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Gardeners' World at Hoar Cross #39

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 house...

Gardeners' World #38

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 (see header picture). This supplied the house with all its fruit, vegetables and herbs. The palm house produced palms an...

Behind the Green Baize Door #41

...l came to England in just one year.” It became popular in the mid 18th century and was used mainly for cabinet and closet linings in Europe – also games tables. I'm sure you are all familiar with pool and snooker tables showing off their red and green baize cloth.  Baize was also used as clothing for monks, nuns and soldiers as it was very warm and hard wearing. Is there no end to the talents of this serviceable cloth? A typical green baize door (in need of TLC!)   The green baize door was usually at the end of a long corridor leading from the kitchens, which were strategically placed at one end of the house for deliveries from the kitchen garden...

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #43

...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 and there is subsidence in the basement which may have been triggered by a fissure which runs through Hickleton as a result of coal mining at Hickleton Colliery.  St Wilfred's Church, only a few metres away from the Hall, also had major subsidence but this has been underpinned and rescued from dereliction. Hickleton Hall may requir...

Gardeners World at Hoar Cross #43

...In this week's blog I am focusing again on the servants who spent their lives looking after the Meynell family along with their home and gardens. 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 wa...

The Halifax Estates - Garrowby #46

...Hugo Meynell-Ingram and his wife Emily Charlotte built Hoar Cross Hall to be their home after getting married in 1863. Emily was the daughter of Sir Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax who owned considerable estates in the north of England. Their wealth came from the discovery of coal on their ancestral estate. In addition to this Sir Charles had a very successful political career, owning many seats in Garrowby and Pocklington near York; Hickleton near Doncaster and a home in Belgrave Square, London. He was a member of the Whig party, which in those days was likened to the Liberal party of today and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1846-52. In the 1850...