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Temple Newsam and the Meynells

TEMPLE NEWSAM AND THE MEYNELLS:     On 11th August 1863, Hugo Francis Meynell Ingram married the Hon. Emily Charlotte, daughter of Sir Charles Wood, Bart, afterwards 1st Viscount Halifax.  The Woods were an old gentry family, for many centuries respectable York merchants.  They were to turn grand upon the discovery of coal beneath their ancestral estates.  This was the great Barnsley field, with several hundred acres of Britain's deepest and finest coal.  Sir Charles Wood had a distinguished political career and they owned family seats at Garrowby, Pocklington, near York and Hickleton, near Doncaster.  They also owned a London house in Belgrave Square....

Like father, like sons #20

...into the chapel wall breaking his pelvis!  Occasionally he got to drive it at Chasewater when Gavin was testing so then there were two of them going off to race at weekends.   Gavin and Piers at Chasewater with their karts   It was in 1979/80 that Piers started to test a proper racing kart and went on to race for four seasons with 1983 being the most successful – the highlight was winning the Cristal Challenge National.  He also drove Gavin’s Reynard FF2000 at Donington Park for a few laps to get the feel of a racing car and to see if his future lay there.  Nowadays he’s more interested in the two wheel variety, regularly travelling around Eu...

Whodunit in the Library? #25

...WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY?       When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – and lots of fun if you’re a child.  This rambling old house full of empty rooms and secret doors, wild gardens and woods to explore, was in some ways a dream come true for our family, certainly for my dad.  But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation and lack of public transport was frustrating.  Coupled with this was my parents fighting and subsequent split, living at each end of the house and battling for the house and business through their solicitors. The effect this had on me, as the eldest child who p...

The Schoolroom Maid's Story #33

...ce at the chapel ready for morning prayers. All the family and staff had to attend although it was only prayers spoken by Colonel Meynell – no singing or music. By mid-day she had again changed her outfit to an afternoon dress and made her way to the workroom to assist the lady’s maid in mending, sewing and general repairs to Miss Dorothy’s wardrobe. It seems to me that people were forever changing their clothes in those days! For the servants their morning dress was plain and serviceable covered with a large apron, for doing all the chores around the house. Their afternoon dress was still plain but usually black and trimmed with a lace collar and cuffs....

Becoming a rock chick #16

...s off the chapel corridor and next to the library. In the summer we left the back door open and visitors would wander outside and look at our pets – I imagine an over enthusiastic child had opened the hutch and not shut it properly because they escaped into the house and got into the library, it being the nearest room to the back door. I happened to be coming into the house on this particular day when I heard a woman scream “Rats, rats – on the bookshelves!” I rushed into the Library through the secret door (which made the visitors jump even more) to find them looking at our guinea pigs! How could they think our lovely pets were rats? However, we did get...

Like Father, Like Sons #19

...into the chapel wall breaking his pelvis! Occasionally he got to drive it at Chasewater when Gavin was testing so then there were two of them going off to race at weekends. Piers testing the car   It was in 1979/80 that Piers started to test a proper racing kart and went on to race for four seasons with 1983 being the most successful – the highlight was winning the Cristal Challenge National. He also drove Gavin’s Reynard FF2000 at Donington Park for a few laps to get the feel of a racing car and to see if his future lay there. Nowadays he’s more interested in the two wheel variety, regularly travelling around Europe riding along the French mounta...