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The Origins of the Stately Home #39

Why are stately homes so called? Stately home actually means 'a large impressive old house with interesting history <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> usually visited by the public.' Well, I suppose they do look very 'stately' for a start but these houses were also a status symbol for the great families of Engl<Span class='highlight'>andSpan>, who competed with each other to provide hospitality for the royal household who would travel around Engl<Span class='highlight'>andSpan> meeting their subjects. Stately homes were huge mansions which were always beautiful <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> the epitome of perfect architecture, often designed by famous architects of the day. The gardens too would be perfectly l<Span class='highlight'>andSpan>scaped to show balance, variety, sequence <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> colour. One of t...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story

THE SCHOOLROOM MAID’S STORY:       For the first 75 years of the Hall’s history about 50 servants were employed by the Meynell family in the house <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> grounds.  Among these was a young girl of fifteen who started work in 1920 as a Schoolroom Maid.  Her name was Miss Inez Sophia Large <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> she had connections to Hoar Cross through her gr<Span class='highlight'>andSpan>-parents, William <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> Mary Tooth, who lived in the village where William was the blacksmith; his smithy was just along from the Meynell public house.  He had worked on the ironwork of the Hall during its construction in the 1860s.  Inez’s aunt, Constance Madeley, was the wife of the l<Span class='highlight'>andSpan>lord at the Buffalo Inn, in...

Calendar Girls <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> Front Covers #7

CALENDAR GIRLS <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> FRONT COVERS:        During our time at the Hall people would occasionally hire the house for a day’s filming or whatever.   During the summer of 1973 a photographer from London hired the place for a day <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> he brought two models with him, one English <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> one German, <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> they were taking photos for a glamour calendar.  We were told to keep right out of the way as they were taking photos in the gardens as well as the house.  Naturally we wanted to see everything that was going on <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> my younger brother Gavin especially was very keen to watch – so much so that he found a pair of binoculars to follow all the proceedings!  We managed...

Like Father, Like Sons #20

As mentioned in earlier blogs my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> ran his own team in the 1960s, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> driver. He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘<Span class='highlight'>HotelSpan>’ that they had stayed in. From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country. There was quite a collection <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> I still have them; I used to put them on display in the Library when our house was open to the publ...

Like Father, Like Sons #19

As previously mentioned in earlier blogs my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> ran his own team in the 1960s, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> driver. He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘<Span class='highlight'>HotelSpan>’ that they had stayed in. From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country. There was quite a collection <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> I still have them; I used to put them on display in the Library when our house was open...

Here comes the bride (Part 2)

HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Part 2)      <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> so our wedding day arrived bright <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> clear, all thoughts of solicitors, legals, fights <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> arrests behind us!   Myself <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> my bridesmaids went to get our hair done in the morning <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> Kev slapped a piece of steak on his jaw to bring the swelling down after the rather unfortunate fight at his stag do.  Fortunately, the bruise didn’t show up too much on the photos!  Gavin drove my dad’s Mercedes Benz car all the way down the drive <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> back up the road to the church – this was one of the drawbacks of having a church in your grounds; you don’t get to drive all through the town with everyone looking at you!  Neve...