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Moving house to a mansion #1
Posted by Viv Wilson on 1st September 2019 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | meynell,hoar cross hall,Oliver Twist,uttoxeter,chester zoo,donington park
MOVING HOUSE TO A MANSION: My parents took vacant possession of Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 and the whole process of moving house was done over the summer months. We lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there! Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child. My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1950s and before that he did motorcycle racing, often at nearby Donington Park. During the...
Hysterical Productions #15
Posted by Viv Wilson on 21st September 2020 in Growing Up In Stately Home | mediaeval banquets,King,fire eater,long gallery,birmingham,londons olympia,afghan,New Years Eve
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...Hysterical Productions #15
Posted by Viv Wilson on 21st July 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,Chinese room,fire-eater,banquets,mead,Henry VIII,Christmas,afghan,monk
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 chatted up by men who bought us dri...Hysterical Productions #16
Posted by Viv Wilson on 16th August 2021 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,londons olympia,IRA,Birmingham,monk,Grand Hotel Leicester,New Year's Eve,rock chick,Downton Abbey,Bridgerton
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, instead of an outside firm coming in. 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 chatted up by men who bought us drinks all evening (even though w...
The Kitchen Maid's Story #36
Posted by Viv Wilson on 23rd January 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,Highlands,Scotland,French,Rolls Royce,Laughton
If you were young, free and single – oh, and very well-to-do – the 1920s were the decade to be a part of. The upper classes had lots of time on their hands and enjoyed post-First World War delights such as the theatre and jazz clubs.
Not so for the lower classes, in particular a young girl who was to become the kitchen maid at Hoar Cross Hall in the 1920s. The ‘depression’ after the First World War brought stark poverty to her home and many like her. Her name was Jean Rennie, and she was extremely intelligent having won a scholarship to Glasgow University to study French and music. However, the £5 bursary she got was taken by her father and used to buy...The Kitchen Maid's Tale #41
Posted by Viv Wilson on 8th February 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,laughton estate,rolls royce,ducks,glasgow university,second world war,London,Spa Hotel,Butler,debutante,the season
If you were young, free and single – oh, and very well-to-do – the 1920s were the decade to be a part of. The upper classes had lots of time on their hands and enjoyed post-First World War delights such as the theatre and jazz clubs.Not so for the lower classes, in particular a young girl who was to become the kitchen maid at Hoar Cross Hall in the 1920s. The ‘depression’ after the First World War brought stark poverty to her home and many like her. Her name was Jean Rennie, and she was extremely intelligent having won a scholarship to Glasgow University to study French and music. However, the £5 bursary she got (equivalent to around £250 in today's mo...