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Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history #17

If you love to read up on the history of old houses then you'll love to hear about all the generations of people that lived at Hoar Cross Hall.  Hoar Cross was part of Needwood Forest, the 11th century lands of Henry de Ferrers. the land was passed down to Henry’s son and subsequent various people over the course of 500 years ending with the Webb family, around the 1730s, who bought the land and house known as the Manor of the Cross. This was quite a large house built on a hill near Yoxall (which is the village next to Hoar Cross). In 1740 the manor house was demolished and later the Hon. Charles Talbot bought the estate for £17,000. Eventually it was sold t...

A Bit of Background #1

...ily built the Church of the Holy Angels in the grounds of the hall in memory of her husband.  This is the Church that I got married in many years later.  On Hugo’s death Emily inherited many large estates and they say she was a double millionairess – which in those days was a huge amount of money!   And so we moved to this house with all its history and tragedies in the summer of 1970. My family consisted of my dad and mum, William and Gwynyth, descendents of an old Derbyshire family and from the Prices of Meirionydd, and two younger brothers, Gavin and Piers and the five of us were about to take on a stately home in the middle of nowhere, or so it seem...

My Dad Bought a Mansion #1

...ily built the Church of the Holy Angels in the grounds of the hall in memory of her husband. This is the Church that I got married in almost a hundred years later. On Hugo’s death Emily inherited many large estates and they say she was a double millionairess – which in those days was a huge amount of money! And so we moved to this house with all its history and tragedies in the summer of 1970. My family consisted of my mum,  Gwynyth and dad, William (or Bill as he was known) and two younger brothers Gavin and Piers - and the five of us were about to take on a stately home in the middle of nowhere, or so it seemed to me! It was actually in the middle of Sta...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #20

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:       This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty.  they were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. the life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one.  they had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight.  No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days!  By the end of the 19th century there were nearly...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:       This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s, when the Hall became empty.  they were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. the life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one.  they had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight.  No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days!  By the end of the 19th century there were nearly...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #18

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:   This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty. they were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. the life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one. they had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight. No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days! By the end of the 19th century there were nearly one and a half...