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Alice - the ghost in the mirror #28

ALICE – THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR:     (Based on true events)    In 1865 Lewis Carroll wrote another story about Alice following on from ‘Alice in Wonderland’. It was called ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’. In this story Alice climbs onto the mantlepiece over the fireplace in her lounge and finds that she can climb through the mirror into another world which is reversed, just like a reflection. Once again, she encounters strange figures in a world dominated by a chess set and nursery rhyme characters, among others. But what inspired Lewis Carroll to write about a little girl having lots of adventures? In the 1850s Charles Dodgson (Carroll’s rea...

My Dad Bought a Mansion #1

MY DAD BOUGHT A MANSION!    It was the summer of 1970, Mungo Jerry was at the top of the hit parade and we were about to move house. But not to any old house – to a 70 roomed mansion in 20 acres of grounds! For years my dad had collected antiques, ever since he was a young boy of 12, and it was his dream to own a large house where he could put them on show to the general public. In the 1970s he owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country and his dream was about to be realised; but little did we know what a nightmare would unfold before us. Hoar Cross Hall was the home of the Meynell Ingram family who originated from Leicestershir...

Alice - the ghost in the mirror #32

Here is another ghost story for the Christmas season associated with Hoar Cross Hall. By an amazing co-incidence Lewis Carroll and Emily Meynell (who built the Hall) became acquainted when she was a child. This is their story - In 1865 Lewis Carroll wrote another story about Alice following on from ‘Alice in Wonderland’. It was called ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’. In this story Alice climbs onto the mantlepiece over the fireplace in her lounge and finds that she can climb through the mirror into another world which is reversed, just like a reflection. Once again, she encounters strange figures in a world dominated by a chess set and nursery rhyme c...

Growing up in a stately home #1

It was the summer of 1970, Mungo Jerry was at the top of the hit parade and we were about to move house. But not to any old house – to a 70 roomed mansion in 20 acres of grounds! For years my dad had collected antiques, ever since he was a young boy of 12, and it was his dream to own a large house where he could put them on show to the general public. In the 1970s he owned the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country and his dream was about to be realised; but little did we know what a nightmare would unfold before us. Hoar Cross Hall was the home of the Meynell Ingram family who originated from Leicestershire. Hugo Meynell of Quorndon was...

Skools out for Summer #16

When Hugo and Emily Meynell built Hoar Cross Hall it included a whole estate with it, namely kitchen gardens, greenhouses, stables, a farm and cottages. Old Hall (their original home) was also on the estate and was accessed via a private road, which ran from the main road. By the time the seventies came along the stable block and Old Hall were private houses and another part of Old Hall had been made into a children’s home. Emily Meynell had started this home in the Victorian days, calling it ‘The Home of the Good Shepherd’ but it was for boys only at that time. When we were at the Hall it was a mixed home and run by a husband and wife couple. They used to...

Alice - the ghost in the mirror #26

In 1865 Lewis Carroll wrote another story about Alice following on from ‘Alice in Wonderland’. It was called ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’. In this story Alice climbs onto the mantlepiece over the fireplace in her lounge and finds that she can climb through the mirror into another world which is reversed, just like a reflection. Once again, she encounters strange figures in a world dominated by a chess set and nursery rhyme characters, among others. But what inspired Lewis Carroll to write about a little girl having lots of adventures? In the 1850s Charles Dodgson (Carroll’s real name) studied at Christ Church in Oxford. A new dean, Henry Liddell,...