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Anyone for tennis? #62

With the summer season well and truly upon us and Wimbledon in full swing, I thought a blog about tennis might be in order!  The game of tennis first started in the Mediaeval days and involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove.  By the 16th century the glove had become a racquet and the game had moved to an enclosed playing area and the rules had stabilized.  This was known as ‘real tennis’.  The word tennis came into use in English in the mid-14th century from French, via the Anglo-Norman term Tenez, which can be translated as 'hold', 'receive' or 'take', a call from the server to his opponent indicating that he is about to serve....

Anyone for Tennis? #96

With the summer season well and truly upon us and Wimbledon almost here, I thought a blog about tennis might be in order!  The game of tennis first started in the Mediaeval days and involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove.  By the 16th century the glove had become a racquet and the game had moved to an enclosed playing area and the rules had stabilized.  This was known as ‘real tennis’.  The word tennis came into use in English in the mid-14th century from French, via the Anglo-Norman term Tenez, which can be translated as 'hold', 'receive' or 'take', a call from the server to his opponent indicating that he is about to serve....

Gardeners World at Hoar Cross #36

...ghtaway! Emily Meynell Ingram employed a Mr Rowley especially to carry out her plans of planting the yew hedges, of which there were many. At each side of the garden was a long walk bordered by yew hedges down to the ha-ha wall at the bottom. Across the bottom of the gardens were smaller square gardens (including the stepping stone pond) all bordered by yew hedges. These hedges were all trimmed into spectacular shapes and must have been a full time job for Mr Rowley! (see header picture of Mr Rowley in the kitchen garden).   Lady Mary's garden showing topiary work in yew hedges    The estate also had its own farm called Home Farm. This supplied the h...

Gardeners' World at Hoar Cross #39

...ghtaway! Emily Meynell Ingram employed a Mr Rowley especially to carry out her plans of planting the yew hedges, of which there were many. At each side of the garden was a long walk bordered by yew hedges down to the ha-ha wall at the bottom. Across the bottom of the gardens were smaller square gardens (including the stepping stone pond) all bordered by yew hedges. These hedges were all trimmed into spectacular shapes and must have been a full time job for Mr Rowley! (see header picture of Mr Rowley in the kitchen garden).   Gardeners at work  on the hedges The estate also had its own farm called Home Farm. This supplied the house and staff with al...

Meet the Neighbours - Shugborough Hall #80

...Hall when Emily Meynell died childless.  Her brother took on the name of Meynell so as to keep the Meynell line going. In 1806, George’s son, Thomas, was created 1st Viscount Anson but his son led an extravagant lifestyle and amassed huge debts resulting in him having to sell the contents of his house in a two week long sale!  However, he seems to have recovered the estate to its former glory later on even though the house was heavily mortgaged. The big excitement for the Ansons though was the visit of Queen Victoria in 1831 when she was the 13 year old Princess Alexandrina (Victoria was her middle name). Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and herself were o...

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...