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Hoar Cross Hall meets Downton Abbey #99
Posted by Viv Wilson on 24th September 2025 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall spa hotel,barons eden,downton abbey,Highclere Castle,Bishop of Winchester,first world war,Great War,meynell ingram,Shropshire,Leicestershire,Derbyshire,History,period drama,Servants,Suffragettes,my dad bought a mansion,Earl of Carnarvon,Tomb of Tutankhamun,Eqyptologist,Lord Grantham
With the new Downton Abbey film out this month I thought I would do a comparison of the two family homes, Downton and Hoar Cross Hall, the latter being my old family home for those of you who are new to these blogs. Although Downton Abbey is fictional, the house on which it is based is not, it being Highclere Castle in Hampshire which was built in 1679 and is owned by the Earl of Carnarvon. Hoar Cross Hall was the original home of the Meynell Ingram family who first came from Leicestershire and was built in 1863. Hugo Meynell of Quorndon was the High Sheriff of Staffordshire and Member of Parliament for Lichfield and the family owned considerable property in...
VENTURES new #10
Posted by Viv Wilson on 1st March 1973 in Early Days | hoar cross hall,suits of armour,coombe abbey,mediaeval banquets,jcb
VENTURES new: We were now in our third year at the Hall and our lives were always busy keeping on top of the weeds and general upkeep of the house. My dad expected us children to help as much as possible, which we hated, and much of our time was spent trying to hide from him to get out of doing the chores. But sometimes we didn’t mind and we happily pulled an old trolley into the woods every now and then to collect wood for the fires and sometimes as a family we would spend a day clearing parts of the woods and grounds. My mum had hired a lady from the village to help with the housework and we had also taken on a retired chap called Mr Hickman to do some...
Moving Out#32
Posted by Viv Wilson on 28th October 1980 in Early Days | Fools and Horses,lock,oven,washing machine,Ferrari,Derby,Farmhouse,hoar cross hall
MOVING OUT: And so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when my dad had to leave the Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for my mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him and Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a band saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had bought a house in nearby Burton on Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop and there he moved to start a...
Moving Out #32
Posted by Viv Wilson on 27th May 2019 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Ferrari,Police,Derby,burton on trent,£1,Only Fools and Horses
MOVING OUT: And so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when my dad had to leave the Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for my mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him and Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a band saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had bought a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop and there he moved to st...
Moving Out #31
Posted by Viv Wilson on 5th April 2020 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,ferrari,burton on trent,electronics engineer,estate agent,only fools and horses,antiques,go-karting
MOVING OUT: And so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when my dad had to leave Hoar Cross Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for my mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him and Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a band saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had bought a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop and there he moved to start af...
Ventures new #9
Posted by Viv Wilson on 10th August 2020 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,circus,beer cellar,treehouse,Meynell,steam train,mediaeval banquets,J C Bamford,Uttoxeter,Easter,antiques
VENTURES new! We were now in our third year at Hoar Cross Hall and our lives were always busy keeping on top of the weeds and general upkeep of the house. My dad expected us children to help as much as possible, which we hated, and much of our time was spent trying to hide from him to get out of doing the chores. But sometimes we didn’t mind and we happily pulled an old trolley into the woods every now and then to collect wood for the fires and sometimes as a family we would spend a day clearing parts of the woods and grounds. My mum had hired a lady from the village to help with the housework and we had also taken on a retired chap called Mr Hickman...