Story Search Results

Meet the Neighbours - Shugborough Hall #80

The next house in this series is a mere half hour from Hoar Cross Hall and we often visited it during the summer months and later, when my children were born, we’d take them for a visit too!  Seated on the edge of Cannock Chase this elegant house was once a manor house owned by the Bishops of Lichfield, until the dissolution of the monasteries around 1540.  Later it came into the hands of the Anson family, who were ancestors of the Earls of Lichfield, and stayed there for three centuries.  William Anson’s grandson, also called William, demolished the manor house in 1693 and built a three storey building in the Neo-Classical style which forms the central p...

The Origins of the stately Home #39

Why are stately homes so called? stately home actually means 'a large impressive old house with interesting history and usually visited by the public.' Well, I suppose they do look very 'stately' for a start but these houses were also a status symbol for the great families of England, who competed with each other to provide hospitality for the royal household who would travel around England meeting their subjects. stately homes were huge mansions which were always beautiful and the epitome of perfect architecture, often designed by famous architects of the day. The gardens too would be perfectly landscaped to show balance, variety, sequence and colour. One of t...

Queen Alexandra - my family #52

Here is a final selection of photos from the album of Queen Alexandra, found in the Library of Hoar Cross Hall.  Alexandra enjoyed photography as a hobby and in 1908 put together this album of personal photos of her family to be sold for charity.  It is a fascinating insight into another world, long gone now.  As we lead up to the Coronation of King Charles III it is a reminder of all that has gone before and all that is to come in the future with our hard working royals.     King Edward VII and David Here is the King in relaxed pose with his grandson, David, who later became King Edward VIII.  David became the King in January 1936 and famously abdicat...

The country house in society #48

Country houses are to be found throughout the British Isles and are a peculiarly English phenomenon. Houses range from mediaeval manor houses to classical Palladian mansions, elegant Georgian residences to the Gothic buildings of the Victorian era. A great many have survived for two main reasons: Britain has been spared much of the havoc of war and revolution affecting other countries. Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire   Wentworth Woodhouse (above) is one of the largest stately homes in Europe and was visited by King George V and Queen Mary in 1912. It is now with the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and is much bigger than this photo shows!   The...

The origins of the stately home #43

So why are stately homes so called? stately home actually means 'a large impressive old house with interesting history and usually visited by the public.' Well, I suppose they do look very 'stately' for a start but these houses were also a status symbol for the great families of England, who competed with each other to provide hospitality for the royal household who would travel around England meeting their subjects. stately homes were huge mansions which were always beautiful and the epitome of perfect architecture, often designed by famous architects of the day. The gardens too would be perfectly landscaped to show balance, variety, sequence and colour. One o...

Anyone for tennis? #62

With the summer season well and truly upon us and Wimbledon in full swing, I thought a blog about tennis might be in order!  The game of tennis first started in the Mediaeval days and involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove.  By the 16th century the glove had become a racquet and the game had moved to an enclosed playing area and the rules had stabilized.  This was known as ‘real tennis’.  The word tennis came into use in English in the mid-14th century from French, via the Anglo-Norman term Tenez, which can be translated as 'hold', 'receive' or 'take', a call from the server to his opponent indicating that he is about to serve....