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Summer Balls and Garden Parties #57
Posted by Viv Wilson on 2nd June 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell-Ingram,Midsummer's Eve Ball,New Year's Eve Ball,County Ball,Bridgerton,Downton abbey,London,Berkeley Square,Laughton Estate,gardens,Alec Douglas-Home,Barings Bank
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. Tea dances became popular in the 1880s but Balls with a supper included were also very popular amongst the aristocracy, especially if it was a 'coming out' Ball.
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'...
Meet the Neighbours - Trentham Gardens #83
Posted by Viv Wilson on 29th August 2024 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,barons eden,hoar cross hall spa hotel,History,doomsday book,Duke of Sutherland,aristocracy,Grade II listed,Elizabethan,Trentham Gardens,Trentham Estate,capability brown,French,italian gardens,Lakes
This neighbour was a little further afield to Hoar Cross Hall than the other houses, as it was in Stoke-on-Trent. However, we often visited the gardens and I went to a few concerts there which were held in the Ballroom of the house. It was very similar to Alton Towers in that it had formal gardens with a large house and in later years was made into pleasure grounds, although not as grand as the rides at Alton towers!
Originally the Trentham site was a priory but had been demolished during the dissolution of the monasteries in Henry XIII’s reign. In 1599 the first hall on this estate was built on the priory ruins but later in 1633 a Richard Leveson replace...
Victorian Courtship - fans #91
Posted by Viv Wilson on 27th February 2025 in Growing Up In Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,History,victorian era,Social history,Fan,Amazon,my dad bought a mansion,Duvelleroy,Queen Victoria,Fanology,Kiss,Marriage,Love,Valentine Day,Tuileries Palace
For the next few months I will be doing a series on Victorian courtship starting in February, the month of love, as we have just celebrated Valentine’s Day on the 14th.
The Victorians used various items for flirting with, namely fans, gloves, parasols and handkerchiefs! I imagine the Meynell family at Hoar Cross Hall held lots of dinner parties and Balls back in the Victorian days where most of the young ladies would have had their fans at the ready to signal to a secret beau. But what were these signals and why were they used?
The belief that the fan was used in society to express feelings or commands dates back to at least the early 18th century. I...