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The History of Temple Newsam #37

In 1782, Hugo Meynell'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 Hoar Cross Meynell family became associated with this great house.  Through this marriage of Hugo and Elizabeth, the Meynell family also inherited the Ingram estates in Lincolnshire, acquired by Sir Arthur Ingram in the first half of the 17th century.    In 1793 Hugo bought the Hoar Cross estate and built a hunting lodge which was known as Old Hall. Hugo and Elizabeth had six ch...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #45

...staff at Hoar Cross were well treated it seems. The family showed their concern towards the female members of staff if they wanted to leave the house to attend a local dance, and always made sure they were escorted to and from the event by the footman. Young maids were well protected in those times as the family were always worried about ‘undesirable’ friendships starting up, either within or outside the household. But it seems that there was generally a good atmosphere in the house for most of the time. The children mixed freely with the servants and Lady Mary forbid them to call the servants by their surname only, as was usual in those days. She said it w...

Royal Visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #49

...pparently Hoar Cross Hall also had many well-known visitors over the years, including Queen Mary, her daughter Mary, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of York (later to become King George VI and the Queen Mother). They may have visited during one of their tours of the Midlands and it may have only been for afternoon tea as we're not sure due to insufficient records, but we do know that the Meynell family provided hospitality for the Princess Royal, probably in the 1920s and for whom a special bathroom containing a marble-enclosed bath was installed on the first floor of the house. I remember an extra bathroom in the east wing of the house at the end of...

A Christmas Celebration #74

...The final festive story is here based on true events and people that lived at Hoar Cross Hall.  “Come on, look sharp!” shouted Cook to her assistants in the kitchen.  “We’ve got a load of cooking to do for the Christmas party at the weekend and if you don’t get a move on there’ll be nothing to eat!” The kitchen maids looked at each other, stopped their gossiping and started to move a bit quicker.  Cook could be quite intimidating when she was in one of her moods.  The table was laden with pastries, jellies and fruit and the girls were just putting the finishing touches to the gingerbread biscuits before starting on the blancmange. “I love...

What the Butler Saw! #38

...three at Hoar Cross. They were constantly leaving to better themselves as butlers were usually picked (or ‘head hunted’) from the footmen, but they would only consider men who were tall and well built. John Barnaby was the first footman at this time and his brother George was the second footman.  Both were tall and good looking! When John Barnaby left in 1932 Albert Kennard, who was working in nearby Burton-on-Trent, heard that the family were looking for a man to help with guests' luggage and so he went over to the Hall on the staff bus, which ran each Tuesday and Thursday.  After his interview with Lady Dorothy he got the job and later on he was offere...

To the Manor Born #77

...Before we moved to Hoar Cross Hall my father had bought an old manor house in the village of Shardlow, near Derby, which had previously been a vicarage among other things.  I think my parents must have had a love of historic buildings and indeed were members of the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings and Monuments.  My dad had a business in Derby at the time making alabaster items such as table lamps and candlestick holders and when he bought the manor house he moved his business there, as it had lots of outbuildings for all the alabaster equipment. Some of my father's alabaster pieces   The house itself had about 17 rooms and was built i...