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The Schoolroom Maid's Story

...ssador in London – from which source Inez assumes her Christian name originated. There was little choice but to go into service in those days (her sister, Beatrice, was also a nursery maid with the Earl and Countess of Lichfield), and she was engaged on a salary of £18 per annum.  Her mother made her uniform, which comprised of a morning dress and an afternoon dress, and Lady Dorothy Meynell supplied her cap.  She was the personal maid to Lady Dorothy’s eldest daughter, Dorothy, who was just four years younger than Inez.  She also looked after Dorothy’s younger sister, Rachael. The schoolroom at this time was situated just off the main Entrance Hall,...

Suits you sir! #23

...Tower of London - there are still modern armourers today who work for the military or the Police and look after all the weapons. My dad asked him to make reproduction pieces of armour and helmets so he could swap them with the real thing.  The plan was that he would swap things over when my mum had gone out but as there were always banquet staff wandering around the house, that wasn’t possible.  However, we came up with a cunning plan!  As we were always coming home in the early hours from parties, it seemed a good idea for us to swap the armour over in the dead of night whilst everyone else was in bed.  This was actually quite scary and it was a good job...

Suits you Sir! #22

...Tower of London - there are still modern armourers today who work for the military or the Police and look after all the weapons. My dad asked him to make reproduction pieces of armour and helmets so he could swap them with the real thing. The plan was that he would swap things over when my mum had gone out but as there were always banquet staff wandering around the house, that wasn’t possible. However, we came up with a cunning plan! As we were always coming home in the early hours from parties, it seemed a good idea for us to swap the armour over in the dead of night whilst everyone else was in bed. This was actually quite scary and it was a good job we had...

The War Years and Beyond #39

...l home in London was offered to the War Office and the Red Cross and became a Military Hospital for officers, being used by Francis Meynell himself who was wounded in action. The copse on the right which hid the plane    One feature at the Hall was the daily barometric readings; these had been taken since 1880 up until the Second World War, when readings ceased. The Clerk of Works at Hoar Cross, namely one F W Lycett, had kept a meticulous Meteorological Register in the early years of the century. He kept them in two large leather-bound volumes, the last entry being in February 1941. Once the war was over things got back to some sort of ‘normality’...

Whodunit in the Library #24

...llains in London! By now I was getting quite worried and I noticed that the trail of blood was heading towards the open window. I followed it cautiously and looked out onto the terrace. The blood was on the window sill and along the ground so I climbed out of the window and followed it. The trail went down some steps and towards the church – on I went through the churchyard, the drops of blood racing ahead of me, until I reached the vicarage across the road. The vicar answered my knock and told me that my dad had collapsed on his doorstep earlier that day and was now in the local cottage hospital! The 'weapon' which was covered in blood   So now it had...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story #34

...ssador in London – from which source Inez assumes her Christian name originated. There was little choice but to go into service in those days (her sister, Beatrice, was also a nursery maid with the Earl and Countess of Lichfield), and she was engaged on a salary of £18 per annum.  Her mother made her uniform, which comprised of a morning dress and an afternoon dress, and Lady Dorothy Meynell supplied her cap.  She was the personal maid to Lady Dorothy’s eldest daughter, Dorothy, who was just four years younger than Inez.  She also looked after Dorothy’s younger sister, Rachael. The schoolroom at this time was situated just off the main Entrance Hall,...