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A Bit Of Background #1
Posted by Viv Wilson on 11th June 1970 in Early Days | moving in,hoar cross hall
A BIT OF BACKGROUND:
It was the summer of 1970, Mungo Jerry was at the top of the hit parade and we were about to move house. But not to any old house – to a 70 roomed mansion in 20 acres of grounds! For years my dad had collected antiques, ever since he was a young boy of 12, and it was his dream to own a large house where he could put them on show to the general public. In the 1970s he owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country and his dream was about to be realised; but little did we know what a nightmare would unfold before us.
Hoar Cross Hall was the home of the Meynell Ingram family who originated from Leicestershire....
The Graveyard Shift #23
Posted by Viv Wilson on 30th September 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,King Charles,caernarvon,Wales,Police,church,ghosts,agatha christie
Life carried on at Hoar Cross Hall as best it could in difficult circumstances. My dad continued to go to Arms and armour Fairs to buy and sell antiques and we also went to a mediaeval banquet in Cheshire one night, although it wasn’t anywhere near as good as ours! Once or twice we took my dad out with our friends to Derby, where he originated from, and that seemed to cheer him up. But he really needed to get away from the house for longer periods of time and when he saw a boat advertised for sale at Caernarvon he jumped at the chance and bought it. It was an ex lifeboat called The Bembo so quite sturdy, although in need of a lick of paint and a bit of TLC. Th...
The Tax Man Cometh #29
Posted by Viv Wilson on 18th November 2022 in Blogging | hoar cross hall,Meynell,duchy of cornwall,The Crown,The Church of the Holy Angels,Meynell Ingram Arms,Knighthood,Lotus Elite,british aristocracy,lord and lady,stately home,mansion,staffordshire,history,ghosts,ghost stories,spa hotel,mediaeval,antiques,suit of armour,hoar cross hall spa,stately home tour,manor house,abandoned mansion,abandoned mansion uk,derelict mansion,abandoned millionaire mansion,downton abbey a new era,stately homes of england,stately home where I grew up,My Dad Bought a Mansion,lady diana,the crown season 5 netflix uk,royal household,the tax man
My parents’ court case was finally over and my dad had six months to leave the family home, Hoar Cross Hall. In the meantime my mum had to find the funds to buy him out and he had to find another house to live in. He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too! He eventually found a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of a lot of his possessions and one of the first things to go was his Lotus Elite. He advertised it in the local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, the first call was from the local tax office. Back in those days they used to check advertisements in the newspapers and...
Get me to the church on time! #30
Posted by Viv Wilson on 25th November 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,church of the holy angels,burton on trent,birmingham,ghost,downton abbey,historic houses,stag and hen party,suits of armour
My dad was having to move out of Hoar Cross Hall and we had decided to bring our wedding forward so we that we could get married in the church in the grounds and then have the reception afterwards in the Hall, which was after all our family home. The wedding preparations were going quite well and as we knew lots of musicians it wasn’t hard to find a local band and a DJ to do the disco. A friend of my dad’s offered to do the catering and the bar was set up with plenty of kegs from the local brewery in Burton on Trent. I had two bridesmaids and we all went to Birmingham one day to choose our dresses and shoes – it was all kept very simple really as I had no...
Hallowe'en Hauntings #100
Posted by Viv Wilson on 29th October 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,ghosts,ghostbusters,Hallowe'en,paranormal activity,spooks,attic,candles,seance,ouija board,ghouls,scary,the exorcist,nightmare,All Hallows Eve,All saints day,period drama,history,downton abbey,my dad bought a mansion
Going to sleep in a big old house is quite scary when you’re young but going to sleep in a big old house that’s haunted is even more scary!! As we approach Hallowe'en my mind has gone back to that first winter at Hoar Cross Hall and all the scary things that happened - and that was without any trick or treaters in those days! We quickly realised that we weren’t the only inhabitants of the house when we moved there in the 1970s. Every time there was a windy night I could hear a window banging in the attic – all night long it kept me awake. The next day I would go upstairs to the attics to close it but there would be no windows open or even loose....
Things That Go Bump In The Night! #3
Posted by Viv Wilson on 1st August 1970 in Early Days | hoar cross hall,ghost,attic,living in a stately home
THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT: Going to sleep in a big old house is quite scary when you’re young but going to sleep in a big old house that’s haunted is even more scary!! That first winter at the Hall was like that. Every time there was a windy night I could hear a window banging in the attic – all night long it kept me awake. The next day I would go upstairs to close it but there would be no windows open or even loose. They were all tightly shut as they had been for 20 years. I remember standing there in the attic rooms, the hairs prickling the back of my neck and quickly legging it back downstairs! On other nights I would hear peopl...