Aston Hall

For other uses, seeAston Hall (disambiguation).

Aston Hall
Quick reference Location Aston,Birmingham,England Coordinates 52°30′23″N1°53′3″W Built April 1618-April 1635 Architect John Thorpe Architectural style(s) Jacobean Owner Birmingham City Council Website birminghammuseums.org.uk/aston Listed Building– Grade I Official name Aston Hall Designated 25 April 1952 Reference no. 1219847 National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens Official name Aston Hall Designated 1 July 1986 Reference no. 1001199
Location of Aston Hall in West Midlands county

Aston Hallis aGrade I listedJacobeanhouse inAston,Birmingham,England, designed byJohn Thorpeand built between 1618 and 1635. It is a leading example of the Jacobeanprodigy house.

In 1864, the house was bought byBirmingham Corporation,the first historiccountry houseto pass into municipal ownership, and is still owned byBirmingham City Council.It is now a community museum managed by theBirmingham Museums Trustand, following a major renovation completed in 2009, is open to the public.

History

Using a design byJohn Thorpe,construction was commenced in April 1618 bySir Thomas Holte,who finally moved into the hall in 1631. The house was completed in April 1635, and is now Grade Ilisted.It sits in a large park, part of which becameVilla Park,the home ground of theAston Villa football club.The park is listed Grade II inHistoric England'sRegister of Parks and Gardens.

The Long Gallery

The house was severely damaged after an attack byParliamentary troopsin 1643. Some of the damage is still evident, and there is a hole in the staircase where a cannonball went through a window and an open door, and into the banister.The house remained in the Holte family until 1817, when it was sold and leased byJames Watt Jr.,son of industrial pioneerJames Watt.The house was purchased in 1858 by a private company (the Aston Hall and Park Company Ltd) for use as a public park and museum. After the company ran into financial difficulties, the house was bought by theBirmingham Corporationin 1864, becoming the first historic country house to pass into municipal ownership.

Aston Hall gardens

Aston Hall was visited byWashington Irving,who wrote about it asBracebridge Hall,taking the name from Abraham Bracebridge, husband of the last member of the Holte family to live there. Irving'sThe Sketch Bookstories described the harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in Aston Hall, that had largely been abandoned.An Aston Hall custom the owners afforded the servants of the house on Christmas Eve appeared inThe Gentleman's Magazinein 1795, which said: "the servants have full liberty to drink, dance, sing, and go to bed when they please."

For a few years from 1879, Birmingham's collections of art and the Museum of Arms were moved to Aston Hall after a fire damagedthe municipal public libraryandBirmingham and Midland Institute,which shared a building in Paradise Street, until the building of the current Art Gallery in theCouncil Housecomplex.

William Bloye's statue ofPan,in 1989

In the 1920s, theBirmingham Corporationwas having financial troubles and had to choose between saving Aston Hall and the nearbyPerry Hall.Aston Hall was saved, and in 1927, theBirmingham Civic Societydesigned formal gardens which were constructed by the city with a workforce recruited from the unemployed and paid for by government grants. The scheme included fountains, terracing and stone urns and a statue ofPan,byWilliam Bloye,which the Civic Society paid for itself. In 1934 the finished work was presented to the City Parks Committee and unveiled by the Vice President of The Birmingham Civic Society,Gilbert Barling.As of January 2011, Birmingham City Council was working on the restoration of the statue, the head of which was missing. The council appealed for old photographs to assist in its reconstruction.

In 1938, the Pageant of Birmingham, with around 10,000 performers, was held in the grounds, to commemorate the centenary of Birmingham becoming a borough.

Current status

Aston Hall is now a community museum managed byBirmingham Museums Trust,having previously been managed by Birmingham City Council until 2012. Aston Hall is open to the public during spring, summer and autumn months, following extensive renovation from 2006 to 2009. It boasts a series of period rooms which have furniture, paintings, textiles and metalwork from the collections of theBirmingham Museum & Art Gallery.Visible from the House less than 200 yards to the north is Aston Villa Football club stadium. The hall received 28,804 visitors in 2019.

The easternmost part of the grounds made way for theA38(M) motorway,also known as the Aston Expressway. This opened in 1972 and gave the city centre a direct link with theM6 motorway.

In October 2019, the mansion was named as the UK's top haunted heritage site, according to the Spectrum Paranormal Investigations andNational Lottery.

In October 2023, Aston Hall became home to aparkrun,a free, weekly timed 5 km run which takes place every Saturday morning at 9am.The parkrun ceased running 10 months later in August 2024, however it is hoped this will restart again in the future.

As can be seen in this 1775 watercolour by an unknown artist (now part of theBritish Library's King George III Topographical Collection), Aston Hall and theChurch of SS Peter & Paulwere originally situated in open countryside.

Further reading

• Davies, Stuart (1985).By the Gains of Industry - Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery 1885-1985.Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.ISBN0-7093-0131-6.
• Fairclough, Oliver (1987).Aston Hall: A General Guide.Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.ISBN0-7093-0147-2.
• Fairclough, Oliver (1984).Grand Old Mansion: The Holtes and their Successors at Aston Hall, 1618-1864.Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.ISBN0-7093-0122-7.
• Haywood, William (1946).The Work of The Birmingham Civic Society 1918-46.Kynoch Press.
• Hickman, Douglas (1970).Birmingham.Studio Vista Limited.
• Collection of Prints: With Brief Descriptive Notes,Anastatic Drawing Society, 1858

External links

• Official website