Story Search Results

What the Butler Saw! #37

...fe in the basement where, I assume, the more valuable items were kept for special occasions. Near to the butler’s room was a Chubb wall safe, which would have been used for keeping guests’ valuables in while they were staying at the Hall. Not unlike a hotel nowadays! He also waited on table at all the meals and at night, secured all doors and windows and checked the fires were safe before retiring to bed. If there was no valet in the house then the butler would also have been responsible for looking after his master’s clothes and hunting gear. In the absence of a footman, he would also answer the door – sounds like he was a very busy man! Let’s hope th...

Behind the Green Baize Door #41

...rooms and basements, hidden tunnels and corridors contrasting with the grandeur of 'upstairs'.  Housemaids were often taught to turn their face to the wall if their employer passed them in the house. Clearly the aristocracy thought they were too grand to be looked upon by a 'lowly' servant! So why were these doors covered in green (or red) baize cloth? Baize is a sturdy green cloth which insulated against noise and absorbed smells from the kitchens. Brass tacks held the cloth in place and was often very decorative in design (see header picture). Baize dates back to 1525 and a well-known 17th century ditty mentions 'bays' as follows:-  “Hops, heresies, bays...

Hickleton Hall and the Meynells #43

...ce in the basement which may have been triggered by a fissure which runs through Hickleton as a result of coal mining at Hickleton Colliery.  St Wilfred's Church, only a few metres away from the Hall, also had major subsidence but this has been underpinned and rescued from dereliction. Hickleton Hall may require the same operation in the future but naturally this will be very costly, especially as it is a listed building. Check out the website on the restoration project (hickletonhall.co.uk) and if you have a spare million (or three!) then this could be your next dream home. Emily would be saddened indeed to see the state of her former home and it is not unlike...

The origins of the stately home #43

...  The basement - kitchens and sculleries plus male servants' bedrooms The ground floor - dining room and morning room The first floor - drawing room The second floor - bedrooms Top floor/attic - nurseries and female servants bedrooms   Most houses had a 'still' room, something used since the Middle Ages. This was an area off the main kitchens used for distillery, food preserving, making medicines and herbal remedies and brewing beer. It was also used as a pantry. It had it's roots in Roman and Greek culture when they used a room to make medicines and distill oils from plants etc. In the 16th century people found that they needed an extra room separate...

Calendar Girls and Front Covers #7

...op in the basement, came up at the last minute and quickly put on a smart jacket over his overalls and stood behind the sofa so you couldn’t see his bottom half! I think he did the same thing when we had our photo taken for the brochure that we sold to the visitors but it was good fun and I can now say that I’ve been on the front cover of a magazine!   Don’t miss next week’s instalment:    'Ghostbusters!'   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends. Follow me around my childhood home in my 'Tour of the Hall' – click here to view and subscribe to my YouTube channel. OUT...

More Tea Vicar? #12

...During the long summer holidays it was easy to get bored. As there was no public transport from Hoar Cross and no children living nearby, we three children had to make our own entertainment and we were always having adventures and getting up to mischief – a bit like the Famous Five but without the dog! We would roam around the village or explore the basement. My dad was a hoarder and had kept all sorts of stuff over the years including gas masks and field phones from World War 2. The old Servants Hall was now my dad’s workshop and he spent a lot of time down there restoring antiques to sell. He had one of the field phones in his workshop and the other one w...