Story Search Results

The Grand Opening #5

...ll square gardens, each named after one of the Meynell family along with a Japanese garden complete with a Japanese Maple tree and a water garden with stepping stones across it. But even though we cleared a lot of weeds, the outskirts of the gardens were still very overgrown as well as the woods which had once had lovely pathways through them where Victorian ladies and gentlemen took their afternoon strolls. Visitors make an appearance - Easter 1971   We soon got used to having people wandering around our house, although they weren’t allowed upstairs. Gavin and I were quite the little monkeys and usually involved our little brother in our tricks too. W...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #19

...e kitchen gardens and greenhouses would have provided a lot of the produce they ate as well as the pheasants and other game birds that were reared to be eaten. There was also a carp pool for their fish stock. In total there were about 50 servants employed by the Meynell family which included cooks, housemaids, chambermaids, lady’s maid, a governess, a nanny, a butler, footmen and a house-keeper among others. All staff were expected to attend the 9am service which was held in the Chapel in the house. They were also expected to attend services at the church which had been built in the grounds; however, they weren’t allowed to walk down the drive to the church...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life Below Stairs #35

...e kitchen gardens and greenhouses would have provided a lot of the produce they ate as well as the pheasants and other game birds that were reared to be eaten. There was also a carp pool for their fish stock. In total there were about 50 servants employed by the Meynell family which included cooks, housemaids, chambermaids, lady’s maid, a governess, a nanny, a butler, footmen and a house-keeper among others. All staff were expected to attend the 9am service which was held in the Chapel in the house. They were also expected to attend services at the church which had been built in the grounds; however, they weren’t allowed to walk down the drive to the church...

The Grand Opening #5

...ll square gardens, each named after one of the Meynell family along with a Japanese garden complete with a Japanese Maple tree and a water garden with stepping stones across it. But even though we cleared a lot of weeds, the outskirts of the gardens were still very overgrown as well as the woods which had once had lovely pathways through them where Victorian ladies and gentlemen took their afternoon strolls. This is how the yew hedges once looked   We soon got used to having people wandering around our house, although they weren’t allowed upstairs. Gavin and I were quite the little monkeys and usually involved our little brother in our tricks too. We w...

Whodunit in the Library #24

...When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – and lots of fun if you’re a child. This rambling old house full of empty rooms and secret doors, wild gardens and woods to explore, was in some ways a dream come true for our family, certainly for my father. But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation and lack of public transport was frustrating. Coupled with this was my parents' fighting and subsequent split, living at each end of the house and battling for the house and business through their solicitors. The small gardens we loved to explore   The effect this had on me, as the eldest c...

The Origins of the Stately Home #39

...Why are stately homes so called? Stately home actually means 'a large impressive old house with interesting history and usually visited by the public.' Well, I suppose they do look very 'stately' for a start but these houses were also a status symbol for the great families of England, who competed with each other to provide hospitality for the royal household who would travel around England meeting their subjects. Stately homes were huge mansions which were always beautiful and the epitome of perfect architecture, often designed by famous architects of the day. The gardens too would be perfectly landscaped to show balance, variety, sequence and colour. One of t...