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The War Years and Beyond #36

...Church of England in the early 1990s, the first and only twins to have done so at that time. The monks' drawing of their planned centre   Ironically the house became a Hotel and Spa in 1990 with a swimming pool in exactly the same location as where the monks were going to put theirs!And so onto 1970 when my family bought the Hall. Apparently my dad had seen a notice about the contents sale of Dr Gillies in 1963, and had shown an interest in the Hall back then. I imagine my mother said ‘No’ as she had two small children at that time! Mrs Meynell had kept his phone number and rang him up in 1969 to see if he was still interested in buying the Hall afte...

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #38

...Church of England school run by members of the Order of the Holy Paraclete Convent. From 1961 to 2012 the hall and the immediate parkland were run by Sue Ryder Care as a Sue Ryder Home. The house was offered for sale in 2015. Hickleton Hall sadly requires major restoration at the moment as it has been empty for a number of years and there is subsidence in the basement which may have been triggered by a fissure which runs through Hickleton as a result of coal mining at Hickleton Colliery. St Wilfred's Church, only a few metres away from the Hall, also had major subsidence but this has been underpinned and rescued from dereliction. Hickleton Hall may require...

Royal Visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #49

...tours of England including Yorkshire, Derbyshire and the West Midlands, visiting mines and factories. They also visited the wounded in hospitals during the First World War which were often makeshift ones in stately homes such as Clandon Park in Surrey and Belton House in Lincolnshire. Hundreds of Britain's stately homes were turned into military hospitals as the country fast ran out of hospital beds when hundreds of thousands of wounded soldiers returned home. The Meynell family themselves offered their London home to be used during the First World War but it was not needed in the end. During the King and Queen's tours they would have stopped at nearby stately...

Queen Alexandra - my family #50

...states in England where he held numerous shooting parties. Above the upper lake stands a summerhouse called 'the Nest' or 'Alix's Nest' – this was a gift to Queen Alexandra from the comptroller of her household, General Sir Dighton Probyn in 1913, a lovely quiet place for her to sit and relax.   Don't miss next week's instalment - 'Queen Alexandra - my family' More photos from Queen Alexandra's personal photo album.   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends.Follow me on a personal tour of my childhood home on YouTube.OUT NOW!!  'My Dad Bought a Mansion' book is available on Ama...

The War years and beyond

...Church of England in the early 1990s, the first and only twins to have done so at that time. Ironically the house became a Hotel and Spa in 1990 with a swimming pool in exactly the same location as where the monks were going to put theirs! And so onto 1970 when my family bought the Hall.  Apparently my dad had seen a notice about the contents sale of Dr Gillies in 1963, and had shown an interest in the Hall back then.  I imagine my mother said ‘No’ as she had two small children at that time!  Mrs Meynell had kept his phone number and rang him up in 1969 to see if he was still interested in buying the Hall after the monks had left. He turned up at the es...

Gardeners' World at Hoar Cross #36

...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...