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RAGS TO RICHES! #15

...n art and history.  Her name is Wendy and my dad did a sculpture of her head and shoulders calling it ‘Schoolgirl with plaits’.  For years it stood on show in the Library of the Hall until it was given to Wendy some years ago after my father died. After the First World War the market places were full of tea chests with swords and guns from the Boer War and the First World War.  My dad found all this stuff fascinating and started collecting it when he about 12 years old.  It started a life-long interest in antiques, culminating in him owning the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country during the 1970s.  This was why he wanted to b...

Skools out for summer! #14

...a bit of history   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning please click here and feel free to share with your friends.  ...

Rags to Riches #16

...n art and history.  Her name is Wendy and my dad did a sculpture of her head and shoulders calling it ‘Schoolgirl with plaits’.  For years it stood on show in the Library of the Hall until it was given to Wendy some years ago after my father died. Wendy with the sculpture of her head     In the mid 1950s my dad sold the alabaster works to Louis Martin, who had just arrived in England from Jamaica.  He was a weight lifter and turned the works into a gym and weight training centre.  He went on to win medals in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and also won four world titles, four European titles and broke four world records!  In 2018 he was added t...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #20

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:       This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty.  They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their day to day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one.  They had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight.  No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those days!  By the end of the 19th century there were nearly...

Rags to Riches #12

...n art and history.  Her name is Wendy and my dad did a sculpture of her head and shoulders calling it ‘Schoolgirl with plaits’.  For years it stood on show in the Library of the Hall until it was given to Wendy some years ago after my father died.   The sculpture of Wendy (as shown in the local paper)   In the mid 1950s my dad sold the alabaster works to Louis Martin, who had just arrived in England from Jamaica.  He was a weight lifter and turned the works into a gym and weight training centre.  He went on to win medals in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and also won four world titles, four European titles and broke four world records!  In 2018 he...

A New Year Calamity!

...A NEW YEAR CALAMITY!      The New Year’s Eve Balls at the Hall were usually the highlight of the year.  After twelve months of hard work, especially running the Mediaeval Banquets twice a week through the winter, we were always ready to see out the year in style with a big new year party.  In those days it was always black tie for the men and long dresses for the ladies – usually around 500 people bought tickets for an evening of entertainment with a dance band, disco and a meal.  At midnight a man dressed in traditional Scottish regalia, including a kilt and sporran, would pipe in the new year with his bagpipes.  Down the Long Gallery he would slowly...