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Home fit for a ighlight'>king #53

With the Coronation of ighlight'>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 Bucighlight'>kingham Palace which is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United ighlight'>kingdom and where many state occasions take place, but Bucighlight'>kingham Palace was originally known as Bucighlight'>kingham House. The building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Bucighlight'>kingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. it was acquired by ighlight'>king George iii in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as Th...

Meet the Neighbours - Coombe Abbey # 81

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!�...

A Home fit for a ighlight'>king #21

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 Bucighlight'>kingham Palace which is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United ighlight'>kingdom and where many state occasions take place, but Bucighlight'>kingham Palace was originally known as Bucighlight'>kingham House. The building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Bucighlight'>kingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. it was acquired by ighlight'>king George iii in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th ce...

Hoar Cross Hall - A bit of History #54

Hoar Cross was part of Needwood Forest, the 11th century lands of Henry de Ferrers. The land was passed down to Henry’s son and subsequent various people over the course of 500 years ending with the Webb family, around the 1730s, who bought the land and house known as the Manor of the Cross. This was quite a large house built on a hill near Yoxall (which is the village next to Hoar Cross). in 1740 the manor house was demolished and later the Hon. Charles Talbot bought the estate for £17,000. Eventually it was sold to Hugo Meynell, who already owned huge amounts of property all over the county and was now about to add another one to his portfolio. This branch...

The Halifax Estates - Garrowby #46

Hugo Meynell-ingram and his wife Emily Charlotte built Hoar Cross Hall to be their home after getting married in 1863. Emily was the daughter of Sir Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax who owned considerable estates in the north of England. Their wealth came from the discovery of coal on their ancestral estate. in addition to this Sir Charles had a very successful political career, owning many seats in Garrowby and Pocklington near York; Hickleton near Doncaster and a home in Belgrave Square, London. He was a member of the Whig party, which in those days was likened to the Liberal party of today and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1846-52. in the 1850...

Bacon's 'Essay on Gardens' # 56

Francis Bacon was born in 1561 and was 1st Viscount St Alban. He wrote his Essay on Gardens in 1625, a year before his death of pneumonia. He was also Lord Chancellor of England under ighlight'>king ighlight'>james i and led the advancement of both natural philosophy and scientific method and his works remained influential even in the late stages of the Scientific Revolution.  The essays he wrote between, mainly, 1612 and 1625 were about anything from love and marriage to superstitions to gardens and any subject in between! Bacon's genius as a phrase-maker appears to great advantage in the later essays and the 'Oxford Dictionary of Quotations' includes no fewer than 91 quotations...