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Skools out for summer! #12

...er to the church in them. People must have thought they were seeing ghosts! Another time we decided to play tricks on the visitors by using the secret door in the Library. There were two secret doors, one which was always open and used by the visitors to wend their way around the house and the other was on the opposite side of the room and always closed. The doors, when closed, looked like part of the bookshelves and had a little brass catch on the ledge which you pressed to open them. One day I stood in the Library near the door and smiled at some visitors so they saw me standing there. When they turned to look out of the window I quickly released the catch an...

Rags to Riches #14

...RAGS TO RICHES:      My family originated from Derby and my parents were married there in July 1952. Mum was 19 and dad was 36 so quite a bit older. They both lived in Derby and were very arty; my dad went to the Derby Sketching Club in his free time and my mum attended art college. I’m not sure where they met but it was either at something art related or at a dance, as was usual in those days. My dad was a sculptor by trade; I think his interest was sparked by seeing all the beautiful alabaster in Italian churches during the war. After the war he set up his own business making alabaster lamps, bowls and candlesticks among other things (see header picture)....

Whodunit in the Library? #24

...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! Scene of the crime - The Library!   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 mediaeval 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...

The War Years and Beyond #40

...THE WAR YEARS AND BEYOND:     During the Second World War, life in country houses changed dramatically. It was no different at Hoar Cross. The flower borders on the main lawns were turfed over to reduce maintenance and vegetables were grown in areas formerly restricted to flowers. Evacuees from Birmingham came to stay for the duration of the war and they lived in the basement, as it was considered to be the safest place. I imagine that they must have been in the care of the servants as they were living amongst them but it must also have been quite exciting for them to move from a bombed out city to the relative safety of the countryside, although they must ha...

Skools out for summer #13

...er to the church in them. People must have thought they were seeing ghosts! Another time we decided to play tricks on the visitors by using the secret door in the Library. There were two secret doors, one which was always open and used by the visitors to wend their way around the house and the other was on the opposite side of the room and always closed. The doors, when closed, looked like part of the bookshelves and had a little brass catch on the ledge which you pressed to open them. One day I stood in the Library near the door and smiled at some visitors so they saw me standing there. When they turned to look out of the window I quickly released the catch an...

Rags to Riches #15

...My family originated from Derby and my parents were married there in July 1952. Mum was 19 and dad was 36 so quite a bit older. They both lived in Derby and were very arty; my dad went to the Derby Sketching Club in his free time and my mum attended art college. I’m not sure where they met but it was either at something art related or at a dance, as was usual in those days. My dad was a sculptor by trade; I think his interest was sparked by seeing all the beautiful alabaster in Italian churches during the war. After the war he set up his own business making alabaster lamps, bowls and candlesticks among other things (see header picture). He would go to the alab...