Story Search Results

The Kitchen Maid's Story

...terature, history, philosophy, and drama.  She graduated in 1984. In 1991, she paid a visit to Hoar Cross, spending a pleasurable week as a guest in the Spa Hotel, above stairs!  What a strange experience that must have been for her, albeit enjoyable! Her life had now come full circle which just goes to show that you should never give up on your dreams and you’re never too old to do something new!   Don’t miss next week’s instalment:  What the Butler Saw! If you would like to follow my story from the beginning please Click Here!...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #36

...terature, history, philosophy, and drama. She graduated in 1984. In 1991, she paid a visit to Hoar Cross, spending a pleasurable week as a guest in the Spa Hotel, above stairs! What a strange experience that must have been for her, albeit enjoyable! Her life had now come full circle which just goes to show that you should never give up on your dreams and you’re never too old to do something new!   Don’t miss next week’s instalment:   'What the Butler Saw!'   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends. Follow me around my childhood home in my 'Tour of the Hall' – click her...

Rags to Riches #14

...n art and history. Her name is Wendy and my dad did a sculpture of her head and shoulders calling it ‘Schoolgirl with plaits’. For years it stood on show in the Library of the Hall until it was given to Wendy some years ago after my father died. Wendy with her sculpture   In the mid 1950s my dad sold the alabaster works to Louis Martin, who had just arrived in England from Jamaica. He was a weight lifter and turned the works into a gym and weight training centre. He went on to win medals in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and also won four world titles, four European titles and broke four world records! In 2018 he was added to the Derby Walk of Fame and h...

What the butler saw!

...WHAT THE BUTLER SAW!       Anyone who’s seen Downton Abbey will remember Carter the butler.  He is exactly how a butler would have been in the 19th century and, strangely enough, the butler at the Hall during the early part of the 20th century was also called Carter! Although most big houses had a house steward who was in charge of accounts and general running of the household, a butler was more commonly engaged by the wealthy.  He was usually a grand, authoritarian figure, commanding respect and awe and most of the servants would have been scared to death of upsetting him!  He was dressed like a gentleman of the period and generally ran the household...

Skools out for Summer #16

...a bit of history'   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning please click here and feel free to share with your friends. Follow me around my childhood home in my 'Tour of the Hall' – click here to view and subscribe to my YouTube channel. OUT NOW!!!  'My Dad Bought a Mansion' is out in book form on Amazon - all my memoirs packed with lots of photographs from the times.  Go check it out here and let me know what you think!...

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...