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The Kitchen Maid's Story #37

THE KITCHEN MaID’S STORY:    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 ta...

Gardeners' World at Hoar Cross #39

GaRDENERS’ WORLD aT HOaR CROSS:    In it’s heyday Hoar Cross Hall had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tidy and weed free. In Victorian England the most common of all male servants was the gardener. at Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectionately as ‘digging slaves’! They were responsible for producing fruit, vegetables and growing luxury items in and out of season, much of it under glass. adjacent to the house was the carp pool and greenhouse area along with a palm house; next to these was a walled kitchen garden. This supplied the house with all its fruit, vegetables and herbs. The palm house...

The Life and Times of an Upper Class Family #41

THE LIFE aND TIMES OF aN UPPER CLaSS FaMILIY:         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 later 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 was created 1st Viscount Halifax in 1866 and had a very distinguished political career. The family seats of Garrowby, Pocklington and Hickleton (where Emily was born) h...

Mediaeval Mayhem! #11

It was the end of the summer season at Hoar Cross Hall in 1973 and rehearsals had started for the new venture of Mediaeval Banquets. all the cast would come round to the house each week for rehearsals and an class='highlight'>Myan> mum and one or two other ladies were busy making the skirts and blouses for the wenches. an class='highlight'>Myan> mum also made about 200 bibs which the guests were going to be wearing as eating five courses with a dagger can be quite messy! We had a King, a Jester, a Fire-eater, a Halberdier, an organist and various wenches and serving ladies. To launch the banquets an class='highlight'>Myan> parents decided to hold a Press Reception about a month before and so we all gathered at the Hall one day in ea...

a Home fit for a King #21

...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! ...

an Edwardian Schoolroom Maid #40

...NOW!!  'an class='highlight'>Myan> an class='highlight'>Dadan> an class='highlight'>Boughtan> a Mansion' book is available on amazon.all an class='highlight'>Myan> memoirs packed with lots of original photographs from the times.Go check it out here and let me know what you think!...