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Hysterical Productions! #13

HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS:     By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong.  Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinKing beer, wine and mead.  But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly bein...

The origins of the stately home #43

...ongs to a King or nobleman and a Manor is always on an estate of a Lord's lands. The people who lived in them were usually aristocrats – families of high social rank with a title such as Lord, Lady, Earl, Duke or Baron. Often they were Members of Parliament and Justices of the Peace due to their high education and would act as the local 'law' in their community. Most of these houses were built in the 17th and 18th century as manor houses in the heart of an agricultural estate, so effectively they were like farms with a farmhouse albeit a bit grander! The Lords that owned the manor houses would then provide employment for large numbers of indoor and outdoor st...

Hysterical Productions #15

...By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong. Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all. Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinKing beer, wine and mead. But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatted up by men who bought us dri...

The country house in society #48

...Country houses are to be found throughout the British Isles and are a peculiarly English phenomenon. Houses range from mediaeval manor houses to classical Palladian mansions, elegant Georgian residences to the Gothic buildings of the Victorian era. A great many have survived for two main reasons: Britain has been spared much of the havoc of war and revolution affecting other countries. Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire   Wentworth Woodhouse (above) is one of the largest stately homes in Europe and was visited by King George V and Queen Mary in 1912. It is now with the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and is much bigger than this photo shows!   The...

Summer Balls and Garden Parties #57

...Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry played a popular programme of music on the terrace. Tea was served in the afternoon and by 6pm guests were maKing their way home having enjoyed a thoroughly good day out, something which they probably talked about for weeks afterwards! The Memorable Day as mentioned in the local paper   The programme of toasts!   When my family bought the Hall in 1970 we held Midsummer's Eve Balls, New Year's Eve Balls and people often hired the Hall to put on their own functions including Red cross Balls and County Show Balls. Occasionally a local business would hire the house and grounds for a garden party during the su...

Mediaeval Weaponry #84

...unces the King   The principal missile weapon of the Middle Ages was the bow.  It took two main forms: the simple bow and the crossbow.  The simple bow was about five feet long and fired arrows with heads of steel.  Later these heads were designed to pierce plate armour.  Hunting arrows had broad barbed heads and others were forked and shaped like a Y.  They were carried in a quiver and could do much more damage than you would at first think!  Then there was the crossbow which consisted of a much shorter, stiffer bow fixed to a stock set at right angles to it.  It could be held in position without straining the arms but later, mechanical methods were...