Story Search Results
Did you mean:
country life
?
181 results for Country Life
found
within the Story
6 displayed out of 181 (0.98seconds)Page 5 of 31
Celebrating VE Day #94
Posted by Viv Wilson on 8th May 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,barons eden,hoar cross hall spa hotel,History,World War 2,World War 1,V E Day,D Day,Great Britain,TB,downton Abbey,Motor bike,RASC,Americans,Aeroplanes,period drama,V J Day,Victory,Meynell,wartime
As a way of commemorating V. E. Day I have re-posted my blog from November's Remembrance Day which tells of the sacrifice that the men of the Meynell family made during both world wars as well as the many thousands of others who took part. During the two World Wars the Meynell family of Hoar Cross Hall served their Country alongside many others from all walks of Life. After each war there was huge social upheaval, especially for women, who had been doing what was traditionally 'men's work' during the war and weren't prepared to go back to domestic roles. At the time of the First World War Frederick Meynell and Lady Mary Meynell were living at the Hall with...
Suits you Sir! #22
Posted by Viv Wilson on 5th October 2021 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,parrot,banquets,suits of armour,electronics,rats,bridgerton,downton abbey,the crown
When we moved to Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 the organ in the private chapel wasn’t working as the house had been empty for 20 years. It was such a shame as it had been designed by Bodley, the famous organ maker of the 19th century. The chapel itself had been added about 25 years after the house was built at the staggering cost of just under £1000! When one of the visitors to the house said he could fix the organ, my dad readily agreed. This chap really loved organs and volunteered his services free of charge just for the love of mending this musical work of art; my dad was over the moon! Alas, after removing all the pipes and laying them out in the basement, he...
The Tax Man Cometh #29
Posted by Viv Wilson on 18th November 2022 in Blogging | hoar cross hall,Meynell,duchy of cornwall,The Crown,The Church of the Holy Angels,Meynell Ingram Arms,Knighthood,Lotus Elite,british aristocracy,lord and lady,stately home,mansion,staffordshire,history,ghosts,ghost stories,spa hotel,mediaeval,antiques,suit of armour,hoar cross hall spa,stately home tour,manor house,abandoned mansion,abandoned mansion uk,derelict mansion,abandoned millionaire mansion,downton abbey a new era,stately homes of england,stately home where I grew up,My Dad Bought a Mansion,lady diana,the crown season 5 netflix uk,royal household,the tax man
My parents’ court case was finally over and my dad had six months to leave the family home, Hoar Cross Hall. In the meantime my mum had to find the funds to buy him out and he had to find another house to live in. He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too! He eventually found a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of a lot of his possessions and one of the first things to go was his Lotus Elite. He advertised it in the local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, the first call was from the local tax office. Back in those days they used to check advertisements in the newspapers and...
What the Butler Saw! #42
Posted by Viv Wilson on 17th February 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,downton abbey,Carson the butler,London,servants ball,footmen,champagne,Diamond wedding,mailbag,dance,The Crown
Anyone who’s seen Downton Abbey will remember Carson the butler. He is exactly how a butler would have been in the 19th century, 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 with an iron fist.
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. They usually started as footmen and worked their way up fro there. Most butlers stayed at the same household until they retired and probably...
The Life and Times of an Upper Class Family #41
Posted by Viv Wilson on 12th April 2021 in Growing Up In Stately Home | Meynell,hoar cross hall,queen mother,Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon,Earl of Crawford,Earl Grey
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...
The Life and times of an upper class family #44
Posted by Viv Wilson on 3rd March 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell Ingram,hickleton hall,viscount halifax,Earl Grey,earl of crawford,lady elizabeth bowes-lyon,Glamis Castle,downton abbey,The Crown
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) had been acquired by his father from the Wentworth family; t...