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Like father, like sons #20

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS:        As previously mentioned in earlier blogs my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team, Shardlow Motor Racing, in the 1960s, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van (see picture above) with his two mechanics and racing driver.   He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in.  From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country.  There was quite a collectio...

Motor Racing Days #9

MOTOR RACING DAYS Although my blogs are about living at Hoar Cross Hall, I would just like to give a bit of background about my dad’s racing career in the years leading up to moving to the Hall as this will set the scene for later instalments of my story. As mentioned in my first blog my dad used to be a racing driver but he actually started off racing motor cycles in the 1930s. Because of this he became a despatch rider during the Second World War and spent a lot of time in North Africa. After the war he started racing motor bikes at nearby Donington Park and he raced there up to the beginning of the 1950s. After that he moved onto cars and drove a Cooper 5...

What the butler saw!

...ll in the 1950s and bought the smaller Hollybush House in nearby Newborough he went with them until his retirement.  He and his wife celebrated their Diamond wedding anniversary in 1972. However, when at the Hall his main duties would have been looking after the wine cellar and silverware or plate as it was known.  This was kept in a room next to his bedroom so he could keep an eye on it and make sure no-one stole anything.  Similarly with the wine cellar, he would have kept it all under lock and key so none of the servants could have a crafty drink when no-one was looking.  He also waited on table at all the meals and at night, secured all doors and window...

Rags to Riches #16

...n the mid 1950s my dad sold the alabaster works to Louis Martin, who had just arrived in England from Jamaica.  He was a weight lifter and turned the works into a gym and weight training centre.  He went on to win medals in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and also won four world titles, four European titles and broke four world records!  In 2018 he was added to the Derby Walk of Fame and has a star on the pavement there which was unveiled by his son last year. After the First World War the market places were full of tea chests with swords and guns from the Boer War and the First World War.  My dad found all this stuff fascinating and started collecting it when h...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #20

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:       This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty.  They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one.  They had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight.  No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days!  By the end of the 19th century there were nearly...

Like Father Like Sons #20

...LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS  As mentioned before my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team in the 1960s, travelling all over  Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics and driver.   He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in.  From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country.  There was quite a collection and I still have them; I used to put them on display in the Library when our...