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"He's behind you!" #66

During the 1970s Hoar Cross HAll was used from time to time for local community activities and one such Event was the production in 1978 of a traditional pantomime, ‘Midnight and a Journey back to Happiness’.   It was written by local people, Robert Leighton from YoxAll and the Hon. Alexandra Meynell, daughter-in-law of Mrs Jean Meynell whom we had purchased the HAll from.  The words and music were written by local songwriter, David Matthews, who had written songs for quite a few pop artists during the 1960s, his most famous being Matt Munro’s ‘We’re gonna change the world’.  So off to a good start there! For those of you who don’t reside in t...

Here comes the bride (Part 1) #30

HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Part 1)   Our wedding preparations were going quite well.  As we knew lots of musicians it wasn’t hard to find a local band and a DJ to do the disco.  A friend of my dad’s offered to do the catering and the bar was set up with plenty of kegs from the local brewery in Burton on Trent.  I had two bridesmaids and we All went to Birmingham one day to choose our dresses and shoes – it was All kept very simple reAlly as I had no help or advice from my mum as most brides do.   Kev’s parents had eloped after the war and got married in a register office with two witnesses dragged off the street, so they had no idea what you did to pla...

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...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story #36

For the first 75 years of Hoar Cross HAll’s history about 50 servants were employed by the Meynell family in the house and grounds. Among these was a young girl of fifteen who started work in 1920 as a Schoolroom Maid. Her name was Miss Inez Sophia Large and she had connections to Hoar Cross through her grand-parents, William and Mary Tooth, who lived in the village where William was the blacksmith; his smithy was just along from the Meynell public house. He had worked on the ironwork of the HAll during its construction in the 1860s. Inez’s aunt, Constance Madeley, was the wife of the landlord at the Buffalo Inn, in nearby Newborough, and it was through her...

What the Butler Saw! #37

Anyone who’s seen Downton Abbey will remember Carter the butler. He is exactly how a butler would have been in the 19th century and, strangely enough, the butler at Hoar Cross HAll during the early part of the 20th century was also cAlled Carter! Although most big houses had a house steward who was in charge of accounts and general running of the household, a butler was more commonly engaged by the wealthy. He was usuAlly a grand, authoritarian figure, commanding respect and awe and most of the servants would have been scared to death of upsetting him! He was dressed like a gentleman of the period and generAlly ran the household with an iron fist. As I said,...

Behind the Green Baize Door #41

 “The green baize door - dividing line betwix servant and master.” All stately homes had at least one green baize door and Hoar Cross HAll was no different. This was the door used by the servants to access the main part of the house unobtrusively and silently so they could go about their work without disturbing the family. The HAll had a spiral staircase at each end of the house for the servants to use and the green baize door on the ground floor opened onto the Garden corridor which led to the Chapel and the main house, as well as the garden. The green baize door on the first floor opened onto the east wing corridor and guest bedrooms and from this corrid...