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Here Comes the Bride (Part 2) # 28

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 your grounds; you don’t get a nice long drive through the town where everyone can see you! Never mind, a smAll crowd of l...

Hysterical Productions #16

By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross HAll and they were still going strong. Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, instead of an outside firm coming in.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead. But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatted up by men who bought us drinks All evening (even though w...

A Christmas Celebration #74

The final festive story is here based on true events and people that lived at Hoar Cross HAll.  “Come on, look sharp!” shouted Cook to her assistants in the kitchen.  “We’ve got a load of cooking to do for the Christmas party at the weekend and if you don’t get a move on there’ll be nothing to eat!” The kitchen maids looked at each other, stopped their gossiping and started to move a bit quicker.  Cook could be quite intimidating when she was in one of her moods.  The table was laden with pastries, jellies and fruit and the girls were just putting the finishing touches to the gingerbread biscuits before starting on the blancmange. “I love...

A Christmas Celebration #89

The final Christmas blog this year is a story of how the servants celebrated Christmas at Hoar Cross HAll, based around true events.  The Meynells always gave a party for their servants and local tradesmen in the Long GAllery, and I imagine it went a bit like this!     “Come on, look sharp!” shouted Cook to her assistants in the kitchen.  “We’ve got a load of cooking to do for the Christmas party at the weekend and if you don’t get a move on there’ll be nothing to eat!” The kitchen maids looked at each other, stopped their gossiping and started to move a bit quicker.  Cook could be quite intimidating when she was in one of her moods.  The...

Things that go bump in the night #3

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT!     Going to sleep in a big old house is quite scary when you’re young but going to sleep in a big old house that’s haunted is even more scary!! That first winter at Hoar Cross HAll was like that. Every time there was a windy night I could hear a window banging in the attic – All night long it kept me awake. The next day I would go upstairs to close it but there would be no windows open or even loose. They were All tightly shut as they had been for 20 years. I remember standing there in the attic rooms feeling a tingling down my spine and goose bumps All over as I felt the atmosphere closing in on me - and I quickly leg...

Gardeners' World #38

In it’s heyday Hoar Cross HAll had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tidy and weed free. In Victorian England the most common of All male servants was the gardener. At Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectionately as ‘digging slaves’! They were responsible for producing fruit, vegetables and growing luxury items in and out of season, much of it under glass. Adjacent to the house was the carp pool and greenhouse area along with a palm house; next to these was a wAlled kitchen garden (see header picture). This supplied the house with All its fruit, vegetables and herbs. The palm house produced palms an...