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Reburbishing our Mansion #4

REFURBISHING OUR MANSION :       We moved into the Hall during 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 Wing and a West Wing to the House.  My dad decided to convert the first floor rooms of each wing into three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous House.  This would generate income from rents until we got the main House open to the public.  It wasn’t a big job to convert the rooms as the East Wing had four main rooms and two bathrooms already there, which would have been u...

Our mansion gets a facelift #4

OUR MANSION GETS A FACELIFT:        We moved into Hoar Cross Hall during 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 Wing and a West Wing to the House.  My dad decided to convert the first floor rooms of each wing into three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous House.  This would generate income from rents until we got the main House open to the public.  It wasn’t a big job to convert the rooms as the East Wing had four main rooms and two bathrooms already there, which would...

Gardeners World at Hoar Cross #36

GARDENERS’ WORLD AT HOAR CROSS:      In it’s heyday Hoar Cross Hall had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tidy and weed free. In Victorian England the most common of all male servants was the gardener. At Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectionately as ‘digging slaves’! They were responsible for producing fruit, vegetables and growing luxury items in and out of season, much of it under glass. Adjacent to the House was the carp pool and greenHouse area along with a palm House; next to these was a walled kitchen garden. This supplied the House with all its fruit, vegetables and herbs. The palm h...

Doing up a stately home #4

DOING UP A STATELY HOME:     We moved into Hoar Cross Hall during 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 Wing and a West Wing to the House. My dad decided to convert the first floor rooms of each wing into three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous House. This would generate income from rents until we got the main House open to the public. It wasn’t a big job to convert the rooms as the East Wing had four main rooms and two bathrooms already there, which would have been used as...

Our mansion gets a facelift #4

OUR MANSION GETS A FACELIFT! We moved into Hoar Cross Hall during 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 Wing and a West Wing to the House. My dad decided to convert the first floor rooms of each wing into three separate apartments; he had done this at our previous House. This would generate income from rents until we got the main House open to the public. It wasn’t a big job to convert the rooms as the East Wing had four main rooms and two bathrooms already there, which would have been used as g...

A Bit Of Background #1

A BIT OF BACKGROUND: It was the summer of 1970, Mungo Jerry was at the top of the hit parade and we were about to move House.  But not to any old House – to a 70 roomed mansion in 20 acres of grounds!  For years my dad had collected antiques, ever since he was a young boy of 12, and it was his dream to own a large House where he could put them on show to the general public.  In the 1970s he owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country and his dream was about to be realised; but little did we know what a nightmare would unfold before us. Hoar Cross Hall was the home of the Meynell Ingram family who originated from Leicestershire.�...