Story Search Results

To the Manor Born #77

...which the church was built as well as acres of fields and meadows around Shardlow.  Alpheus’ father already lived in the old house and when Alpheus got married to a Mary Wells, part of the marriage settlement deeds included the rebuilding of the manor house.  The house stayed in the Burgin family for many decades and in 1882 a Reverend William Burgin came into possession of the property and had it extended, adding a large room to the side of the house which we called the Billiard Room, and bay windows to the front – this is when the house officially became a rectory.  The header picture is a painting of the house, which somebody gave to us. My brother...

Hoar Cross Hall meets Downton Abbey #99

...is is the church that I got married in over a hundred years later. On Hugo’s death Emily inherited the family's many large estates and they say she was a double millionairess – which in those days was a huge amount of money! Emily Charlotte   The original site of Highclere Castle was recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086 when an Anglo-Saxon king granted the estate to the Bishops of Winchester and in the 14th century a palace was built there by the Bishop.  However, it was confiscated during the Reformation by Henry VIII.  Later it was rebuilt in 1679 by Sir Robert Sawyer, Attorney-General to Charles II and looks to have stayed in his family ever si...

VENTURES NEW #10

...th to the church.  As per usual the three of us would hide up there and watch the visitors walk by on their way to the church, as this was also open to the public, then we would make animal noises or suchlike and throw pine cones into nearby bushes to make them jump!  It was also a good place to hide from our dad! The visitors continued to come on a regular basis and my parents tried to think up different ideas to attract them.  At one end of the terrace, near to the old grass tennis courts (still with two foot high grass on them!) they made a playground, which was fun for us too.  My dad continued to buy and sell antiques to increase his collection in the...

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY? #25

...wards the church – on I went through the churchyard, the drops of blood racing ahead of me, until I reached the vicarage across the road.  The vicar answered my knock and told me that my dad had collapsed on his doorstep earlier that day and was now in the local cottage hospital! So now it had come to this.  I later found out that my dad had gone into the Library to rip up and sabotage the banquet costumes and my mum had found him there – an argument had ensued which became violent.  My dad had an awful temper and would sometimes attack my mum during these rows (I once found him in the kitchen with his hands round my mum’s throat) so she had grabbed th...

Eat, drink and be merry! #10

...th to the church.  As per usual the three of us would hide up there and watch the visitors walk by on their way to the church, as this was also open to the public, then we would make animal noises or suchlike and throw pine cones into nearby bushes to make them jump!  It was also a good place to hide from our dad! The visitors continued to come on a regular basis and my parents tried to think up different ideas to attract them.  At one end of the terrace, near to the old grass tennis courts (still with two foot high grass on them!) they made a playground, which was fun for us too.  My dad continued to buy and sell antiques and was often at local auctions an...

Aristocratic travels # 39

...utly high church and even took the vicar of Hoar Cross on regular cruises with her, having had a small chapel installed aboard.   These two pictures were taken in Africa, possibly from her Nile trip, although there are other photos showing members of the family in foreign climes.  Emily cruised the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the Baltic and around the British Isles between 1886 and 1897 - all her trips were recorded in ten leather bound volumes of diaries and logs, all beautifully illustrated with paintings, sketches, and photographs.   If only we could see them today!  The schooner was disposed of in 1897 as Emily got older and less able to travel. ...