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Moving Out #34

...up with a 1950s style twin tub washing machine! Well, it matched the age of the house I suppose! Many a week whilst washing, I cursed my dad for buying it as it always broke down and flooded the kitchen – eventually we threw it out! A little while later we went to an auction at a large farmhouse that was quite local to us and because of the interesting ‘lots’ it had, quite a few of our well-to-do friends were there too. My dad was also there and told us he’d bought an oven for our new house. He couldn’t wait to tell us that it had only cost him £1. Even in those days £1 was ridiculously cheap, especially for an oven! He said it was in one of the out...

What the Butler Saw! #38

...ll in the 1950s and bought the smaller Hollybush House in nearby Newborough he went with them until his retirement. He and his wife celebrated their Diamond wedding anniversary in 1972. Mr and Mrs Carter on their Diamond Wedding Anniversary   However, when at the Hall his main duties would have been looking after the wine cellar and silverware or plate as it was known. This was kept in a room next to his bedroom so he could keep an eye on it and make sure no-one stole anything. Similarly with the wine cellar, he would have kept it all under lock and key so none of the servants could have a crafty drink when no-one was looking. There was actually a Chubb...

Like Father, Like Sons #20

...As mentioned in earlier blogs my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team in the 1960s, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics and driver. He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in. From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country. There was quite a collection and I still have them; I used to put them on display in the Library when our house was open to the publ...

Moving Out #29

...up with a 1950s style twin tub washing machine! Well, it matched the age of the house I suppose! Many a week whilst washing, I cursed my dad for buying it as it always broke down and flooded the kitchen – eventually we threw it out! A little while later we went to an auction at a large farmhouse that was quite local to us and because of the interesting ‘lots’ it had, quite a few of our well-to-do friends were there too. My dad was also there and told us he’d bought an oven for our new house. He couldn’t wait to tell us that it had only cost him £1. Even in those days £1 was ridiculously cheap, especially for an oven! He said it was in one of the out...

Alice - the ghost in the mirror #32

...ft in the 1950s. And so herein lies the connection between Alice and the Hall! Fast forward to the 1990s when Hoar Cross Hall had a new owner, Steve Joynes. He converted the Hall into a Spa Hotel and managed to source a lot of the original furniture from the Victorian era when Emily Meynell lived there with her husband, Hugo. He found the original mirror which came from Hickleton Hall and now it hangs over the fireplace in the Library, just as it did all those years ago. But it seems that the ghost of Alice may have come with the mirror. Ever since the mirror was installed in the Library people have seen a little girl running around the house. There is also a...

What the Butler Saw! #37

...ll in the 1950s and bought the smaller Hollybush House in nearby Newborough he went with them until his retirement. He and his wife celebrated their Diamond wedding anniversary in 1972. Mr & Mrs Carter celebrating their Diamond Anniversary   However, when at the Hall his main duties would have been looking after the wine cellar and silverware or plate as it was known. This was kept in a room next to his bedroom so he could keep an eye on it and make sure no-one stole anything. Similarly with the wine cellar, he would have kept it all under lock and key so none of the servants could have a crafty drink when no-one was looking. There was actually a Chu...