Thoresby Hall hotel guide 2008

Thanks to Jeremy H in 2008, we have two lovely new pics of Sabrina from the Thoresby Hall hotel guide. The guide says:

In the Spring of 1957, Thoresby Hall opened its doors to the general public for the first time. The starlet Sabrina was employed at the press launch to lend glamour to the event in the guise of Maid Marian. In one picture she posed on the Grand Staircase, and in another she cuddles up to 'Robin Hood'; a statue by Tussaud-Birt, a grandson of Madame Tussaud. The statue which stood in the centre of the courtyard is now to be seen in the Stables Gallery.

Thanks again, Jeremy!

Thoresby Hall

Jeremy explained:

There are two pictures of Sabrina in the Thoresby Hall hotel guide - ISBN 0851013597 - produced by Warner Hotels ( http://www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk/ ). They are taken at the opening of the Hall to the general public in 1957, when it was still a stately home... I don't know if you can still get this particular booklet. I got it in 2002, when my stepson was working at the Hall. It's a rather lavish 36-page production, and I don't suppose that's what you get when you request a brochure on the website. I wouldn't like to part with my copy, but I attach a scan of the pictures. Regards Jeremy

From http://thoresby.blogspot.com/

28th March 1957 - Major Beattie oversaw the making of Thoresby Hall in Sherwood Forest open to the general public. To mark this auspicious occasion he invited the voluptuous but silent blonde celebrity Sabrina. At that time the "Sabrina Slept Here" publicity stunt had been targeted at several Stately Homes, and Sabrina duly slept in Thoresby Hall on the night of 28th March 1957, the cause of much bawdy humour among male workers across the estate.

It had been the Major's plan to have Sabrina dress as Maid Marian the following day and serve the first guests with venison.

Also see Exposed (18 Oct 1957) and the Weekly Sporting Review 1957

From Exposed (18 Oct 1957)

These [press agents] can dream up the oddest twists indeed: On April 5, 1957, they packed their big-chested babe into a car and drove her to Thoresby Hall, Ollerton, Nottinghamshire. The Hall was a 200-room Victorian mansion, one of those stately homes of England which their owners now show to Sunday visitors for a 50-cent entrance fee.

"What am I supposed to do there?" Sabrina inquired uneasily.
"You will be the guest of Maj. Alexander Montgomerie Greaves Beattie," was the answer. "He is a former personal guard of Sir Winston Churchill."
"And why did he invite me?"

"Because he wants you to stay overnight."
Sabrina started getting angry, but the matter was quickly cleared up.

Maj. Beattie had inherited the mansion from Earl Manvers, his father-in-law. He planned to open it to the public on April 6, and he wanted the sexy TV star to spend a night in one of his scores of bedrooms so that he could tell his visitors truthfully: "SABRINA SLEPT HERE!"

From Sir! (1959) - also see Sir! (1957)