Story Search Results

Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6

...tarted by Henry VIII when guns became easier to handle back around 1500 and continues to this day although some have now changed to clay pigeon shooting. On a good day they could bag anything up to 300 birds! The shooting season was from October through to February and every year the local ‘shoot’ would come to the Hall to bag a few birds. I think there was an arrangement with the Meynells that they could still come and shoot on our land when we bought the house. A gamekeeper used to breed the pheasants in some sheds in the woods and I remember seeing him there and looking at the little chicks. It seemed incredible to us that someone would raise chicks to gr...

Hysterical Productions #15

...HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS:    By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong. Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all. Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead. But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatte...

Home fit for a King #53

...In 1531, Henry VIII acquired the Hospital of St James, which became St James' Palace and in 1536 he took the Manor of Ebury from Westminster Abbey. These transfers brought the site of Buckingham Palace back into royal hands for the first time since William the Conqueror had given it away almost 500 years earlier. Although it seemed to be a very glamorous place to live it apparently had a few design faults and only the state rooms were gilded and colourful. It was reported that the chimneys smoked so much that the fires had to be damped down thus making the palace quite cold. Ventilation was so bad that the interior smelled and when gas lamps were installed, the...

Anyone for tennis? #62

...lot, with Henry VIII making the biggest impact as a young monarch, playing the game with gusto at Hampton Court! However, the game was actually invented in Birmingham (England) and is the direct descendant of what is now denoted ‘real tennis’ or ‘royal tennis’ and continues to be played today with more complex rules.  Many original courts still remain at Oxford, Cambridge, Falkland Palace in Fife, Scotland and Hampton Court Palace. Wimbledon   Wimbledon itself is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and arguably the most famous. Since the first tournament 125 years ago in 1877, The Championships have been hosted by the All England Lawn Ten...

Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history! #14

...HOAR CROSS HALL - A BIT OF HISTORY:  Due to many requests asking about the history of the house, this week I'm taking a break from my family's story to look back a few hundred years of what happened before we lived there!     Hoar Cross was part of Needwood Forest, the 11th century lands of Henry de Ferrers.  The land was passed down to Henry’s son and subsequent various people over the course of 500 years ending with the Webb family, around the 1730s, who bought the land and house known as the Manor of the Cross.  This was quite a large house built on a hill near Yoxall (which is the village next to Hoar Cross).  In 1740 the manor house was demolished...

Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history #15

...HOAR CROSS HALL - A BIT OF HISTORY :         Hoar Cross was part of Needwood Forest, the 11th century lands of Henry de Ferrers.  The land was passed down to Henry’s son and subsequent various people over the course of 500 years ending with the Webb family, around the 1730s, who bought the land and house known as the Manor of the Cross.  This was quite a large house built on a hill near Yoxall (which is the village next to Hoar Cross).  In 1740 the manor house was demolished and later the Hon. Charles Talbot bought the estate for £17,000.  Eventually it was sold to Hugo Meynell, who already owned huge amounts of property all over the county. This br...