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Ghouls Galore! #19
Posted by Viv Wilson on 25th February 2019 in Growing Up In a stately home | hoar cross hall,meynell arms,ghosts,attic
GHOULS GALORE! One of the great things about living in a stately home is that you can have a wild party with the loudest of music – and no-one will hear it! I was now going out with Kev, whom I had met at college. Mum was a bit disappointed that my sensible boyfriend and I had parted company after 18 months of an on/off relationship but she accepted Kev into the fold and eventually met all the other members of the band. I think she wanted to put her mind at rest that they were a bunch of nice lads and not a drug crazed rock band eating bats! Which of course they were! No – I’m only kidding! After the awful split up at Christmas my pare...
Moving Out #32
Posted by Viv Wilson on 27th May 2019 in Growing Up In a stately home | hoar cross hall,Ferrari,Police,Derby,burton on trent,£1,Only Fools and Horses
MOVING OUT: And so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when my dad had to leave the Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for my mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him and Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a band saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had bought a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop and there he moved to st...
Ghouls Galore!
Posted by Viv Wilson on 6th January 2020 in Growing Up In a stately home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,ghosts,ouiji board,attic,candlelight,seance
GHOULS GALORE! One of the great things about living in a stately home is that you can have a wild party with the loudest of music – and no-one will hear it! I was now going out with Kev, whom I had met at college. Mum was a bit disappointed that my sensible boyfriend and I had parted company after 18 months of an on/off relationship but she accepted Kev into the fold and eventually met all the other members of the band. I think she wanted to put her mind at rest that they were a bunch of nice lads and not a drug crazed rock band eating bats! Which of course they were! No – I’m only kidding! After the awful split up at Christmas my parents...
The Tax Man Cometh! #28
Posted by Viv Wilson on 15th March 2020 in Growing Up In a stately home | hoar cross hall,meynell arms,april fools day,duchy of cornwall,prince of wales,tax man,vicar,wedding,bride
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 Out #31
Posted by Viv Wilson on 5th April 2020 in Growing Up In a stately home | hoar cross hall,ferrari,burton on trent,electronics engineer,estate agent,only fools and horses,antiques,go-karting
MOVING OUT: And so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when my dad had to leave Hoar Cross Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for my mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him and Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a band saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had bought a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop and there he moved to start af...
The War Years and Beyond #37
Posted by Viv Wilson on 17th May 2020 in Growing Up In a stately home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,hollybush park,Victorian,burton general hospital,Bishops,evacuees,Birmingham,second world war
THE WAR YEARS AND BEYOND: During the Second World War, life in country houses changed dramatically. It was no different at Hoar Cross Hall. The flower borders on the main lawns were turfed over to reduce maintenance and vegetables were grown in areas formerly restricted to flowers. Evacuees from Birmingham came to stay for the duration of the war and they lived in the basement, as it was considered to be the safest place. I imagine that they must have been in the care of the servants as they were living amongst them but it must also have been quite exciting for them to move from a bombed out city to the relative safety of the countryside, although they mu...