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Queen Alexandra - my family #50
Posted by Viv Wilson on 13th April 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,hoar cross hall spa,Meynell,Queen Alexandra,Queen Mary,King of Denmark,King charles,Coronation,King George V,King Edward VII,Downton Abbey,The Crown,Royal Family,queen victoria,Sandringham,Queen elizabeth,Balmoral
Queen Alexandra was the daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria as she was married to her eldest son and heir, Edward VII. Her family were from Denmark and although of royal blood they were a distant branch of the royal house of Oldenburg and apparently lived very modestly on her father's army commission. However, in 1852 her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, was chosen to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as King of Denmark thus the family's status rose and they moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace.
Alexandra, or 'Alix' as she was known was born on 1st December 1844, her full name being Alexandra Caroline M...
Temple Newsam and the Meynells #40
Posted by Viv Wilson on 19th February 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell Ingram,Temple Newsam,history,Jacobean,hugo meynell,keeping up with the aristocrats,Downton Abbey
Hoar Cross Hall was built by Hugo and Emily Meynell Ingram in 1871 and this week I am delving into the family background of Hugo to explain how Emily came to own the Temple Newsam estate after his death.
In 1782, Hugo'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 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...
Moving Into a Mansion #67
Posted by Viv Wilson on 15th July 1970 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,barons eden,hoar cross hall spa hotel,bonnie prince charlie,oliver twist,Council tax,donington park,mallory park,silverstone,downton abbey,meynell ingram,Meynell ingram arms pub
As summer turns to autumn my thoughts have gone back in time to 1970 when my family moved house at this time of the year - not to any old house, but to a 70-roomed stately home in Staffordshire! The whole process of moving was done over the summer months as we lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there! Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child. My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1...
Meet the Neighbours - Coombe Abbey # 81
Posted by Viv Wilson on 13th June 2024 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,Meynell,mediaeval banquets,Earl of Craven,capability brown,Coventry City Council,Warwickshire,Cistercian monks,monasteries,King James I,King Henry VIII,Edward IV,Gunpowder plot,Earl of Warwick,Bridgerton,Downton Abbey,history,barons eden,stately home,haunted house,my dad bought a mansion
Although this house isn’t quite so neighbourly to Hoar Cross Hall as the others in this series, it is loosely linked to the hall as it was the inspiration for the Mediaeval Banquets that my parents ran in the 1970s. They went along one night, to one of their banquets, to see what the format was and saw immediately how popular they were and so decided to start their own brand of banquets. The Coombe Abbey banquets were very traditional and had minstrels playing lutes etc while people ate their meal. The entertainment too was typical of mediaeval amusement of the times and I remember my parents saying it was an enjoyable night out but not terribly lively!...
Mediaeval Weaponry #84
Posted by Viv Wilson on 27th September 2024 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,history,mediaeval banquets,mediaeval weaponry,swords,halberds,suits of armour,daggars,Tudors,stately homes,downton abbey,aristocracy,middle ages,my dad bought a mansion
When we moved to Hoar Cross Hall in the 1970s, my father owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the UK at that time! He owned about 20 suits of armour and numerous items of ‘arms’, which is another word for weapons. The word ‘arms’ comes from the Latin ‘arma’ which means ‘tools of war’; this word passed into the English language from the French in 1200.
Mediaeval weapons consisted of halberds, double-edged swords, daggers, battle axes, crossbows and longbows to name but a few, these being the most common. Knives were also used but mainly for eating and repairing, although I’m sure they got to be used as weapons too...
Change and the Country House #61
Posted by Viv Wilson on 7th July 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,meynell ingram,new years eve,mediaeval banquets,queen victoria,The National Trust,Historic Houses Association,industrial revolution,Edwardian era,victorian era,downton abbey,The Royal Family,aristocracy,Hoar Cross Hall Spa Hotel,Barons Eden
Hoar Cross Hall was clearly a very different house in the Victorian era compared to today. Like other country houses it has not been immune from the social and economic changes affecting all walks of life over the last hundred years.
At the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837 the local landowner with his country house and estate was the focal point of the community, often dispensing law, charity and education. The estate would also provide employment for the local people and over fifty locals were employed on the Hoar Cross estate in the house and grounds plus many more on Home Farm along with carpenters, electricians and plumbers to keep the esta...