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A Christmas Haunting! #34

...ht, sunny morning this time so Viv wasn’t scared. Suddenly she became aware of a little girl standing near the doorway staring at her. “Hello,” she said. “Who are you?” “Alice,” the child answered. “I’ve come from the west wing.” “Oh, you must be the new tenants,” Viv said, wondering how she had found her way up to the attic. “Do your parents know you’re here?” The child stared back but didn’t answer. Viv tried again. “Are you going to a party? That’s a very pretty dress you have on.” Alice shook her head and moved into the room. “Can I do some drawing please,” she asked. Viv pushed some paper and pens towards h...

The Origins of the Stately Home #39

...room and morning room The first floor - drawing room/bedrooms The second floor - guest bedrooms Top floor/attic - nurseries and female servants bedrooms   A typical layout of basement rooms   Most houses had a 'still' room, something used since the Middle Ages. This was an area off the main kitchens used for distillery, food preserving, making medicines and herbal remedies and brewing beer. It was also used as a pantry. It had it's roots in Roman and Greek culture when they used a room to make medicines and distil oils from plants etc. In the 16th century people found that they needed an extra room separate from the kitchen for distilling and prese...

What the Butler Saw! #42

...ng in the morning so that they could be clean and properly dressed for breakfast. From midday they would be dressed in their livery, fully-tailored outfits from London firms (see header photo). With their plush breeches, silk stockings and powdered hair, they were the ‘peacocks’ among domestics. Footmen were responsible for answering the door, delivering messages and waiting-on in the evening. There were numerous footmen in the large houses but probably only two or three at Hoar Cross. They were constantly leaving to better themselves as butlers were usually picked (or ‘head hunted’) from the footmen, but they would only consider men who were tall and we...

Hoar Cross Hall - A bit of History #54

...l for the morning services there. However, this young lady didn’t want to conform to the usual things of her society such as parties and husband hunting! She begged her parents to let her train for some useful occupation and they finally agreed to let her train as a secretary in London. She went on to become the private secretary to the Bishop of Portsmouth. Dorothy never married and when the Second World War started she returned to Hoar Cross and joined the Joint War Organisation of the Red Cross and St John which meant travelling overseas to Africa, Sicily and Italy. In 1944 Lady Dorothy left Hoar Cross, as she was now a widow, and went to live in Richmond G...

Motor Racing Days #64

...rs of the morning while everyone was asleep – except for the local policeman who was always coming round and telling him off!  By the mid sixties he probably felt too old to be racing and so took on a driver, firstly Philip Robinson and then Chris Meek.  He was now into Formula 2 and I remember that Martini sponsored him and we were always getting boxes of Martini bottles arriving at the house.  My brothers Gavin and Piers were both named after racing drivers (Gavin Youl and Piers Courage) and all our Godparents were racing drivers although sadly many drivers were killed in those days, often friends of my parents.  In the Christening photo above, Philip Ro...

The ghost of Christmas past #73

...ht, sunny morning this time so Viv wasn’t scared.  Suddenly she became aware of a little girl standing near the doorway staring at her.  “Hello,” she said.  “Who are you?” “Alice,” the child answered.  “I’ve come from the west wing.” “Oh, you must be the new tenants,” Viv said, wondering how she had found her way up to the attic.  “Do your parents know you’re here?” The child stared back but didn’t answer. Viv tried again. “Are you going to a party?  That’s a very pretty dress you have on.”  Alice shook her head and moved into the room. “Can I do some drawing please,” she asked. Viv pushed some paper and...