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Royal Visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #49

...aditional English country house with weekend parties full of gracious living and good company.” The people who came to the parties were usually young aristocrats such as Lady Diana Legge and her sister Lady Elisabeth Bassett, who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother from 1959 – 1993, when she retired at the age of 85! Lady Elizabeth Bassett (in the dark dress)   However, the Meynell family also spent a lot of time at their Laughton estate to economize on the costs of running Hoar Cross. With the Second World War looming the days of house parties were coming to an end and life would never be the same again. After the war ended in 1945 there was on...

Change and the Country House #61

...after by English Heritage.  Witley Court, Worcester   When my parents bought Hoar Cross Hall it too was in sad neglect and they had a real battle on their hands to get the grounds back to some sort of order (see photo above) although thankfully the house itself was in quite good repair apart from a few leaks in the roof - no dry rot or death watch beetle to contend with at least!  However, we still needed to open it to the public and later we ran Mediaeval Banquets there along with a variety of Balls every few months including our New Year’s Eve Ball.  All great fun and now of course it’s a Spa Hotel with even more work done to the grounds to bri...

To the Manor Born #77

...him as an English eccentric – even if he wasn’t ‘to the manor born’. From this house we moved to Hoar Cross Hall in the 1970s and a whole new adventure was about to start for us all as told in my blogs ‘Growing up in a stately home’.   Don't miss next month's blog - 'Meet the Neighbours - Blithfield Hall' A new series of blogs about historical neighbouring properties to Hoar Cross Hall and district.     If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, please click here and feel free to share with your friends.Join me on a Tour of the Hall - click here to follow me on my YouTube channel and see all the rooms mentioned in my blogs - i...

The Graveyard Shift..... #24

...sentially English and the local gentry were quite eccentric  – even to the point of one gent bringing a horse into the pub one lunchtime and standing with it in the bar while he sipped his G & T - only in England!   Don’t miss next week’s exciting instalment:  Whodunnit in the Library? To read my story from the beginning, please Click Here!Subscribe now and please share with any friends that might be interested in my story!...

RACE TRACK ‘AFTER PARTIES’ #27

...speak any English so Janine would ‘translate’ for me, then we would jabber away in jibberish to each other pretending to speak Swedish, while the VIPs would look on in amazement.  I don’t know what we would have done if we’d actually met a Swedish person – luckily we didn’t!   We had lots of good days out at Mallory Park as it was quite a small circuit in a nice setting, there being two lakes in the middle of the track – one for fishing and one for boating. Janine & I as Grid Girls at Silverstone Janine also came along with me to the Silverstone racing circuit when Mediaeval Banquets sponsored a car there.  We both dressed up in our media...

The Kitchen Maid's Story

...course in English Literature, history, philosophy, and drama.  She graduated in 1984. In 1991, she paid a visit to Hoar Cross, spending a pleasurable week as a guest in the Spa Hotel, above stairs!  What a strange experience that must have been for her, albeit enjoyable! Her life had now come full circle which just goes to show that you should never give up on your dreams and you’re never too old to do something new!   Don’t miss next week’s instalment:  What the Butler Saw! If you would like to follow my story from the beginning please Click Here!...