Story Search Results

Calendar Girls and Front Covers #7

During our time at Hoar Cross HAll people would occasionAlly hire the house for a day’s filming.  Calen During the summer of 1973 a photographer from London hired the place for a day and he brought two models with him, one English and one German, and they were taking photos for a glamour calendar. We were told to keep right out of the way as they were taking photos in the gardens as well as the house. NaturAlly we wanted to see Everything that was going on and my younger brother Gavin especiAlly was very keen to watch – so much so that he found a pair of binoculars to follow All the proceedings! We managed to find All sorts of hiding places EventuAlly settl...

An Edwardian Schoolroom Maid #40

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...

Becoming a rock chick #16

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 to see live musi...

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...

Growing up in a stately home #1

It was the summer of 1970, Mungo Jerry was at the top of the hit parade and we were about to move house. But not to any old house – to a 70 roomed mansion in 20 acres of grounds! For years my dad had collected antiques, Ever since he was a young boy of 12, and it was his dream to own a large house where he could put them on show to the general public. In the 1970s he owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country and his dream was about to be realised; but little did we know what a nightmare would unfold before us. Hoar Cross HAll was the home of the Meynell Ingram family who originated from Leicestershire. Hugo Meynell of Quorndon was...

DIY Stately Home #4

We moved into Hoar Cross HAll during the summer holidays and my parents quickly realised 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 have been used as guest bedrooms in Victorian times. H...