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Royal visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #10

From earliest times the king's court has traveled around the kingdom so the king could see first hand what was going on in his realm. When the king showed up, the local subjects were expected to provide food, entertainment, and accommodations usually in the form of mediaeval banquets.  For the King or Queen's subjects this could be very expensive and not all royalty was welcome! However, this was the only way that people could see their King or Queen and know that they were real. Fast forward from the twelve century to the 21st century and royals are still touring the country so their subjects can 'see them and believe in them'. The Queen's grandparents, King...

Royal Visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #20

From earliest times the King's court has traveled around the kingdom so the King could see first hand what was happening in his realm. When the King showed up, the local subjects were expected to provide food, entertainment, and accommodations in the form of mediaeval banquets.  For the King or Queen's subjects this could be very expensive and not all royalty was welcome! However, this was the only way that people could see their King or Queen and know that they were real. Fast forward from the twelve century to the 21st century and royals are still touring the country so their subjects can 'see them and believe in them'. Although I published this blog in June...

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #38

...d unsafe. Servants might enjoy as much as one gallon per person a day, although the brew was weaker than that of today! The brewhouse at Hickleton Hall   The Halifax family preferred their estate at Garrowby to Hickleton and in 1947 sold the contents of Hickleton Hall and leased the premises as a girls' school, St Hilda's Church of England school run by members of the Order of the Holy Paraclete Convent. From 1961 to 2012 the hall and the immediate parkland were run by Sue Ryder Care as a Sue Ryder Home. The house was offered for sale in 2015. Hickleton Hall sadly requires major restoration at the moment as it has been empty for a number of years an...

Royal Visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #49

...With the King's Coronation looming on 6th May in the UK, I thought I'd do some royal family related articles this month starting with royal visitors at the Hall in the 1920s. I also have a book called Queen Alexandra's Christmas Gift Book which was left in the Library and shows personal photos from her own camera which she took of the royal family between 1900-1910 -  a rare insight indeed into what the royals did in their leisure time!  I will be sharing these photos over the next month leading up to the Coronation and hope you find them as fascinating as I do. Royal Visitors From earliest times the king's court has travelled around the kingdom so the king...

Change and the Country House #61

...vy’. Servants at Hoar Cross Hall, early 20th century   The Edwardian era saw a growing shortage of Servants which led to the introduction of labour-saving devices and a greater use of part-time help in the house.  The number of female Servants fell by a quarter and both male and female Servants started to look elsewhere for work in hotels and restaurants rather than private houses.  In 1931 only half of the 70,000 males in domestic service were in private service.  By 1951 only 1% of women were employed in domestic service and this continued to drop as the years went by. And so it can be seen that the country house in Britain has been under threat...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story

...ristmas. Servants had little time for leisure, but occasionally a dance was held at Hoar Cross School, although there were very few young people in the village as most had to leave to find work. Inez left Hoar Cross for a better position with the Earl and Countess of Bradford at Weston Park.  She worked again as a schoolroom maid for their two young daughters, but without the responsibility of serving meals.  Various posts followed but not all of them in service.  Eventually she retired to Skegness where she spent  her time tending to her garden but still doing a part-time job - in her eighties!  Accustomed to a life of hard work, there was no stopping I...