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Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history! #14

...dens were tennis courts and further into the woods were the greenhouses and a palm house; behind these were the walled kitchen gardens.  Next to the kitchen garden was the stable block which was also south facing and built in a U-shape.  This would have stabled many horses with living accommodation above for the grooms and stable boys.  There was also a paddock behind this for exercising the horses.  Various cottages were also built on the estate for the workers to live in so all in all it must have been quite an impressive set-up. Gardner working on hedge Fountain with church in distance Lady Mary's garden But tragedy was to...

RAGS TO RICHES! #15

...d a table tennis table in a spare bedroom and a pinball machine in another room that my dad had bought at a sale.  This all seemed completely normal to us although in hindsight it was obviously anything but normal. I think that my dad felt that he had ‘made it’ once we were at the Hall.  It was the classic rags to riches story and he had worked hard all his life to make it happen, always being careful with his money and investing it in things he could sell in the future.  However, my mum found living at the Hall difficult with a young family and never really wanted to move to such a remote place when we had previously enjoyed a small village community wh...

Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history #15

...dens were tennis courts and further into the woods were the greenhouses and a palm house; behind these were the walled kitchen gardens.  Next to the kitchen garden was the stable block which was also south facing and built in a U-shape.  This would have stabled many horses with living accommodation above for the grooms and stable boys.  There was also a paddock behind this for exercising the horses.  Various cottages were also built on the estate for the workers to live in so all in all it must have been quite an impressive set-up. But tragedy was to strike; Hugo had had a horse riding accident some fourteen months previously which had left him bed-ridden.�...

Rags to Riches #16

...d a table tennis table in a spare bedroom and a pinball machine in another room that my dad had bought at a sale.  This all seemed completely normal to us although in hindsight it was obviously anything but normal. I think that my dad felt that he had ‘made it’ once we were at the Hall.  It was the classic rags to riches story and he had worked hard all his life to make it happen, always being careful with his money and investing it in things he could sell in the future.  However, my mum found living at the Hall difficult with a young family and never really wanted to move to such a remote place when we had previously enjoyed a small village community wh...

The War Years and Beyond #38

...e ‘hard tennis courts, so much better than our grass ones’.  When they eventually moved into their new home, Mrs Meynell also told us how the servants were so excited to have a smaller house to clean!  How times have changed!  The Hall and contents were put up for sale after the family left in 1952 but the house failed to sell so they rented it out to a Dr Gillies and his wife, Maimi.  He was a highly regarded consultant at the local Burton General Hospital and it seems they lived in some style at the Hall.  They employed six staff including a Housekeeper, who lived at the Lodge.  Two of the floors were sumptuously furnished along with expensive paint...

Hoar Cross Hall - a bit of history #11

...dens were tennis courts and further into the woods were the greenhouses and a palm house; behind these were the walled kitchen gardens.  Next to the kitchen garden was the stable block which was also south facing and built in a U-shape.  This would have stabled many horses with living accommodation above for the grooms and stable boys.  There was also a paddock behind this for exercising the horses.  Various cottages were also built on the estate for the workers to live in so all in all it must have been quite an impressive set-up. But tragedy was to strike; Hugo had had a horse riding accident some fourteen months previously which had left him bed-ridden.�...