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Hoar Cross Hall - Life Below Stairs #35

This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at Hoar Cross Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty. They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one. They had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight. No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days! By the end of the 19th century there were nearly one and a half million servants; most young girls...

Things that go bump in the Night #3

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT! Going to sleep in a big old house is quite scary when you’re young but going to sleep in a big old haunted house is even more scary!! That first winter at Hoar Cross Hall was like that. The attic rooms were on the floor above our bedrooms – there were about fifteen rooms which had been used for the servant girls to sleep in. Every time there was a windy night I could hear a window banging in the attic – all night long it kept me awake. The next day I would go upstairs to close it but there would be no windows open or even loose. They were all tightly shut as they had been for 20 years. I remember standing there in those d...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #36

...jobs as a servant, including one in a castle in the Highlands! She was, in her own words, 'a good housemaid but never a good servant'. With memories of hungry children fresh in her mind she could never get used to the wanton waste of food left on plates, in the homes she worked in. Her mistresses were always untidy with stockings, shoes and underwear “flung everywhere” and powder “spilt lavishly” – this always rankled with her and she never really got used to the ways of the aristocracy.   Jean as a young woman   She gradually travelled down the country and eventually found a job in London. Although she was still a scullery maid, she worked u...

The Kitchen Maid's Tale #41

...jobs as a servant, including one in a castle in the Highlands! She was, in her own words, a good housemaid but never a good servant. With memories of hungry children fresh in her mind she could never get used to the wanton waste of food left on plates, in the homes she worked in. Her mistresses were always untidy with stockings, shoes and underwear “flung everywhere” and powder “spilt lavishly” – this always rankled with her and she never really got used to the ways of the aristocracy. She gradually travelled down the country and eventually found a job in London. Although she was still a scullery maid, she worked under a skilled chef who taught her mu...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #45

...This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty. They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one. They had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight. No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days! By the end of the 19th century there were nearly one and a half million servants; most young girls went in...

Behind the Green Baize Door #41

... “The green baize door - dividing line betwix servant and master.” All stately homes had at least one green baize door and Hoar Cross Hall was no different. This was the door used by the servants to access the main part of the house unobtrusively and silently so they could go about their work without disturbing the family. The Hall had a spiral staircase at each end of the house for the servants to use and the green baize door on the ground floor opened onto the Garden corridor which led to the Chapel and the main house, as well as the garden. The green baize door on the first floor opened onto the east wing corridor and guest bedrooms and from this corrid...