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Here comes the bride (Part 1) #27

Now my dad was having to move out of Hoar Cross Hall we had decided to bring our wedding forward so 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 hel...

The Tax Man Cometh #29

...ed in the church in the grounds, The church of the Holy Angels, and have the reception in the Hall – with all those bottles of champagne that my dad had been saving for years! The year was now 1980 and we set a date in August, a couple of months before my dad had to leave. It was strange having to meet up with the vicar who we had had such a fall out with when we were youngsters, when we had lit all the candles in the church one day to brighten it up. I hoped he didn’t remember! I also hoped he didn’t know that it was Gavin and I who had sabotaged the many Christmas and Easter high teas at the vicarage after the church services, when we would take the sand...

Here comes the bride (Part 1) #30

...to find a church near to Kev’s house and sorted out the reading of the banns.  Then we went to the vicarage across the road from my house and booked the date.  The vicar told us in no uncertain terms that he would expect us to be there when the banns were read.  However, as we never got up before lunch on a Sunday, try as we might, we never actually managed to hear our own banns being read! It was almost as bad at the wedding rehearsal.  I went to the church with my dad and the two bridesmaids but Kev never managed to get there as he was fitting a shower for someone!  I don’t think the vicar was very impressed with us! The nearer it got to our wedding...

Hoar Cross Hall - A bit of History #54

...near the church which she made into a sunken garden, surrounding it with rhododendron bushes and filling the middle part with wild flowers. Stone steps descended down onto a path which led to a stone seat in the middle of one side of the garden; it must have been a very private and quiet place to sit and relax in during the summer months.   One of Lady Dorothy's gardens   Lady Dorothy’s daughter, also called Dorothy, was born in 1908 and was an accomplished pianist and conductor of the Hoar Cross choral society and had a life long interest in the arts and music. She also played the pipe organ in the chapel at the Hall for the morning services there....

The Tax Man Cometh! #26

...ed in the church in the grounds and have the reception in the Hall – with all those bottles of champagne that my dad had been saving for years! The year was now 1980 and we set a date in August, a couple of months before my dad had to leave. It was strange having to meet up with the vicar who we had had such a fall out with when we were youngsters, when we had lit all the candles in the church one day to brighten it up. I hoped he didn’t remember! I also hoped he didn’t know that it was Gavin and I who had sabotaged the many Christmas and Easter high teas at the vicarage after the church services, when we would take the sandwiches apart and put them back t...

Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history! #14

...tain with church in distance Lady Mary's garden But tragedy was to strike; Hugo had had a horse riding accident some fourteen months previously which had left him bed-ridden.  However, they moved into the house but he sadly died in May of 1871.  As they had no children, the Meynell line (of Hoar Cross) became extinct.  Emily inherited the Temple Newsam estate along with many other estates around the Midlands and became a very wealthy woman – they say she was a millionairess twice over!   Although she was now on her own, she had a lot of support from her family.  Her brother Frederick moved in with her, and she ran the estates quite well,...