That must have been horrible, holly. We once had a hornet's nest over our front door for a while. It was amazing how fast that nest grew. The hornets were big huge black things, very scary. It didn't bother us, but a kid visiting who was very active, got stung. An exterminator had to remove it and we were told to stay away from the house while they were doing it.
Gawd a Hornets nest anywhere near my front door would be exterminated immediately.. Whenever I see a hornet now , I'm out of it's way quicksmart..