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What the Butler saw!

WHaT THE BUTLER SaW!       anyone who’s seen Downton abbey will remember Carter the butler.  He is exactly how a butler would have been in the 19th century and, strangely enough, the butler at the Hall during the early part of the 20th century was also called Carter! although most big houses had a house steward who was in charge of accounts and general running of the household, a butler was more commonly engaged by the wealthy.  He was usually a grand, authoritarian figure, commanding respect and awe and most of the servants would have been scared to death of upsetting him!  He was dressed like a gentleman of the period and generally ran the household...

Temple Newsam and the Meynells

TEMPLE NEWSaM aND THE MEYNELLS:     On 11th august 1863, Hugo Francis Meynell Ingram married the Hon. Emily Charlotte, daughter of Sir Charles Wood, Bart, afterwards 1st Viscount Halifax.  The Woods were an old gentry family, for many centuries respectable York merchants.  They were to turn grand upon the discovery of coal beneath their ancestral estates.  This was the great Barnsley field, with several hundred acres of Britain's deepest and finest coal.  Sir Charles Wood had a distinguished political career and they owned family seats at Garrowby, Pocklington, near York and Hickleton, near Doncaster.  They also owned a London house in Belgrave Square....

What the Butler Saw! #35

WHaT THE BUTLER SaW!     anyone who’s seen Downton abbey will remember Carter the butler. He is exactly how a butler would have been in the 19th century and, strangely enough, the butler at Hoar Cross Hall during the early part of the 20th century was also called Carter! although most big houses had a house steward who was in charge of accounts and general running of the household, a butler was more commonly engaged by the wealthy. He was usually a grand, authoritarian figure, commanding respect and awe and most of the servants would have been scared to death of upsetting him! He was dressed like a gentleman of the period and generally ran the household wi...

Temple Newsam and the Meynells #42

TEMPLE NEWSaM aND THE MEYNELLS:     Following on from last week's blog about Emily Meynell Ingram's family background, this week I am delving into the family background of Emily's husband Hugo which explains how Emily came to own the Temple Newsam estate after his death.   In 1782, Hugo'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 Meynell family became associated with this great house.  Through this marriage of Hugo and Elizabeth, the Meynel...

alice - the ghost in the mirror #26

...NOW!!!  'an class='highlight'>Myan> an class='highlight'>Dadan> an class='highlight'>Boughtan> a Mansion' is out in book form on amazon - all an class='highlight'>Myan> memoirs packed with lots of photographs from the times.  Go check it out here and let me know what you think!  There are plenty of ghost stories too like this one - so a good read for Halloween!  If you dare!...

Coming Of age #21

...COMING OF aGE:  an class='highlight'>Myan> year at college had come to an end and I was now a fully fledged secretary.  Now to find a job!  It didn’t take too long as there was plenty of employment around in those days and I was soon offered a position with a small engineering firm in Burton.  as I didn’t drive there was still the problem of me getting to work and an class='highlight'>Dadan> managed to talk the residents of the apartments into taking me, as they were going to Burton every day as well, and it would save him coming out twice a day!  Kev and the band were getting a few gigs around the area and after singing with them for a little while I gave it up and let a more professional singer ta...