Story Search Results

Moving into the Manor #2

...xury with servants waiting on us hand and foot  just because we lived in a stately home – if only they knew the reality!!  At least we got electric blankets for our beds – what a luxury  that was.  Fortunately this temporary way of living didn’t last forever! That first winter it snowed quite heavily and as the snow melted we discovered that the roof leaked – quite a lot actually and in quite a lot of places too!  All down the Long Gallery there were buckets placed under dripping water and my poor dad spent most of his time on the roof finding and mending the holes.  If anyone came round to see him it became a bit of a joke, when asked where he wa...

Eat, drink and be merry! #10

...ut ‘the servants’ we had and the haunted attic! During that summer my parents auditioned for a King, a jester, entertainers and singers and by August they had a team of ‘am-dram’ actors ready to start rehearsals.  They also advertised for wenches and serving girls of which I became one – at 14 years old this became my new weekend job!  But the banquets were about to change all our lives - for better and for worse.   Don’t miss next week’s instalment:   New Year Jinks! If you want to follow my story from the beginning please click here and feel free to share with your friends    ...

Mediaeval Mayhem! #12

...hose poor servants did 100 years before!  Apparently they had to get up at 5am to polish the floors before Lady Dorothy came downstairs at 9am. During December we always had the banquets on a Friday and Saturday night to accommodate Christmas parties, which were many.  It was hard work and the house took a bit of a bashing with all those people coming in every week.  On top of that, we had to clear away all the tables and benches to get the house ready for the annual New Years’ Eve Ball.  They all had to be carried down to the basement and the cast would come round to help – they were a good bunch of people and every week after the banquet had finished,...

More Tea Vicar? #13

...MORE TEA VICAR?         Life at Hoar Cross Hall was always busy but during the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored.  As there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no other families living nearby, we three children had to make our own entertainment and we were always having adventures and getting up to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five but without a dog!  We would roam around the village or explore the basement.  My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years including gas masks and field phones from World War 2.  The old servants Hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoring...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #35

...� For the servants it must have been quite exciting being in the big city and seeing all the sights and one of the benefits was that on their half day they would be allowed out until 10pm instead of 9.30pm! Once the season was over and Jenny returned to the Hall she was busy in the kitchen straightaway.  She tells how there were visitors arriving and her statement below shows the implications for the staff of a large country house:- “I don’t know who they were, but they were a lady and gentleman, a valet and lady’s maid, a grown-up daughter, and a very young child.  Young enough to have a nanny. That meant three extra in the dining room, two extra in t...

Moving house to a mansion #1

...xury with servants waiting on us hand and foot  just because we lived in a stately home – if only they knew the reality!!  At least we got electric blankets for our beds – what a luxury  that was.  Fortunately this temporary way of living didn’t last forever! That first winter it snowed quite heavily and as the snow melted we discovered that the roof leaked – quite a lot actually and in quite a lot of places too!  All down the Long Gallery there were buckets placed under dripping water and my poor dad spent most of his time on the roof finding and mending the holes.  If anyone came round to see him it became a bit of a joke, when asked where he wa...