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RAGS TO RICHES! #15

RAGS TO RICHES:  My parents were married in Derby in July 1952.  Mum was 19 and dad was 36 so quite a bit older.  They both lived in Derby and were very arty; my dad went to the Derby Sketching Club in his free time and my mum attended art college.  I’m not sure where they met but it was either at something art related or at a dance, as was usual in those days.  My dad was a sculptor by trade; I think his interest was sparked by seeing all the beautiful alabaster in Italian churches during the war.  After the war he set up his own business making alabaster lamps, bowls and candlesticks among other things (see header picture).  He would go to the alabast...

A New Year Calamity! #90

The New Year’s Eve Balls at Hoar Cross Hall were usually the highlight of the year during the 1970s.  After twelve months of hard work, especially running the Mediaeval Banquets twice a week through the winter, we were always ready to see out the year in style with a big new year party.  In those days it was always black tie for the men and long dresses for the ladies – usually around 500 people bought tickets for an evening of entertainment with a dance band, disco and a meal.  At midnight a man dressed in traditional Scottish regalia, including a kilt and sporran, would pipe in the new year with his bagpipes.  Down the Long Gallery he would slowly walk...

See you in Court #27

The saga of my parents’ split continued as we grew up in our stately home, although their behaviour was anything but stately for most of the time! Seven years of arguing and fighting were about to come to an end and the solicitors had finally agreed on a date to go to court. We carried on helping my dad to run the Hall and he still went to his boat in Caernarfon at weekends to get away from the house but we were all getting weary of it now. We were young adults and wanting to get on with our own lives. After five years together we were hoping to get married at some point so we were glad that it was finally going to be sorted out one way or another. Gavin was...

Moving On - the end of an era #33

...and other stately homes. We went on to have three children, Luke, Lee and Hannah and they in turn have produced four grandchildren for us, two boys and two girls. Luke can just about remember his gran moving out of the Hall as he had a ride on a trolley down the Long Gallery! My mum and children on the steps in 2005   The new owners of the Hall turned it into a Hotel and Spa after building a huge extension onto the side of the original house, which still looks the same, as you can see in my video tour here In 2000 Piers married his girlfriend Lindsey and we had a wedding lunch the next day at the Hall plus a tour of all the rooms new and old. It was q...

Growing up in a stately home #1

...ing. Most stately homes would have had one as well as everyone owned a horse in those days, before the motor car drove into our lives. They were especially useful for ladies riding side-saddle, allowing a horse to be mounted without a loss of modesty! The main house had a Long Gallery, a Ballroom, a Drawing Room, a Chapel and a Library with secret doors! How I loved it – I was a big fan of The Famous Five in those days and it really did feel like I was in the middle of one of their mysteries! There were about 15 basement rooms, some of which had had the floors removed due to damp rot, but the main passageway was made of flagstones so you could still walk thro...

Meet the Neighbours - Shugborough Hall #80

...� So many stately homes in those days seemed to go this way as families struggled to pay the high taxes demanded with no family fortune behind them anymore and a huge house with high maintenance to look after.  However, the 5th Earl was allowed to live in an apartment within the house, paying a nominal rent, and the hall was opened to the public in 1966.  Some of you may remember Lord Patrick Lichfield, who became the royal photographer after photographing Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981 – well, he was the 5th Earl who lived at Shugborough and you can see his studio as part of an exhibition of his work in the hall! The house is now ma...