of the summer season at Hoar Cross Hall in 1973 and rehearsals had started for the new venture of Mediaeval Banquets. All the cast would come round to the house each week for rehearsals and my mum and one or two other ladies were busy making the skirts and blouses for the wenches. My mum also made about 200 bibs which the guests were going to be wearing as eating five courses with a dagger can be quite messy! We had a King, a Jester, a Fire-eater, a Halberdier, an organist and various wenches and serving ladies. To launch the banquets my parents decided to hold a Press Reception about a month before and so we all gathered at the Hall one day in ea...

Summer Balls and Garden Parties #97

Balls and functions held at Hoar Cross Hall were lavish affairs, especially before the First World War, with the catering and other services invariably being provided by premier London companies.  In 1907, Gunter & Co of Berkeley Square, London, could supply a Ball supper and refreshments for ten shillings (50p) a head, plus 'extra services'. For a Ball Supper in January 1913, Mayfair Catering, Grosvenor Square, assured Lady Mary Meynell that they had engaged 'a superior staff of tall waiters' to attend her guests and, “.....if waiters are desired to be in Full Dress (silk stockings) the additional cost will be five shillings (25p) per man.”  They als...

The Origins of the Stately Home #39

Why are stately homes so called? Stately home actually means 'a large impressive old house with interesting history and usually visited by the public.' Well, I suppose they do look very 'stately' for a start but these houses were also a status symbol for the great families of England, who competed with each other to provide hospitality for the royal household who would travel around England meeting their subjects. Stately homes were huge mansions which were always beautiful and the epitome of perfect architecture, often designed by famous architects of the day. The gardens too would be perfectly landscaped to show balance, variety, sequence and colour. One of t...

Temple Newsam and the Meynells #42

TEMPLE NEWSAM AND THE MEYNELLS:     Following on from last week's blog about Emily Meynell Ingram's family background, this week I am delving into the family background of Emily's husband Hugo which explains how Emily came to own the Temple Newsam estate after his death.   In 1782, Hugo's grandfather, Hugo Meynell of Quorndon, the 'father of fox hunting', married the Hon. Elizabeth Ingram Shepheard.  She was the daughter of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount Irwin and Lord Ingram.  The family seat was Temple Newsam in Yorkshire and this was how the Meynell family became associated with this great house.  Through this marriage of Hugo and Elizabeth, the Meynel...