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Meet the Neighbours - Coombe abbey # 81
Posted by Viv Wilson on 13th June 2024 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,Meynell,mediaeval banquets,Earl of Craven,capability brown,Coventry City Council,Warwickshire,Cistercian monks,monasteries,King James I,King Henry VIII,Edward IV,Gunpowder plot,Earl of Warwick,Bridgerton,downton abbey,history,barons eden,stately home,haunted house,my dad bought a mansion
Although this house isn’t quite so neighbourly to Hoar Cross Hall as the others in this series, it is loosely linked to the hall as it was the inspiration for the Mediaeval Banquets that my parents ran in the 1970s. They went along one night, to one of their banquets, to see what the format was and saw immediately how popular they were and so decided to start their own brand of banquets. The Coombe abbey banquets were very traditional and had minstrels playing lutes etc while people ate their meal. The entertainment too was typical of mediaeval amusement of the times and I remember my parents saying it was an enjoyable night out but not terribly lively!...
Hoar Cross Hall meets downton abbey #99
Posted by Viv Wilson on 24th September 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,downton abbey,Highclere Castle,Bishop of Winchester,first world war,Great War,meynell ingram,Shropshire,Leicestershire,Derbyshire,History,period drama,Servants,Suffragettes,my dad bought a mansion,Earl of Carnarvon,Tomb of Tutankhamun,Eqyptologist,Lord Grantham
With the new downton abbey film out this month I thought I would do a comparison of the two family homes, downton and Hoar Cross Hall, the latter being my old family home for those of you who are new to these blogs. Although downton abbey is fictional, the house on which it is based is not, it being Highclere Castle in Hampshire which was built in 1679 and is owned by the Earl of Carnarvon. Hoar Cross Hall was the original home of the Meynell Ingram family who first came from Leicestershire and was built in 1863. Hugo Meynell of Quorndon was the High Sheriff of Staffordshire and Member of Parliament for Lichfield and the family owned considerable property in...
Moving On - the end of an era #33
Posted by Viv Wilson on 13th December 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,burton on trent,Morzine,meynell ingram arms,mediaeval banquets,Devon,abbey Park Festival,victorian,The Crown,downton abbey,Haunting,christmas
After ten years of growing up in a stately home (Hoar Cross Hall), I have come to the end of my story. After my parents’ divorce it was agreed that my mum bought out my dad's half of the house 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 away from home and was ring...
A Home fit for a King #21
Posted by Viv Wilson on 17th September 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Buckingham Palace,The Crown,The Monarchy,King Charles III,prince of wales,duchy of cornwall,Queen Victoria,downton abbey,william the conqueror
In this week's blog I am focusing on the royal family again and the stately homes which they grew up in.
The main residence for the Royal family is Buckingham Palace which is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom and where many state occasions take place, but Buckingham Palace was originally known as Buckingham House. The building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th ce...Home fit for a King #53
Posted by Viv Wilson on 4th May 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,King Charles III,Queen Consort,william the conqueror,queen elizabeth,The Crown,downton abbey,king george vi,Queen Mother,buckingham palace,St James Palace,Westminster Palace
With the Coronation of King Charles III almost upon us, this week's blog focuses on the Palace that he now calls home – or the 'Headquarters' of the Royal Family.
This residence is Buckingham Palace which is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom and where many state occasions take place, but Buckingham Palace was originally known as Buckingham House. The building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as Th...
The Long Gallery #67
Posted by Viv Wilson on 27th October 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,long gallery,chapel,library,elizabethan,jacobean,monasteries,abbeys,Chatsworth House,thornbury castle,downton abbey,The crown
I thought that a little series on the different rooms in Hoar Cross Hall might be quite interesting, taking a deeper look at what these rooms were used for and a bit of history surrounding them. The main ground floor rooms were open to the public during the 1970s when people wandered around our home admiring the fine paintings and furniture followed by a walk in the grounds trying to imagine how it looked in days gone by. The house was entered through two huge oak doors which led into an Entrance Hall - this was our cafe area and the Butlers Pantry just off there was what we used as a kitchen to bake scones and sell snacks and ice creams. Leading off the E...