Story Search Results

The Graveyard Shift #23

...xt to the church at midnight. As we were always coming in late from parties he asked us to help out after dark. So there we were, meeting up with my dad in the middle of the night while he showed us which piece of furniture to carry out of the house. Then we had to struggle with a chaise longue, traveller’s chest, games table, chairs or paintings (whatever he had sold that week) and carry it through the grounds, then through the churchyard, finally meeting with the buyer who was waiting with a large van in the lane! The things you do to help out! It was like being in the middle of an Agatha Christie novel – carrying a suspicious item through the graveyard by...

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!   The (almost) 'murder' weapon   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 #39

...During the Second World War, life in country houses changed dramatically. It was no different at Hoar Cross Hall. 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 have missed their parents of c...

Rags to Riches #14

...Before we moved to Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire we lived in Derbyshire.  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...

Skools out for Summer #16

...er to the church in them. People must have thought they were seeing ghosts! The secret door is in the left corner - can you see it?   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...

Suits you Sir! #22

...When we moved to Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 the organ in the private chapel wasn’t working as the house had been empty for 20 years. It was such a shame as it had been designed by George Bodley, the famous organ maker of the 19th century. The chapel itself had been added about 25 years after the house was built at the staggering cost of just under £1000! When one of the visitors to the house said he could fix the organ, my dad readily agreed. This chap really loved organs and volunteered his services free of charge just for the love of mending this musical work of art; my dad was over the moon! Alas, after removing all the pipes and laying them out in the baseme...