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HysterIcal ProductIons! #13

HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS:     By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were stIll goIng strong.  Most of the orIgInal cast were stIll wIth us but we were on our second KIng now and also doIng our own caterIng and bar, IghlIght'>whereas when we fIrst started, we had a caterIng fIrm In to do It all.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s DelIght and sIng along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whIlst drInkIng beer, wIne and mead.  But It was a very adult envIronment for 15 year old gIrls to work In; a few of my school frIends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly beIn...

The Schoolroom MaId's Story #33

THE SCHOOLROOM MAID’S STORY:      For the fIrst 75 years of the Hall’s hIstory about 50 servants were employed by the Meynell famIly In the house and grounds. Among these was a young gIrl of fIfteen who started work In 1920 as a Schoolroom MaId. Her name was MIss Inez SophIa Large and she had connectIons to Hoar Cross through her grand-parents, WIllIam and Mary Tooth, who lIved In the vIllage IghlIght'>where WIllIam was the blacksmIth; hIs smIthy was just along from the Meynell publIc house. He had worked on the Ironwork of the Hall durIng Its constructIon In the 1860s. Inez’s aunt, Constance Madeley, was the wIfe of the landlord at the Buffalo Inn, In nearby New...

Calendar GIrls and Front Covers #6

CALENDAR GIRLS AND FRONT COVERS:     DurIng our tIme at Hoar Cross Hall people would occasIonally hIre the house for a day’s fIlmIng or whatever. DurIng the summer of 1973 a photographer from London hIred the place for a day and he brought two models wIth hIm, one EnglIsh and one German, and they were takIng photos for a glamour calendar. We were told to keep rIght out of the way as they were takIng photos In the gardens as well as the house. Naturally we wanted to see everythIng that was goIng on and my younger brother GavIn especIally was very keen to watch – so much so that he found a paIr of bInoculars to follow all the proceedIngs! We managed to fInd...

More tea VIcar? #11

MORE TEA VICAR?     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 a 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...

HysterIcal ProductIons #15

HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS:    By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were stIll goIng strong. Most of the orIgInal cast were stIll wIth us but we were on our second KIng now and also doIng our own caterIng and bar, IghlIght'>whereas when we fIrst started, we had a caterIng fIrm In to do It all. Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s DelIght and sIng along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whIlst drInkIng beer, wIne and mead. But It was a very adult envIronment for 15 year old gIrls to work In; a few of my school frIends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly beIng chatte...

The LIfe and TImes of an upper Class FamIly #41

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AN upPER CLASS FAMILIY:         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 later 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 was created 1st VIscount HalIfax In 1866 and had a very dIstInguIshed polItIcal career. The famIly seats of Garrowby, PocklIngton and HIckleton (IghlIght'>where EmIly was born) h...