Story Search Results

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...

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...

Ghostbusters! #8

...ut to see Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen who were playing locally. I had been left in charge of my brothers and once they were in bed I went back down to the lounge to watch whatever I wanted on TV with a huge plate of snacks! In those days the Hammer Dracula films were all the rage and were regularly shown on weekend TV – this particular weekend they were showing ‘The satanic rites of Dracula’, a real spinetingler. Because of my love of horror stories I decided to watch it. These films were always set in an old Gothic mansion on the moors or somewhere remote where you could hear eerie noises all night long – sound familiar? Yes, it was a bit like watching m...

Ghostbusters #8

...ut to see Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen who were playing locally. I had been left in charge of my brothers and once they were in bed I went back down to the lounge to watch whatever I wanted on TV with a huge plate of snacks! In those days the Hammer Dracula films were all the rage and were regularly shown on weekend TV – this particular weekend they were showing ‘The satanic rites of Dracula’, a real spine tingler. Because of my love of horror stories I decided to watch it. These films were always set in an old Gothic mansion on the moors or somewhere remote where you could hear eerie noises all night long – sound familiar? Yes, it was a bit like watching...

Whodunit in the Library? #24

...WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY?      When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – and lots of fun if you’re a child. This rambling old house full of empty rooms and secret doors, wild gardens and woods to explore, was in some ways a dream come true for our family, certainly for my dad. But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation and lack of public transport was frustrating. Coupled with this was my parents fighting and subsequent split, living at each end of the house and battling for the house and business through their solicitors. The effect this had on me, as the eldest child who perhaps s...

My Dad Bought A Mansion! #1

...MY DAD BOUGHT A MANSION!    It was the summer of 1970, Mungo Jerry was at the top of the hit parade and we were about to move house.  But not to any old house – to a 70 roomed mansion in 20 acres of grounds!  For years my dad had collected antiques, ever since he was a young boy of 12, and it was his dream to own a large house where he could put them on show to the general public.  In the 1970s he owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country and his dream was about to be realised; but little did we know what a nightmare would unfold before us. Hoar Cross Hall was the home of the Meynell Ingram family who originated from Leiceste...