Story Search Results

Moving Out #32

And so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when my dad had to leave Hoar Cross Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for my mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him and Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a band saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had bought a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop and there he moved to start afresh. He carried o...

Ghouls Galore! #85

...lmet of a suit of armour and has slits for the eyes to see out of.  To me it looked like they still had men inside them, looking at me!! My brother, Gavin and I had turned one of the attic rooms into a ‘den’ for us to hang out in.  We found an old table and chairs to take up there and I had an ancient typewriter which I used to type up stories on but as soon as the light started to fade we’d be out of there like a shot – once I was up there on my own and hadn’t noticed the time; realising how dark it was getting I stepped out of the room, clenched my teeth and ran - I could already hear the chatter of people talking along the corridor. (The same one...

VENTURES NEW #10

...bought a suit of armour for my mum’s birthday present once, saying it was better to spend their money on an investment rather than flowers that would wither and die!  I don’t think my mum was very impressed!  Another time he bought an ancient Japanese funeral urn to put on display in the Chinese Room – to make it seem more authentic he filled it with ashes from the fireplace and placed a few animal bones in for good measure!  The display sign read that it was the remains of a Samurai Warrior from the Far East! One Easter we decided to hire a small steam train to give rides to the families that came.  It was set up on the lower terrace and ran from on...

Rags to Riches #14

...RAGS TO RICHES:      My family originated from Derby and my parents were married there in July 1952. Mum was 19 and dad was 36 so quite a bit older. They both lived in Derby and were very arty; my dad went to the Derby Sketching Club in his free time and my mum attended art college. I’m not sure where they met but it was either at something art related or at a dance, as was usual in those days. My dad was a sculptor by trade; I think his interest was sparked by seeing all the beautiful alabaster in Italian churches during the war. After the war he set up his own business making alabaster lamps, bowls and candlesticks among other things (see header picture)....

My Dad Bought A Mansion! #1

...MY DAD BOUGHT A MANSION!    It was the summer of 1970, Mungo Jerry was at the top of the hit parade and we were about to move house.  But not to any old house – to a 70 roomed mansion in 20 acres of grounds!  For years my dad had collected antiques, ever since he was a young boy of 12, and it was his dream to own a large house where he could put them on show to the general public.  In the 1970s he owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country and his dream was about to be realised; but little did we know what a nightmare would unfold before us. Hoar Cross Hall was the home of the Meynell Ingram family who originated from Leiceste...

Rags to Riches #15

...My family originated from Derby and my parents were married there in July 1952. Mum was 19 and dad was 36 so quite a bit older. They both lived in Derby and were very arty; my dad went to the Derby Sketching Club in his free time and my mum attended art college. I’m not sure where they met but it was either at something art related or at a dance, as was usual in those days. My dad was a sculptor by trade; I think his interest was sparked by seeing all the beautiful alabaster in Italian churches during the war. After the war he set up his own business making alabaster lamps, bowls and candlesticks among other things (see header picture). He would go to the alab...