Story Search Results

Things that go bump in the night #3

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 legged it back downstairs! On other nights...

Behind the green baize door #47

"the green baize door - dividing line betwix servant and master.” All stately homes had at least one green baize door and Hoar Cross Hall was no different. This was the door used by the servants to access the main part of the house unobtrusively and silently so they could go about their work without disturbing the family. the Hall had a spiral staircase at each end of the house for the servants to use and the green baize door on the ground floor opened onto the Garden Corridor which led to the Chapel and the main house, as well as the garden. the green baize door on the first floor opened onto the east wing corridor and guest bedrooms and from this corridor t...

the Long Gallery #67

I thought that a little series on the different rooms in Hoar Cross Hall might be quite interesting, taking a deeper look at what these rooms were used for and a bit of history surrounding them.  the main ground floor rooms were open to the public during the 1970s when people wandered around our home admiring the fine paintings and furniture followed by a walk in the grounds trying to imagine how it looked in days gone by.  the house was entered through two huge oak doors which led into an Entrance Hall - this was our cafe area and the Butlers Pantry just off there was what we used as a kitchen to bake scones and sell snacks and ice creams.  Leading off the E...

the Chinese Room #71

the Chinese Room is the last in the series of the rooms that were open to the public at Hoar Cross Hall during the 1970s.  It had three doorways and was entered from the Ballroom, the Long Gallery and the Entrance Hall and was originally the Dining Room of the house when the Meynell family lived there.  the centrepiece of the room is the 18th century carved wood mantelpiece, incorporating classical figures and floral decorations, with a carved and painted armorial overmantel.     As you can probably guess from the name of the room, the main theme was oriental  armour, tapestries and furniture, including a Burmese Palace Chair.  the oriental armour was a...

the Halifax Estates - Garrowby #46

...nected to the royal family and would in later years host King George V and Queen Mary at Temple Newsam and Hoar Cross Hall. In 2005 Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh stayed with Lord Halifax at Garrowby when royal Ascot was moved to York. Lord James Irwin is also the godson of Camilla, the Queen Consort so there are many royal connections between these two families right up to the present day. Hickleton Hall on the Halifax Estates   Garrowby is the largest of the Halifax Estates and extends to over 13,000 acres. the estate is located 13 miles east of York on the Vale of York in the west to the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds to the east. Garrowby Hal...

Change and the Country House #61

...Hoar Cross Hall was clearly a very different house in the Victorian era compared to today.  Like other country houses it has not been immune from the social and economic changes affecting all walks of life over the last hundred years. At the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837 the local landowner with his country house and estate was the focal point of the community, often dispensing law, charity and education.  the estate would also provide employment for the local people and over fifty locals were employed on the Hoar Cross estate in the house and grounds plus many more on Home Farm along with carpenters, electricians and plumbers to keep the esta...