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Victorian Fashions #95
Posted by Viv Wilson on 29th May 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,my dad bought a mansion,victorian,amazon,historic houses,national trust,Ballroom,Balls,bustle,crinoline,corsets,industrial revolution,hourglass,petticoats,downton abbey,queen victoria,barons eden,hoar cross hall spa hotel
The Victorian era was roughly from 1830 – 1900 and saw many changes in fashion styles. This was the era of technological advancement and the mass production of sewing machines in the 1850s and the advent of synthetic dyes introduced major changes in fashion. This, coupled with the printing of fashion magazines, allowed the masses to become more fashion conscious – the middle classes were rising up thanks to the Industrial Revolution!
Clothes were an expression of your place in society, therefore upper-class women, who didn’t need to work, could wear more elaborate dresses over layers of petticoats with tightly laced corsets. Men would wear long froc...
Summer Balls and Garden Parties #97
Posted by Viv Wilson on 25th June 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,downton abbey,my dad bought a mansion,champagne,garden party,summer ball,ballroom,ball gown,London,midsummer's eve,new year's eve,Meynell,laughton estate,period drama,history,barings bank,Sir Alec Douglas Home,memoirs
Balls and functions held at Hoar Cross Hall were lavish affairs, especially before the First World War, with the catering and other services invariably being provided by premier London companies. In 1907, Gunter & Co of Berkeley Square, London, could supply a Ball supper and refreshments for ten shillings (50p) a head, plus 'extra services'.
For a Ball Supper in January 1913, Mayfair Catering, Grosvenor Square, assured Lady Mary Meynell that they had engaged 'a superior staff of tall waiters' to attend her guests and, “.....if waiters are desired to be in Full Dress (silk stockings) the additional cost will be five shillings (25p) per man.” They als...
More Tea Vicar? #12
Posted by Viv Wilson on 20th March 1973 in Early Days | hoar cross hall,meynel,ingram,more tea vicar,ghost,church of the holy angels,churchyard,christmas,vicarage,1973,meynell arms
MORE TEA VICAR? During the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored. As there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no children living nearby, we three children had to make our own entertainment and we were always having adventures and getting up to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five, but without a dog! We would roam around the village or explore the basement. My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years including gas masks and field phones from World War 2. The old Servants Hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoring antiques to sell. He had one of the field phones in his...More tea Vicar? #11
Posted by Viv Wilson on 24th August 2020 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,new year\'s eve,birthday,midnight,Scottish,church,Easter,Christmas
MORE TEA VICAR? During the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored. As there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no children living nearby, we three children had to make our own entertainment and we were always having adventures and getting up to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five but without a dog! We would roam around the village or explore the basement. My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years including gas masks and field phones from World War 2. The old Servants Hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoring antiques to sell. He had one of the field phones in his workshop...More Tea Vicar? #12
Posted by Viv Wilson on 15th June 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,grave,vicarage,vicar,1973,Christmas,Bridgerton,Downton Abbey,The Crown
During the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored. As there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no children living nearby, we three children had to make our own entertainment and we were always having adventures and getting up to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five but without the dog! We would roam around the village or explore the basement. My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years including gas masks and field phones from World War 2.
The old Servants Hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoring antiques to sell. He had one of the field phones in his workshop and the other one w...
The Long Gallery #67
Posted by Viv Wilson on 27th October 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,long gallery,chapel,library,elizabethan,jacobean,monasteries,Abbeys,Chatsworth House,thornbury castle,downton abbey,The crown
I thought that a little series on the different rooms in Hoar Cross Hall might be quite interesting, taking a deeper look at what these rooms were used for and a bit of history surrounding them. The main ground floor rooms were open to the public during the 1970s when people wandered around our home admiring the fine paintings and furniture followed by a walk in the grounds trying to imagine how it looked in days gone by. The house was entered through two huge oak doors which led into an Entrance Hall - this was our cafe area and the Butlers Pantry just off there was what we used as a kitchen to bake scones and sell snacks and ice creams. Leading off the E...