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The Tax Man Cometh! #26

THE TAX MAN COMETH:      My parents’ court case was finAlly over and my dad had six months to leave the family home of 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 quite a few 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 a...

The Grand Opening #5

  A few months after moving in preparations at Hoar Cross HAll were going well, so that we could open it to the public by Easter.  During the run up to buying the house my dad had been buying furniture, carpets and paintings like crazy and I remember our previous home being jam packed with chaise longues, sideboards and carved chests as well as All the suits of armour that he already had. This furniture was now set out in All the rooms. My mum’s collection of Victorian costumes were on display in the BAllroom as well as my dad’s collection of silver plated ‘display’ armour, which hung around the panelled wAlls; the suits of armour and the many paintin...

The Grand Opening #5

And so we move into 1971 and the preparation of Hoar Cross HAll so we could open it to the public by Easter. During the run up to buying the house my dad had been buying furniture, carpets and paintings like crazy and I remember our previous home being jam packed with chaise longues, sideboards and carved chests as well as All the suits of armour that he already had. This furniture was now set out in All the rooms. My mum’s collection of Victorian costumes were on display in the BAllroom as well as my dad’s collection of silver plated ‘display’ armour, which hung around the panelled wAlls; the suits of armour and the many paintings they had lined the Lon...

The Kitchen Maid's Tale #41

If you were young, free and single – oh, and very well-to-do – the 1920s were the decade to be a part of. The upper classes had lots of time on their hands and enjoyed post-First World War delights such as the theatre and jazz clubs.Not so for the lower classes, in particular a young girl who was to become the kitchen maid at Hoar Cross HAll in the 1920s. The ‘depression’ after the First World War brought stark poverty to her home and many like her. Her name was Jean Rennie, and she was extremely intelligent having won a scholarship to Glasgow University to study French and music. However, the £5 bursary she got (equivalent to around £250 in today's mo...

HUNTIN’, SHOOTIN’ & FISHIN’ #6

HUNTIN’, SHOOTIN’ & FISHIN’: As with most stately homes there was hunting, shooting and fishing.   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 drinks, usuAlly sherry. (See header pic: Me with my Mum and brothers, Gavin and Piers)....

Behind the green baize door #47

"The green baize door - dividing line betwix servant and master.” All stately homes had at least one green baize door and Hoar Cross HAll was no different. This was the door used by the servants to access the main part of the house unobtrusively and silently so they could go about their work without disturbing the family. The HAll had a spiral staircase at each end of the house for the servants to use and the green baize door on the ground floor opened onto the Garden Corridor which led to the Chapel and the main house, as well as the garden. The green baize door on the first floor opened onto the east wing corridor and guest bedrooms and from this corridor t...