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Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history #13

HOAR CROSS HALL - A BIT OF HISTORY:       Hoar Cross was part of Needwood Forest, the 11th century lands of Henry de Ferrers. The land was passed down to Henry’s son and subsequent various people over the course of 500 years ending with the Webb family, around the 1730s, who bought the land and house known as the Manor of the Cross. This was quite a large house built on a hill near Yoxall (which is the village next to Hoar Cross). In 1740 the manor house was demolished and later the Hon. Charles Talbot bought the estate for £17,000. Eventually it was sold to Hugo Meynell, who already owned huge amounts of property all over the county. This branch of the...

Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history #14

Hoar Cross was part of Needwood Forest, the 11th century lands of Henry de Ferrers. The land was passed down to Henry’s son and subsequent various people over the course of 500 years ending with the Webb family, around the 1730s, who bought the land and house known as the Manor of the Cross. This was quite a large house built on a hill near Yoxall (which is the village next to Hoar Cross). In 1740 the manor house was demolished and later the Hon. Charles Talbot bought the estate for £17,000. Eventually it was sold to Hugo Meynell, who already owned huge amounts of property all over the county. This branch of the Meynell family originated from Leicestershire,...

Midnight Pool Parties #21

...s in this stately home were about 1 metre thick! When I turned 18 we decided to have a party, of course, in one of the apartments and once again a crowd of us went back after closing time at the pub. We had to be careful where we parked as the banquets were still going strong at the weekends and we didn’t want any problems from my warring parents. If my mum saw any strange cars parked on the drive she would push a note under my dad’s lounge door asking him to move it as it would be in the way of the banquet coaches. My dad, known for his short fuse at the best of times, would then go mad and send a rude note back to mum, pushing it under her lounge door! Thi...

Motor Racing Days #9

...Although my blogs are about living at Hoar Cross Hall, I would just like to give a bit of background about my dad’s racing career in the years leading up to moving to the Hall as this will set the scene for later instalments of my story. As mentioned in my first blog my dad used to be a racing driver but he actually started off racing motor cycles in the 1930s. Because of this he became a despatch rider during the Second World War and spent a lot of time in North Africa. After the war he started racing motor bikes at nearby Donington Park and he raced there up to the beginning of the 1950s. After that he moved onto cars and drove a Cooper 500cc (which is the...

Eat, Drink & Be Merry #11

...gally for stately home owners! In fact, he bought a suit of armour for my mum’s birthday present once, saying it was better to spend their money on an investment rather than flowers that would wither and die! I don’t think my mum was very impressed! Another time he bought an ancient Japanese funeral urn to put on display in the Chinese Room – to make it seem more authentic he filled it with ashes from the fireplace and placed a few chicken bones in for good measure! The display sign read that it was the 'Remains of a Samurai Warrior from the Far East'! One Easter we decided to hire a small steam train to give rides to the families that came. It was set up...

Lest We Forget #28

...During the two World Wars the Meynell family of Hoar Cross Hall served their country alongside many others from all walks of life.  After each war there was huge social upheaval, especially for women, who had been doing what was traditionally 'mens work' during the war and weren't prepared to go back to domesticity.  At the time of the First World War Frederick Meynell and Lady Mary Meynell were living at the Hall with their five children.  Their four sons all served in the war and their daughter Margaret served in the Red Cross as a volunteer. Their eldest son Francis was a Major but was wounded in action in 1917 with severe wounds to his back. He was moved...