Story Category: History (2 posts)

Viv Wilson | 23rd September 1988 | Life at The Hall

WHAT THE BUTLER SAW! Anyone who’s seen Downton Abbey will remember Carter the butler. He is exactly how a butler would have been in the 19th century and, strangely enough, the butler at the Hall during the early part of the 20th century was also called Carter! Although most big houses had a house steward who was in charge of accounts and general running of the household, a butler was more commonly engaged by the wealthy. He was usually a grand, authoritarian figure, commanding respect and awe and most of the servants would have been scared to death of upsetting him! He was dressed like a gentleman of the period and generally ran the household with an iron fist. As I said, the butler at the Hall was called Gus Carter and he was with the family for over 40 years, joining the staff in the mid-1930s. When the family left the Hall 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. 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. He also waited on table at all the meals and at night, secured all doors and windows and checked the fires were safe before retiring to bed. If there was no valet in the house then the butler would also have been responsible for looking after his master’s clothes and hunting gear. In the absence of a footman, he would also answer the door – sounds like he was a very busy man! Let’s hope that someone didn’t come calling at lunchtime while he was helping his master get changed into yet another outfit! Another thing large houses always had was a letter...

Viv Wilson | 02nd June 1973 | Life at The Hall

HOAR CROSS HALL - A BIT OF HISTORY: Due to many requests asking about the history of the house, this week I'm taking a break from my family's story to look back a few hundred years of what happened before we lived there! 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 to Hugo Meynell, who already owned huge amounts of property all over the county. This branch of the Meynell family originated from Leicestershire, namely Quorndon. In the 18th century Hugo Meynell had the title of ‘the father of fox-hunting’ as he had founded the Quorn Hunt in 1750 which became famous around the district. He bred his own strain of foxhounds and was the first person to study fox-hunting from a scientific point of view. He bought Quorn Hall in 1754 and built stables and kennels there, having 30 horses stabled at its height. In 1758 he became High Sheriff of Staffordshire and Member of Parliament for Lichfield. When his son, Hugo, died in 1800 he sold Quorn Hall to the Earl of Sefton and left to live in Derbyshire; although the family owned large amounts of property all over the Midlands in at least five shires. The Meynell family claim to be descendants of the Norman baron, Hugo de Grand Mesnil, who came over with William the Conqueror. He is said to have died in Leicester in 1093 and his descendants settled in Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The sons of Hugo went off to the First Crusade and a representation of Hugo’s shield can be seen in one of the windows of Hoar Cross Church. Sir Hugo de Mesnil of...