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Gardeners' World at Hoar Cross

GARDENERS’  WORLD AT  HOAR CROSS:         In it’s heyday Hoar Cross hall had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tidy and weed free.  In Victorian England the most common of all male servants was the gardener.   At Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectionately as ‘digging slaves’!  They were responsible for producing fruit, vegetables and growing luxury items in and out of season, much of it under glass.  Adjacent to the house was the carp pool and greenhouse area along with a palm house; next to these was a walled kitchen garden.  This supplied the house with all its fruit, vegetables a...

Reburbishing our Mansion #4

...hen inner hallways and corridors so they could go about their duties quickly and quietly.  My dad spent a lot of his time at auction houses buying and selling antiques and so he went back there again to source carpets and kitchen equipment.  He also installed huge electric heaters to keep our new tenants warm.  The West Wing was smaller than the East Wing so was made into a two-bedroomed apartment.  The tenants entered the house through the basement entrance and used the spiral staircases to get to their homes – so they were a bit like the servants of old, neither seen nor heard by us! The next change to make was to our own rooms so we could move downsta...

The Grand Opening #5

...THE GRAND OPENING:        And so we move into 1971 and the preparation of the 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 pai...

Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6

...HUNTIN’, SHOOTIN’ AND FISHIN’ :            Most stately homes have the obligatory hunting, shooting and fishing and ours was no exception during the Meynell family’s time there.   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 dri...

Ghostbusters! #8

...GHOSTBUSTERS!      People were always coming to the hall to either hire the place or to have a look around.  In 1973 a couple of professional ghost hunters asked to stay over one night to try and source the noises we heard in the attic.  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 two men arrived we spent all day trying out all the bells to see which ones were which....

More Tea Vicar? #13

...MORE TEA VICAR?         Life at Hoar Cross hall was always busy but during the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored.  As there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no other families living nearby, we three children had to make our own entertainment and we were always having adventures and getting up to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five but without a dog!  We would roam around the village or explore the basement.  My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years including gas masks and field phones from World War 2.  The old Servants hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoring...