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Ghostbusters! #7

GHOSTBUSTERS!    People were always coming to Hoar Cross Hall to either hire the place or to have a look around. In 1973, because of all the media interest in our ghosts, we had a couple of professional ghost hunters asking to stay over one night to try and find the source of the noises. They brought cases full of recording equipment and set it all up in one of the attic rooms. Rather them than me I thought! Then I had a brilliant idea and went off to tell my brother Gavin all about it. As mentioned in my first blog the attic and basement had a row of bells which the family used to summon the servants. Before the three men arrived we spent all day trying out a...

Ghostbusters! #8

GHOSTBUSTERS!      People were always coming to the Hall to either hire the place or to have a look around.  In 1973 a couple of professional ghost hunters asked to stay over one night to try and source the noises we heard in the attic.  They brought cases full of recording equipment and set it all up in one of the attic rooms.  Rather them than me I thought!  Then I had a brilliant idea and went off to tell my brother Gavin all about it.  As mentioned in my first blog the attic and basement had a row of bells which the family used to summon the servants.  Before the two men arrived we spent all day trying out all the bells to see which ones were which....

Whodunit in the Library? #26

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY?       When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – and lots of fun if you’re a child.  This rambling old house full of empty rooms and secret doors, wild gardens and woods to explore, was in some ways a dream come true for our family, certainly for my dad.  But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation and lack of public transport was frustrating.  Coupled with this was my parents fighting and subsequent split, living at each end of the house and battling for the house and business through their solicitors. The effect this had on me, as the eldest child who p...

Moving house to a mansion #1

MOVING HOUSE TO A MANSION:       My parents took vacant possession of Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 and the whole process of moving house was done over the summer months.  We lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there!  Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child.  My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1950s and before that he did motorcycle racing, often at nearby Donington Park.  During the...

Whodunit in the Library? #25

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY?       When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – and lots of fun if you’re a child.  This rambling old house full of empty rooms and secret doors, wild gardens and woods to explore, was in some ways a dream come true for our family, certainly for my dad.  But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation and lack of public transport was frustrating.  Coupled with this was my parents fighting and subsequent split, living at each end of the house and battling for the house and business through their solicitors. The effect this had on me, as the eldest child who p...

Gardeners World at Hoar Cross #36

GARDENERS’ WORLD AT HOAR CROSS:      In it’s heyday Hoar Cross Hall had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tidy and weed free. In victorian England the most common of all male servants was the gardener. At Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectionately as ‘digging slaves’! They were responsible for producing fruit, vegetables and growing luxury items in and out of season, much of it under glass. Adjacent to the house was the carp pool and greenhouse area along with a palm house; next to these was a walled kitchen garden. This supplied the house with all its fruit, vegetables and herbs. The palm h...