Story Search Results
Did you mean:
great hall
?
305 results for Great Hall
found
within the Story
6 displayed out of 305 (0.76seconds)Page 35 of 51
New Year jinks! #11
Posted by Viv Wilson on 30th December 2018 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross Hall,Scottish,Lichfield,new year's eve
NEW YEAR JINKS! The New Year’s Eve Balls at the Hall were usually the highlight of the year. After twelve months of hard work, especially running the Mediaeval Banquets twice a week throughout 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...
Ghostbusters! #8
Posted by Viv Wilson on 13th October 2019 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross Hall,ghost,bat,dracula,Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen,midnight,gothic,Meynell,horror
GHOSTBUSTERS! People were always coming to Hoar Cross Hall to either hire the place or to have a look around. In 1973, because of all the media interest in our ghosts, we had a couple of professional ghost hunters asking to stay over one night to try and find the source of the noises. They brought cases full of recording equipment and set it all up in one of the attic rooms. Rather them than me I thought! Then I had a brilliant idea and went off to tell my brother Gavin all about it. As mentioned in my first blog the attic and basement had a row of bells which the family used to summon the servants. Before the three men arrived we spent all...A New Year Calamity! #30
Posted by Viv Wilson on 3rd January 2021 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross Hall,Meynell,new years eve,auld lang syne,dancing,band,Lichfield,70s,Scottish
A NEW YEAR CALAMITY! The New Year’s Eve Balls at the Hall were usually the highlight of the year. 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...
Queen Alexandra - my family #50
Posted by Viv Wilson on 13th April 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross Hall,hoar cross Hall spa,Meynell,Queen Alexandra,Queen Mary,King of Denmark,King charles,Coronation,King George V,King Edward VII,Downton Abbey,The Crown,Royal Family,queen victoria,Sandringham,Queen elizabeth,Balmoral
Queen Alexandra was the daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria as she was married to her eldest son and heir, Edward VII. Her family were from Denmark and although of royal blood they were a distant branch of the royal house of Oldenburg and apparently lived very modestly on her father's army commission. However, in 1852 her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, was chosen to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as King of Denmark thus the family's status rose and they moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace.
Alexandra, or 'Alix' as she was known was born on 1st December 1844, her full name being Alexandra Caroline M...
Christmas High Jinks #72
Posted by Viv Wilson on 6th December 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross Hall,hoar cross Hall spa hotel,barons eden,new years eve,Midsummer,Christmas,church,carols,bells,Downton Abbey,The Crown,mulled wine
The sounds of 'La Golondrina' floated through the air as Viv sat at the grand piano. How pleased she was that someone had asked them to look after this fine musical instrument for a few months. Having learned to play when she was younger, this gave Viv the opportunity to brush up on her skills as a pianist and she was thoroughly enjoying it. The piano was in the Library and suited the room perfectly. She could hear her father and an antique dealer talking in the Long Gallery as they haggled over the price of a painting that he was selling.
Viv gazed out of the window as she played and thought back to the Midsummer’s Eve Ball that they’d had a few...
The ghost of Christmas past #73
Posted by Viv Wilson on 15th December 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross Hall,hoar cross Hall spa hotel,barons eden,Christmas,alice in wonderland,ghost,Victorian,library,Meynell,my dad bought a mansion,Ballroom
Another Christmas story in the run up to the festive season - it may send a shiver down your spine! (Based on true stories)
The typewriter keys clattered away as Viv wrote her story. It was coming along nicely and she was feeling pleased with herself. The attic room that she and her brothers had made into their ‘den’ was ideal for getting away from everybody and having some peace and quiet and she quite forgot about the time as she lost herself in the plot. Suddenly she looked up and realized how dark it was getting; the December nights were pulling in and it was already quite dusky by 3.30pm. Quickly she packed her books and folders away and prepar...