Story Search Results

The Graveyard Shift #23

...sentially English and the local gentry were quite eccentric – even to the point of one gent bringing a horse into the pub one lunchtime and standing with it in the bar while he sipped his G & T ! Only in rural England! "Why the long face?" asks the Landlord    Don’t miss next week’s exciting instalment:    'Whodunit in the Library?'   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends. Follow me around my childhood home in my 'Tour of the Hall' – click here to view and subscribe to my YouTube channel. OUT NOW!!!  'My Dad Bought a Mansion' is out in book form on Amazon...

The History of Temple Newsam #37

...In 1782, Hugo Meynell's grandfather, Hugo Meynell of Quorndon, the 'father of fox hunting', married the Hon. Elizabeth Ingram Shepheard.  She was the daughter of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount Irwin and Lord Ingram.  The family seat was Temple Newsam in Yorkshire and this was how the Hoar Cross Meynell family became associated with this great house.  Through this marriage of Hugo and Elizabeth, the Meynell family also inherited the Ingram estates in Lincolnshire, acquired by Sir Arthur Ingram in the first half of the 17th century.    In 1793 Hugo bought the Hoar Cross estate and built a hunting lodge which was known as Old Hall. Hugo and Elizabeth had six ch...

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #38

...Victorian English Viscount with an interest in the supernatural. Most document hauntings in the great houses of Britain, but there are interesting and eerie detours into prophetic dreams and ghostly warnings from beyond, and even an account of a vampiric cat!    Emily was one of eight children, having five brothers and two sisters, although one brother, John, died in infancy as was common in those days. It must have been a bustling household with so many little ones running around keeping the nursemaids on their toes! Hickleton was not as huge as Hoar Cross Hall, probably half the size, but it did still have servants quarters, stables and even a brewhouse. O...

The Kitchen Maid's Tale #41

...course in English Literature, history, philosophy, and drama. She graduated in 1984. In 1991, she paid a visit to Hoar Cross, spending a pleasurable week as a guest in the Spa Hotel, above stairs! What a strange experience that must have been for her, albeit enjoyable!Her life had now come full circle which just goes to show that you should never give up on your dreams and you’re never too old to do something new!   Don’t miss next week’s instalment:   'What the Butler Saw!'   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends. Follow me around my childhood home in my 'Tour of the H...

Calendar Girls and Front Covers #7

...CALENDAR GIRLS AND FRONT COVERS: Occasionally people would hire the Hall and during the summer of 1973 a photographer from London hired the place for a day.  He brought two models with him, one English and one German and 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 and Gavin especially was very keen to watch – so much so that he found a pair of binoculars to follow all the proceedings!  We managed to find all sorts of hiding places eventually settling in our attic room to keep tabs on everyt...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #45

...and full English breakfasts! Everything had to be made from scratch of course so the cooks must have been cooking something or other from dawn until dusk. It must have been exhausting! A kitchen not unlike the one at the Hall   In the grounds there were around 20 gardeners and groundsmen who helped to keep the constant weeds down and tend to the rose bushes and hedges. This in itself would have been a full time job. The kitchen gardens and greenhouses would have provided a lot of the produce they ate as well as the pheasants and other game birds that were reared to be eaten. There was also a carp pool for their fish stock. In total there were about 50...