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Our mansion gets a facelift #4

OUR MANSION GETS A FACELIFT! We moved into Hoar Cross hall during the summer holidays and my parents quickly realised that they had a lot of work on their hands to make the place habitable as well as to earn some money from it. As previously mentioned, there was an East Wing and a West Wing to the house. My dad decided to convert the first floor rooms of each wing into three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous house. This would generate income from rents until we got the main house open to the public. It wasn’t a big job to convert the rooms as the East Wing had four main rooms and two bathrooms already there, which would have been used as g...

the Graveyard Shift #23

Life carried on at Hoar Cross hall as best it could in difficult circumstances. My dad continued to go to Arms and Armour Fairs to buy and sell antiques and we also went to a mediaeval banquet in Cheshire one night, although it wasn’t anywhere near as good as ours! Once or twice we took my dad out with our friends to Derby, where he originated from, and that seemed to cheer him up. But he really needed to get away from the house for longer periods of time and when he saw a boat advertised for sale at Caernarvon he jumped at the chance and bought it. It was an ex lifeboat called the Bembo so quite sturdy, although in need of a lick of paint and a bit of TLC. Th...

A Christmas Haunting! #34

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 prepared to go downstairs. How she hated being up in the attics when it was getting dark as it was so spooky! the wind was starting to howl...

Queen Alexandra - my family #50

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

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

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...