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More Tea Vicar? #12

MORE TEa VICaR?   Duran class='highlight'>inan>g the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored.  as there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no children livan class='highlight'>inan>g nearby, we three children had to make our own entertaan class='highlight'>inan>ment and we were always havan class='highlight'>inan>g adventures and gettan class='highlight'>inan>g an class='highlight'>upan> to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five, but without a dog!  We would roam around the village or explore the basement.  My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years an class='highlight'>inan>cludan class='highlight'>inan>g gas masks and field phones from World War 2.  The old Servants Hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoran class='highlight'>inan>g antiques to sell.  He had one of the field phones an class='highlight'>inan> his...

Hysterical Productions #16

HYSTERICaL PRODUCTIONS: By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets and they were still goan class='highlight'>inan>g strong.  Most of the origan class='highlight'>inan>al cast were still with us but we were on our second kan class='highlight'>inan>g now and also doan class='highlight'>inan>g our own cateran class='highlight'>inan>g and bar, whereas when we first started, we had got a cateran class='highlight'>inan>g firm an class='highlight'>inan> to do it all.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and san class='highlight'>inan>g along to ‘I’m Henry VIII I am’ whilst dran class='highlight'>inan>kan class='highlight'>inan>g beer, wan class='highlight'>inan>e and mead.  But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work an class='highlight'>inan>; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly bean class='highlight'>inan>g chatted an class='highlight'>upan> by...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story

THE SCHOOLROOM MaID’S STORY:       For the first 75 years of the Hall’s history about 50 servants were employed by the Meynell family an class='highlight'>inan> the house and grounds.  among these was a young girl of fifteen who started work an class='highlight'>inan> 1920 as a Schoolroom Maid.  Her name was Miss an class='highlight'>inan>ez Sophia Large and she had connections to Hoar Cross through her grand-parents, William and Mary Tooth, who lived an class='highlight'>inan> the village where William was the blacksmith; his smithy was just along from the Meynell public house.  He had worked on the ironwork of the Hall duran class='highlight'>inan>g its construction an class='highlight'>inan> the 1860s.  an class='highlight'>inan>ez’s aunt, Constance Madeley, was the wife of the landlord at the Buffalo an class='highlight'>inan>n, an class='highlight'>inan>...

Than class='highlight'>inan>gs that go bump an class='highlight'>inan> the night! #3

THan class='highlight'>inan>GS THaT GO BUMP an class='highlight'>inan> THE NIGHT!        Goan class='highlight'>inan>g to sleep an class='highlight'>inan> a big old house is quite scary when you’re young but goan class='highlight'>inan>g to sleep an class='highlight'>inan> a big old house that’s haunted is even more scary!!  That first wan class='highlight'>inan>ter at the Hall was like that.  Every time there was a wan class='highlight'>inan>dy night I could hear a wan class='highlight'>inan>dow bangan class='highlight'>inan>g an class='highlight'>inan> the attic – all night long it kept me awake.  The next day I would go an class='highlight'>upan>stairs to close it but there would be no wan class='highlight'>inan>dows open or even loose.   They were all tightly shut as they had been for 20 years.  I remember standan class='highlight'>inan>g there an class='highlight'>inan> the attic rooms, the hairs pricklan class='highlight'>inan>g the back of my neck and quickly leggan class='highlight'>inan>g it back downstairs!  On other nights I would h...

Reburbishan class='highlight'>inan>g our Mansion #4

REFURBISHan class='highlight'>inan>G OUR MaNSION :       We moved an class='highlight'>inan>to the Hall duran class='highlight'>inan>g the summer holidays and my parents quickly realised that they had a lot of work on their hands to make the place habitable as well as to earn some money from it.  as previously mentioned, there was an East Wan class='highlight'>inan>g and a West Wan class='highlight'>inan>g to the house.  My dad decided to convert the first floor rooms of each wan class='highlight'>inan>g an class='highlight'>inan>to three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous house.  This would generate an class='highlight'>inan>come from rents until we got the maan class='highlight'>inan> house open to the public.  It wasn’t a big job to convert the rooms as the East Wan class='highlight'>inan>g had four maan class='highlight'>inan> rooms and two bathrooms already there, which would have been u...