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the Kitchen Maid's Story #37

the KITCHEN MAID’S STORY:    If you were young, free and single – oh, and very well-to-do – the 1920s were the decade to be a part of. the upper classes had lots of time on their hands and enjoyed post-First World War delights such as the theatre and jazz clubs. Not so for the lower classes, in particular a young girl who was to become the kitchen maid at Hoar Cross Hall in the 1920s. the ‘depression’ after the First World War brought stark poverty to her home and many like her. Her name was Jean Rennie, and she was extremely intelligent having won a scholarship to Glasgow University to study French and music. However, the £5 bursary she got was ta...

Queen Alexandra - my family #50

Queen Alexandra was the daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria as she was married to her eldest son and heir, Edward VII. Her family were from Denmark and although of royal blood they were a distant branch of the royal house of Oldenburg and apparently lived very modestly on her father's army commission. However, in 1852 her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, was chosen to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as King of Denmark thus the family's status rose and they moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace. Alexandra, or 'Alix' as she was known was born on 1st December 1844, her full name being Alexandra Caroline M...

See you in Court #27

the saga of my parents’ split continued as we grew up in our stately home, although their behaviour was anything but stately for most of the time! Seven years of arguing and fighting were about to come to an end and the solicitors had finally agreed on a date to go to court. We carried on helping my dad to run the Hall and he still went to his boat in Caernarfon at weekends to get away from the house but we were all getting weary of it now. We were young adults and wanting to get on with our own lives. After five years together we were hoping to get married at some point so we were glad that it was finally going to be sorted out one way or another. Gavin was...

Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6

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...

Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6

HUNTIN’, SHOOTIN’ AND FISHIN’ :            Most stately homes have the obligatory hunting, shooting and fishing and ours was no exception during the Meynell family’s time there.   We participated in none of these 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 dri...

Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6

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 participate in any of these but, however, 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, usually sherry. I had no interest in h...