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My Dad Bought A Mansion! #1

...rshire.  Hugo Meynell of Quorndon was the High Sheriff of Staffordshire and Member of Parliament for Lichfield and the family owned considerable property in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Derbyshire.  He bought the Hoar Cross estate in 1793 and built a hunting lodge there known as Old Hall and founded the Meynell Hunt.  It seemed the family lived here for many years until Hugo’s grandson, also Hugo, got married in 1863 and decided to build the present Hall for him and his wife, Emily Charlotte.  The house took nine years to build and was eventually finished in 1871.   Hugo and Emily had already moved in, but their new life together was soon to be cut shor...

My Dad Bought a Mansion #1

...tershire. Hugo Meynell of Quorndon was the High Sheriff of Staffordshire and Member of Parliament for Lichfield and the family owned considerable property in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Derbyshire. He bought the Hoar Cross estate in 1793 and built a hunting lodge there known as Old Hall and founded the Meynell Hunt. It seemed the family lived here for many years until Hugo’s grandson, also Hugo, got married in 1863 and decided to build the present Hall for him and his wife, Emily Charlotte. The house took nine years to build and was eventually finished in 1871. Hugo and Emily had already moved in, but their new life together was soon to be cut short by a tra...

Summer Balls and Garden Parties #97

...Balls and functions held at Hoar Cross Hall were lavish affairs, especially before the First World War, with the catering and other services invariably being provided by premier London companies.  In 1907, Gunter & Co of Berkeley Square, London, could supply a Ball supper and refreshments for ten shillings (50p) a head, plus 'extra services'. For a Ball Supper in January 1913, Mayfair Catering, Grosvenor Square, assured Lady Mary Meynell that they had engaged 'a superior staff of tall waiters' to attend her guests and, “.....if waiters are desired to be in Full Dress (silk stockings) the additional cost will be five shillings (25p) per man.”  They als...

Aristocratic travels Part 2

...ARISTOCRATIC TRAVELS PART 2:    During the latter part of the 1800s Emily Charlotte Meynell travelled around the Mediterranean on board her schooner, Ariadne, recording her travels in her many diaries and drawing books, as mentioned in my previous blog.  I have now found the photo of her yacht and one of her paintings; she was a skilled water colour artist as you can see but had a particular affection for nautical subjects.  One particular holiday around Nice in the South of France with her brother Charles is documented by the water-colour paintings they both made.  Soon after her husband Hugo's death in 1871, she embarked on a Mediterranean tour with her...

Panto Pranks #21

...PANTO PRANKS!     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’...

Christmas High Jinks! #29

...CHRISTMAS HIGH JINKS:       The sounds of La Golondrina floated through the air as Viv sat at the grand piano. How pleased she was that someone had asked them to look after this fine musical instrument for a few months. Having learned to play when she was younger, this gave Viv the opportunity to brush up on her skills as a pianist and she was thoroughly enjoying it. The piano was in the Library and suited the room perfectly. She could hear her father and an antique dealer talking in the Long Gallery as they haggled over the price of a painting that he was selling. Viv gazed out of the window as she played and thought back to the Midsummer’s Eve Ball that...