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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...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story #34

THE SCHOOLROOM MAID'S STORY:       For the first 75 years of the 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 ne...

What the Butler saw!

WHAT THE BUTLER SAW!       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 the 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...

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 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 dr...

Calendar Girls and Front Covers #7

CALENDAR GIRLS AND FRONT COVERS:        During our time at Hoar Cross HAll people would occasionAlly hire the house for a day’s filming or whatEver.   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 m...

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...