Story Search Results

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #43

...for staff beer ('beer money') was a further perquisite to their wages. This was, in part, a quaint survival from the days when servants drank beer instead of tea. Many houses had a brewhouse. beer was particularly important when the water supply was unreliable and unsafe. Servants might enjoy as much as one gallon per person a day, although the brew was weaker than that of today!   The Brewhouse at Hickleton Hall The Halifax family preferred their estate at Garrowby to Hickleton and in 1947 sold the contents of Hickleton Hall and leased the premises as a girls' school, St Hilda's Church of England school run by members of the Order of the Holy Paraclete...

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #38

...for staff beer ('beer money') was a further perquisite to their wages. This was, in part, a quaint survival from the days when servants drank beer instead of tea. Many houses had a brewhouse. beer was particularly important when the water supply was unreliable and unsafe. Servants might enjoy as much as one gallon per person a day, although the brew was weaker than that of today! The brewhouse at Hickleton Hall   The Halifax family preferred their estate at Garrowby to Hickleton and in 1947 sold the contents of Hickleton Hall and leased the premises as a girls' school, St Hilda's Church of England school run by members of the Order of the Holy Paraclete...

Mediaeval Mayhem!

...rving the beer and wine all evening which was included in the price – however, I think we served too much as everyone was completely sloshed by the end of the evening!  They’d also had a cup of mead at the start of the meal.  Things started to get out of hand as people were throwing apples across the room, instead of eating them with their cheese. Then four ladies stood on the tables and started dancing and provocatively swinging their scarves around.  The silver armour, which was hanging on the Ballroom walls, was knocked off and people were trying it on for fun. It was complete mayhem!  And just to add to the madness, halfway through the evening a bear...

Hysterical Productions #16

...By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong. Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, instead of an outside firm coming in.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead. But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatted up by men who bought us drinks all evening (even though w...

Mediaeval Mayhem! #13

...rving the beer and wine all evening which was included in the price – however, I think we served too much as everyone was completely sloshed by the end of the evening! They’d also had a cup of mead at the start of the meal. Things started to get out of hand as people were throwing apples across the room, instead of eating them with their cheese. Then four ladies stood on the tables and started dancing and provocatively swinging their scarves around. The silver armour, which was hanging on the Ballroom walls, was knocked off and people were trying it on for fun. It was complete mayhem! And just to add to the madness, halfway through the evening I had my big a...

The Origins of the Stately Home #39

...d brewing beer. It was also used as a pantry. It had it's roots in Roman and Greek culture when they used a room to make medicines and distil oils from plants etc. In the 16th century people found that they needed an extra room separate from the kitchen for distilling and preserving and so the 'still' room was invented! Of course, people drank beer more in those days as it was safer than water, which could often be unsanitary or disease ridden. Women were typically in charge of the still room as it combined the functionality of a kitchen with the technical capabilities of a laboratory. It also became a makeshift hospital so that those with medical ailments rece...