Story Search Results

The Halifax Estates - Garrowby #46

...t day. Hickleton Hall on the Halifax Estates   Garrowby is the largest of the Halifax Estates and extends to over 13,000 acres. The estate is located 13 miles east of York on the Vale of York in the west to the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds to the east. Garrowby Hall, which lies in the centre of the estate in a parkland setting, is now occupied by Lord Halifax's son, Lord Irwin as a private home. It was built by the architect W E Tower in 1892-93 for the 2nd Viscount Halifax, so it is a late 19th century house built in the style of the late 17th century. The estate includes the villages of Bugthorpe and Kirby Underdale and is designated as a Heritage Area...

Alice - the ghost in the mirror #28

...s Wood of Hickleton Hall in Yorkshire. During the summer a friend of the children, Mary Heath, stayed at the Hall and this is the little girl believed to be his inspiration for Alice. But also, the room in which he taught the children had a lovely mirror over the mantlepiece which is exactly the same as the picture of the mirror in his story ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’. So it seems that lots of things from that time inspired him! When Charles Wood’s daughter Emily got married in 1863 she took the mirror with her to her new home, Hoar Cross Hall, and there it hung over the fireplace in the Library for many decades until the Meynells left in the 1950s...

The Tax Man Cometh #29

...My parents’ court case was finally over and my dad had six months to leave the family home, Hoar Cross Hall. In the meantime my mum had to find the funds to buy him out and he had to find another house to live in. He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too! He eventually found a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of a lot of his possessions and one of the first things to go was his Lotus Elite. He advertised it in the local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, the first call was from the local tax office. Back in those days they used to check advertisements in the newspapers and...

A Christmas Celebration #74

...The final festive story is here based on true events and people that lived at Hoar Cross Hall.  “Come on, look sharp!” shouted Cook to her assistants in the kitchen.  “We’ve got a load of cooking to do for the Christmas party at the weekend and if you don’t get a move on there’ll be nothing to eat!” The kitchen maids looked at each other, stopped their gossiping and started to move a bit quicker.  Cook could be quite intimidating when she was in one of her moods.  The table was laden with pastries, jellies and fruit and the girls were just putting the finishing touches to the gingerbread biscuits before starting on the blancmange. “I love...

Moving On #33

...MOVING ON - And so we come to the end of my story.  My dad and Gavin moved out to live in Burton and my mum carried on running Mediaeval Banquets for a few more years.  She and the singer eventually got together much to my dad’s chagrin.  He spent a lot more time at the Hall helping my mum run the banquets; however, Piers didn’t really get on with him.  When he was about 14 years old my dad received a phone call from Piers – he had run away from home and was ringing from the phone box by the Meynell Arms car park!  He told my dad that he was hiding behind a bush and could he come and get him.  Of course, my dad was only too happy to fetch him and get...

Moving on - the end of an era #33

...MOVING ON - THE END OF AN ERA:          And so I come to the end of my story.  After ten years of living in a stately home,  my parents’ divorce agreement meant that my dad had to be bought out by my mum and he had to leave his dream home forever.  He and Gavin moved out to live in Burton-on-Trent and my mum carried on running Mediaeval Banquets for a few more years.  She and the singer eventually got together much to my dad’s chagrin.  The singer spent a lot more time at the Hall helping my mum run the banquets; however, Piers didn’t really get on with him.  When he was about 14 years old my dad received a phone call from Piers – he had run...