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Rags to Riches #15

My family origan class='highlight'>inan>ated from Derby and my parents were married there an class='highlight'>inan> July 1952. Mum was 19 and dad was 36 so quite a bit older. They both lived an class='highlight'>inan> Derby and were very arty; my dad went to the Derby Sketchan class='highlight'>inan>g Club an class='highlight'>inan> his free time and my mum attended art college. I’m not sure where they met but it was either at somethan class='highlight'>inan>g art related or at a dance, as was usual an class='highlight'>inan> those days. My dad was a sculptor by trade; I than class='highlight'>inan>k his an class='highlight'>inan>terest was sparked by seean class='highlight'>inan>g all the beautiful alabaster an class='highlight'>inan> Italian churches duran class='highlight'>inan>g the war. after the war he set up his own busan class='highlight'>inan>ess makan class='highlight'>inan>g alabaster lamps, bowls and candlesticks among other than class='highlight'>inan>gs (see header picture). He would go to the alab...

Skools out for summer! #14

...) and for an class='highlight'>livan class='highlight'>inan>gan> an class='highlight'>inan> a stately home. (This was from the teachers too!)   My concentration was awful and I tended to daydream a lot, then I wouldn’t know what was goan class='highlight'>inan>g on an class='highlight'>inan> the lessons.  as a child my maths was terrible so my mum got a private tutor an class='highlight'>inan> to help me out.  If I didn’t know the answer to a question I would just ‘clam up’ and not speak – this particular time was too much for the tutor and he lost his temper and beat me with his ruler until my legs were black and blue.  Needless to say, he was asked to leave and not come back – imagan class='highlight'>inan>e what would happen to him nowadays!  The teachers at school would often hit the kids over the head wi...

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #38

...This lovely Grade II listed Georgian house an class='highlight'>inan> South Yorkshire was once the childhood home of The Honourable Emily Charlotte Meynell who married Hugo Meynell of Hoar Cross and who, together with Hugo, built Hoar Cross Hall to be their family home an class='highlight'>inan> 1873, a hundred years before my family lived there.  The origan class='highlight'>inan>al house was called Hickleton Palace and had been built for Judge Francis Rodes an class='highlight'>inan> the 16th century but an class='highlight'>inan> 1745 Hickleton Hall was built just to the south of this house after the estate was bought by Godfrey Wentworth an class='highlight'>inan> about 1730. Thirty years later he extended the house and added two low wan class='highlight'>inan>gs, one either side, and a servants wan class='highlight'>inan>g (see header picture)...

Victorian Society #93

...Victorian society was built around Queen Victoria’s reign, loosely between 1820-1914.  It was characterised by a class-based society and Britaan class='highlight'>inan> bean class='highlight'>inan>g the most powerful empire an class='highlight'>inan> the world. Hoar Cross Hall was built an class='highlight'>inan> 1870, at the height of the Victorian era, and boasted up to seventy rooms, twenty-five of them for the servants, approximately fifteen for the kitchens and utility areas, leavan class='highlight'>inan>g around thirty rooms for the family and their guests.  Duran class='highlight'>inan>g this time a lot of people, particularly women, went an class='highlight'>inan>to domestic service and the Housekeeper at the Hall earned about £50 a year, while a housemaid earned £15 a year – quite the difference!  By all ac...

Skools out for summer! #12

...) and for an class='highlight'>livan class='highlight'>inan>gan> an class='highlight'>inan> a stately home. (This was from the teachers too!) My concentration was awful and I tended to daydream a lot, then I wouldn’t know what was goan class='highlight'>inan>g on an class='highlight'>inan> the lessons. as a child my maths was terrible so my mum got a private tutor an class='highlight'>inan> to help me out. If I didn’t know the answer to a question I would just ‘clam up’ and not speak – this particular time was too much for the tutor and he lost his temper and beat me with his ruler until my legs were black and blue. Needless to say, he was asked to leave and not come back – imagan class='highlight'>inan>e what would happen to him nowadays! The teachers at school would often hit the kids over the head with books or...

Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history #17

...If you love to read up on the history of old houses then you'll love to hear about all the generations of people that lived at Hoar Cross Hall.  Hoar Cross was part of Needwood Forest, the 11th century lands of Henry de Ferrers. The land was passed down to Henry’s son and subsequent various people over the course of 500 years endan class='highlight'>inan>g with the Webb family, around the 1730s, who bought the land and house known as the Manor of the Cross. This was quite a large house built on a hill near Yoxall (which is the village next to Hoar Cross). an class='highlight'>inan> 1740 the manor house was demolished and later the Hon. Charles Talbot bought the estate for £17,000. Eventually it was sold t...