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Anyone for Tennis? #96
Posted by Viv Wilson on 25th June 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,wimbledon,all england lawn tennis and croquet club,downton abbey,History,Period drama,Meynell,queen mother,tennis court,mediaval,henry viii,hampton court,Ballroom,Balls
With the summer season well and truly upon us and Wimbledon almost here, I thought a blog about tennis might be in order! The game of tennis first started in the Mediaeval days and involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove. By the 16th century the glove had become a racquet and the game had moved to an enclosed playing area and the rules had stabilized. This was known as ‘real tennis’. The word tennis came into use in English in the mid-14th century from French, via the Anglo-Norman term Tenez, which can be translated as 'hold', 'receive' or 'take', a call from the server to his opponent indicating that he is about to serve....
A Home fit for a King #21
Posted by Viv Wilson on 17th September 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Buckingham Palace,The Crown,The Monarchy,King Charles III,prince of wales,duchy of cornwall,Queen Victoria,Downton Abbey,william the conqueror
In this week's blog I am focusing on the royal family again and the stately homes which they grew up in.
The main residence for the Royal family is Buckingham Palace which is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom and where many state occasions take place, but Buckingham Palace was originally known as Buckingham House. The building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th ce...
Hoar Cross Hall meets Downton Abbey #99
Posted by Viv Wilson on 24th September 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,downton abbey,Highclere Castle,Bishop of Winchester,first world war,Great War,meynell ingram,Shropshire,Leicestershire,Derbyshire,History,period drama,Servants,Suffragettes,my dad bought a mansion,Earl of Carnarvon,Tomb of Tutankhamun,Eqyptologist,Lord Grantham
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 my 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...
Becoming A Rock Chick! #17
Posted by Viv Wilson on 1st February 1975 in Early Days | rock chick,hoar cross hall,doobie brothers,steely dan,steelers wheel,the who,keith moon,easy rider,uttoxeter,burton on trent,hippy,college
BECOMING A ROCK CHICK: My schooldays were coming to an end now and I absolutely couldn’t wait to leave. The school itself was an old Victorian grammar school which still had wooden desks with inkwells in them! Even the teachers wore their mortar boards and gowns, not like the ones at Eton and Harrow – mine were more like the ones in the Beano!
However, in the last two years there I had made a few good friends and we would go into Uttoxeter every lunch time to meet up with a group of guys that worked at the local JCB firm. They were all into motor bikes and one of the first films I watched was ‘Easy Rider’. They also went to a lot of concerts...Becoming a rock chick #18
Posted by Viv Wilson on 18th February 2019 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,easy rider,new year\'s eve,The Who,Dr Feelgood,burton on trent,steelers wheel,doobie brothers
BECOMING A ROCK CHICK: My schooldays were coming to an end now and I absolutely couldn’t wait to leave. The school itself was an old Victorian grammar school in Uttoxeter which still had wooden desks with inkwells in them! Even the teachers wore their mortar boards and gowns just like the ones at Eton and Harrow – or the Beano! However, in the last two years there I had made a few good friends and we would go into town every lunch time to meet up with a group of guys that worked at the local J. C. Bamford firm. They were all into motor bikes and one of the first films I watched was ‘Easy Rider’. They also went to a lot of concerts...
Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6
Posted by Viv Wilson on 30th May 2021 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,Hunting,shooting,fishing,carp pond,gun,brace of pheasants
HUNTIN’, SHOOTIN’ AND FISHIN’
Most stately homes have the obligatory hunting, shooting and fishing and Hoar Cross Hall was no exception during the Meynell family’s time there. We didn't take part in any of these activities but the Meynell and South Staffs Hunt used to meet locally to do a spot of fox hunting. They would all gather at different venues around the area and enjoy a drink before setting off. One of their usual places was the Meynell Ingram Arms Public House at the bottom of the village. In February 1972 they had their ‘meet’ at the Hall. We, as the host family, got all dressed up to meet and greet them and local helpers served drinks, us...