Story Search Results

What the Butler Saw! #38

...dirtiest jobs had to be done first thing in the morning so that they could be clean and properly dressed for breakfast. From midday they would be dressed in their livery, fully-tailored outfits from London firms. With their plush breeches, silk stockings and powdered hair, they were the ‘peacocks’ among domestics. Footmen were responsible for answering the door, delivering messages and waiting-on in the evening. There were numerous footmen in the large houses but probably only two or three at Hoar Cross. They were constantly leaving to better themselves as butlers were usually picked (or ‘head hunted’) from the footmen, but they would only consider men...

My Dad Bought a Mansion #1

...ut what a job it was carrying it down corridors and staircases to get it out of the house! I can see why it stayed! These were the only two things that had been left behind – the rest of the house was completely empty apart from lots of dust and spiders! Back down in the basement were all the old kitchens including the Boot Boy’s room, laundry room, pantries and sculleries. Along the wall of the passageway was a row of bells and the names of the rooms to which they belonged – these were here so that the servants could be summoned to do their master’s bidding – they were also used in a prank by myself and my brother when we were visited by a team of pr...

Our mansion gets a facelift #4

...OUR MANSION GETS A FACELIFT! We moved into Hoar Cross Hall during the summer holidays and my parents quickly realised that they had a lot of work on their hands to make the place habitable as well as to earn some money from it. As previously mentioned, there was an East Wing and a West Wing to the house. My dad decided to convert the first floor rooms of each wing into three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous house. This would generate income from rents until we got the main house open to the public. It wasn’t a big job to convert the rooms as the East Wing had four main rooms and two bathrooms already there, which would have been used as g...

Ghouls Galore #18

...ute. Good job no-one could hear us!   The spooky basement corridor   As everyone had heard about the ghost stories at the Hall, occasionally at these parties we would make an ouiji board and try and contact the spirits. Most people had had a few spirits of a different kind by then and we would all sit round the table watching the glass move around the board wondering who was pushing it. Afterwards no-one admitted that they did and then we’d all be wondering and worrying! Once, while playing this game, a curtain fell down from the window and freaked us all out! One or two people were really into all this stuff and so the dark arts arrived at the Hall...

Ghouls Galore! #18

...ute. Good job no-one could hear us! The spooky basement corridor   As everyone had heard about the ghost stories at the Hall, occasionally at these parties we would make an ouija board and try and contact the spirits. Most people had had a few spirits of a different kind by then and we would all sit round the table watching the glass move around the board wondering who was pushing it. Afterwards no-one admitted that they did and then we’d all be wondering and worrying! Once, while playing this game, a curtain fell down from the window and freaked us all out! One or two people were really into all this stuff and so the dark arts arrived at the Hall –...

Hoar Cross History #65

...cured the job at the Hall. The Buffalo Inn   After the Hall was built many of the cottages in the village were bought by the Hoar Cross Estate so they had somewhere to house their employees. In the 1870s the school was built and this must have been a much needed addition to the village. I can imagine that Emily Meynell probably had something to do with that as was often the case in those days, where the local gentry provided funds for schools etc.  Unfortunately it closed down a number of years ago and is now just a house but with a lovely garden and tennis court. The Lodge at Hoar Cross Hall - 1920s   By the time of the 1930s the telephone had...