Story Search Results

To the Manor Born #77

...est stone bridge in the UK). So there was lots of history to this village and I had a very happy childhood there running free across the fields at the back of our house and making dens in the nearby woods.  The house had a lovely big garden at the back with an orchard to one side and a walled garden to the other side, which would have been the kitchen garden in days gone by. In the summer months we always had garden parties, courtesy of the local church or Women’s Institute and in November we remembered, remembered the 5th of November and Guy Fawkes’ Night with a huge bonfire and jacket potatoes, which the whole village seemed to come to!  Quite handy hav...

Here Comes the Bride (Part 2) # 28

...And so our wedding day at Hoar Cross Hall arrived bright and clear, all thoughts of solicitors, legals, fights and arrests behind us! Myself and my bridesmaids went to get our hair done in the morning and Kev slapped a piece of steak on his jaw to bring the swelling down after the rather unfortunate fight at his stag do. Fortunately, the bruise didn’t show up too much on the photos! Gavin drove my dad’s Mercedes Benz car all the way down the drive and back up the road to the church – this was one of the drawbacks of having a church in your grounds; you don’t get a nice long drive through the town where everyone can see you! Never mind, a small crowd of l...

Queen Alexandra - my family #50

...857 a new bridge across the River Dee, linking the village of Crathie to Balmoral, was completed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Balmoral is privately owned by the royal family and not part of the Crown estate and it is here that they love to spend their summer holidays. It was also here that Queen Elizabeth sadly died in September 2022.      Princess Mary (left) and Duchesse d'Aosta at Balmoral The Princess of Wales (later to become Queen Mary) is seen here standing with the Duchesse d'Aosta, also known as Princess Helene of Orleans. Princess Helene was a member of the deposed Orleans royal family of France who were forced to abdicate after the French Revol...

Change and the Country House #61

...road and bridge repairs, and dealt with minor offences in the special ‘Justice Room’ found in some country houses.  Once the local councils were doing this job the aristocrat ceased to be needed quite so much. Neglected gardens at Hoar Cross Hall   In 1894 the introduction of death duties caused the financial foundation, upon which the aristocracy depended, to fall away.  The modern form of death duties is inheritance tax but taxes have always been with us!  In 1796 tax on estates was introduced to help fund the war against Napoleon.  Then in 1894 the government introduced estate duty, a tax on the capital value of land, in a bid to raise money...

Meet the Neighbours - Shugborough Hall #80

...ese-style bridges, in honour of Admiral George Anson, Thomas’ younger brother, who had visited Canton and left a huge amount of money to his older brother when he died.  This was used to further expand the house and estate. The Admiral was created Lord Anson in 1747 and First Lord of the Admiralty in 1751 and it seems that he had a successful naval and political career.  However he and his brother both died childless so the estate passed to their sister’s son, George Adams, who took on the surname of Anson by royal licence.  This adopting of surnames was common among the aristocracy and also happened at Hoar Cross Hall when Emily Meynell died childless.�...