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Hoar Cross Hall meets Downton abbey #99

With the new Downton abbey film out this month I thought I would do a comparison of the two family homes, Downton and Hoar Cross Hall, the latter being an class='highlight'>Myan> old family home for those of you who are new to these blogs.  although Downton abbey is fictional, the house on which it is based is not, it being Highclere Castle in Hampshire which was built in 1679 and is owned by the Earl of Carnarvon. Hoar Cross Hall was the original home of the Meynell Ingram family who first came from Leicestershire and was built in 1863.  Hugo Meynell of Quorndon was the High Sheriff of Staffordshire and Member of Parliament for Lichfield and the family owned considerable property in...

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRaRY? #25

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRaRY? When we first moved to the 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 an class='highlight'>Myan> an class='highlight'>dadan>.  But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation and lack of public transport was frustrating.  Coupled with this was an class='highlight'>Myan> 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 saw more o...

THE TaX MaN COMETH #29

THE TaX MaN COMETH - The court case was finally over and an class='highlight'>Myan> an class='highlight'>dadan> had six months to leave the house.  In the meantime an class='highlight'>Myan> mum had to find the funds to buy him out and he had to find another house to live in.  He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too!  He eventually found a house in nearby Burton on Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of a lot of his possessions and one of the first things to go was his Lotus Elite.  He advertised it in the local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, the first call was from the local tax office.  Back in those days they used to check advertisements in the newspapers and t...

NEW YEaR JINKS #26

NEW YEaR JINKS The New Year’s Eve Balls were usually the highlight of the year.  after twelve months of hard work, especially running the Mediaeval Banquets twice a week through the winter, we were always ready to see out the year in style with a big new year party.  In those days it was always black tie for the men and long dresses for the ladies – usually around 500 people an class='highlight'>boughtan> tickets for an evening of entertainment with a dance band, disco and a meal.  at midnight a man dressed in traditional Scottish regalia, including a kilt, would pipe in the new year with his bagpipes.  Down the Long Gallery he would slowly walk and into the Ballroom  with hi...

The country house in society #48

Country houses are to be found throughout the British Isles and are a peculiarly English phenomenon. Houses range from mediaeval manor houses to classical Palladian mansions, elegant Georgian residences to the Gothic buildings of the Victorian era. a great many have survived for two main reasons: Britain has been spared much of the havoc of war and revolution affecting other countries. Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire   Wentworth Woodhouse (above) is one of the largest stately homes in Europe and was visited by King George V and Queen Mary in 1912. It is now with the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and is much bigger than this photo shows!   The...

Hysterical Productions #15

HYSTERICaL PRODUCTIONS:    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, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all. 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 an class='highlight'>Myan> school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatte...