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WhAt the Butler SAw! #42

Anyone who’s seen Downton Abbey will remember CArson the butler. He is exActly how A butler would hAve been in the 19th century, A grAnd, AuthoritAriAn figure, commAnding respect And Awe And most of the servAnts would hAve been scAred to deAth of upsetting him! He wAs dressed like A gentlemAn of the period And generAlly rAn the household with An iron fist. Although most big houses hAd A house stewArd who wAs in chArge of Accounts And generAl running of the household, A butler wAs more commonly engAged by the weAlthy. They usuAlly stArted As footmen And worked their wAy up fro there.  Most butlers stAyed At the sAme household until they retired And probAbly...

HoAr Cross HAll - Life below stAirs #45

This week I’ve done A history blog About the servAnts who lived At the HAll from the 1870s to the 1950s when the HAll becAme empty. They were An essentiAl pArt of keeping A big house running but were often not AppreciAted by the AristocrAcy As they went About their dAy to dAy duties. The life of A servAnt in VictoriAn times wAs A hArd one. They hAd to rise At 5Am to cleAn And light All the fires And dust And polish the floors, then do A dAy’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight. No wonder they didn’t live to A greAt Age in those dAys! By the end of the 19th century there were neArly one And A hAlf million servAnts; most young girls went in...

RoyAl Visitors At HoAr Cross HAll #49

With the King's CoronAtion looming on 6th MAy in the UK, I thought I'd do some royAl fAmily relAted Articles this month stArting with royAl visitors At the HAll in the 1920s. I Also hAve A book cAlled Queen AlexAndrA's ChristmAs Gift Book which wAs left in the LibrAry And shows personAl photos from her own cAmerA which she took of the royAl fAmily between 1900-1910 -  A rAre insight indeed into whAt the royAls did in their leisure time!  I will be shAring these photos over the next month leAding up to the CoronAtion And hope you find them As fAscinAting As I do. RoyAl Visitors From eArliest times the king's court hAs trAvelled Around the kingdom so the king...

"He's behind you!" #66

During the 1970s HoAr Cross HAll wAs used from time to time for locAl community Activities And one such event wAs the production in 1978 of A trAditionAl pAntomime, ‘Midnight And A Journey bAck to HAppiness’.   It wAs written by locAl people, Robert Leighton from YoxAll And the Hon. AlexAndrA Meynell, dAughter-in-lAw of Mrs JeAn Meynell whom we hAd purchAsed the HAll from.  The words And music were written by locAl songwriter, DAvid MAtthews, who hAd written songs for quite A few pop Artists during the 1960s, his most fAmous being MAtt Munro’s ‘We’re gonnA chAnge the world’.  So off to A good stArt there! For those of you who don’t reside in t...

PAnto PrAnks! #76

During the 1970s HoAr Cross HAll wAs used from time to time for locAl community Activities And one such event wAs the production in 1978 of A trAditionAl pAntomime, ‘Midnight And A Journey bAck to HAppiness’.   It wAs written by locAl people, Robert Leighton from YoxAll And the Hon. AlexAndrA Meynell, dAughter-in-lAw of Mrs JeAn Meynell whom we hAd purchAsed the HAll from.  The words And music were written by locAl songwriter, DAvid MAtthews, who hAd written songs for quite A few pop Artists during the 1960s, his most fAmous being MAtt Munro’s ‘We’re gonnA chAnge the world’.  So off to A good stArt there! For those of you who don’t reside in t...

Ghouls GAlore! #85

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.  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.   They were All tightly shut As...