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The tax man cometh! #29

The TAX MAN COMETH:   My parents’ court case was finally over and my dad had six months to leave The house.  In The meantime my mum had to find The funds to buy him out and he had to find anoTher house to live in.  He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too!  He eventually found a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of a lot of his possessions and one of The first things to go was his Lotus Elite.  He advertised it in The local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, The first call was from The local tax office.  Back in those days They used to check advertisements in The news...

Moving on - The end of an era #33

MOVING ON - The END OF AN ERA:          And so I come to The end of my story.  After ten years of living in a stately home,  my parents’ divorce agreement meant that my dad had to be bought out by my mum and he had to leave his dream home forever.  He and Gavin moved out to live in Burton-on-Trent and my mum carried on running Mediaeval Banquets for a few more years.  She and The singer eventually got togeTher much to my dad’s chagrin.  The singer spent a lot more time at The Hall helping my mum run The banquets; however, Piers didn’t really get on with him.  When he was about 14 years old my dad received a phone call from Piers – he had run...

Aristocratic travels # 39

ARISTOCRATIC TRAVELS:   Emily Charlotte Meynell, The original owner of Hoar Cross Hall, was probably one of The wealthiest independent women of The late 19th century in Britain.  Her property included country estates around The Midlands, a London house in Eaton Square and a villa in Florence.  For many years she owned a yacht, The latter a fully-crewed schooner of 380 tons.  The family had large financial resources in addition to Their estate income, through which They were sustained until well into The 20th century. Emily cruised The Mediterranean every springtime in her yacht and occasionally crossed The North Sea to The NeTherlands and Germany in The su...

Our mansion gets a facelift #4

OUR MANSION GETS A FACELIFT:        We moved into Hoar Cross Hall during The summer holidays and my parents quickly realised that They had a lot of work on Their hands to make The place habitable as well as to earn some money from it.  As previously mentioned, There was an East Wing and a West Wing to The house.  My dad decided to convert The first floor rooms of each wing into three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous house.  This would generate income from rents until we got The main house open to The public.  It wasn’t a big job to convert The rooms as The East Wing had four main rooms and two bathrooms already There, which would...

The Tax Man Cometh! #28

The TAX MAN COMETH:       My parents’ court case was finally over and my dad had six months to leave The family home, Hoar Cross Hall. In The meantime my mum had to find The funds to buy him out and he had to find anoTher house to live in. He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too! He eventually found a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of a lot of his possessions and one of The first things to go was his Lotus Elite. He advertised it in The local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, The first call was from The local tax office. Back in those days They used to check adverti...

Moving On - The end of an era #32

MOVING ON – The END OF AN ERA:       And so, after ten years of growing up and living in a stately home, I have come to The end of my story. After my parents’ divorce it was agreed that my mum bought out my dad's half of The house and he had to leave his dream home forever. He and Gavin moved out to live in Burton-on-Trent and my mum carried on running Mediaeval Banquets for a few more years. She and The singer eventually got togeTher much to my dad’s chagrin. The singer spent a lot more time at The Hall helping my mum run The banquets; however, Piers didn’t really get on with him. When he was about 14 years old my dad received a phone call from Pier...