Aston Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aston Hall |
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Aston Hall is a really old and important house in Aston, Birmingham, England. It's a special type of building called a Jacobean house, built a long time ago between 1618 and 1635. A famous architect named John Thorpe designed it.
In 1864, the city of Birmingham bought Aston Hall. It was the first time a historic country house in England became owned by a city. Today, Birmingham City Council still owns it. Aston Hall is now a museum run by the Birmingham Museums Trust. After a big makeover that finished in 2009, it is open for everyone to visit.
Contents
Aston Hall's Story
Building a Grand Home
Work on Aston Hall started in April 1618. Sir Thomas Holte began building his grand house using designs by John Thorpe. Sir Thomas finally moved into the hall in 1631. The whole house was finished in April 1635. Today, it is a Grade I listed building, meaning it's very important.
The house sits in a large park. Part of this park later became Villa Park. This is the home stadium for the Aston Villa football club. The park itself is also a protected historic site.
Damage from a Cannonball
Aston Hall was badly damaged during the English Civil War in 1643. Soldiers attacked the house. You can still see some of the damage today. There's even a hole in the main staircase. A cannonball flew through a window and an open door, hitting the banister!
The Holte family owned the house until 1817. Then, it was sold and rented out to James Watt Jr.. He was the son of the famous inventor James Watt. In 1858, a private company bought the house. They wanted to use it as a public park and museum.
Becoming a Public Museum
The company that bought Aston Hall faced money problems. So, in 1864, the city of Birmingham stepped in. The Birmingham Corporation bought the house. This made Aston Hall the first historic country house owned by a city.
A famous writer named Washington Irving visited Aston Hall. He wrote about it in his book Bracebridge Hall. He even used the name "Bracebridge" from Abraham Bracebridge. Abraham was married to the last Holte family member who lived there. Irving's stories in The Sketch Book described the happy English Christmas parties he saw at Aston Hall. These traditions were not common anymore. An old custom at Aston Hall was for servants to have fun on Christmas Eve. An article from 1795 said they could "drink, dance, sing, and go to bed when they please."
For a few years starting in 1879, Aston Hall also held art collections. It also housed the Museum of Arms. This happened after a fire damaged the city's main library.
Gardens and Statues
In the 1920s, the city of Birmingham had money troubles. They had to choose between saving Aston Hall or another nearby park. Aston Hall was saved. In 1927, the Birmingham Civic Society designed beautiful formal gardens. The city built these gardens using workers who were unemployed. Government money helped pay for it.
The new gardens included fountains, terraces, and stone pots. There was also a statue of Pan, a Greek god. William Bloye created this statue. The Civic Society paid for the statue themselves. In 1934, the finished gardens were given to the city. The head of the Pan statue went missing. In 2011, the city council worked to fix it. They asked for old photos to help rebuild the head.
In 1938, a huge event called the Pageant of Birmingham took place. About 10,000 performers were in the grounds of Aston Hall. This celebrated 100 years since Birmingham became a borough.
Aston Hall Today
Visiting the Museum
Aston Hall is now a community museum. The Birmingham Museums Trust manages it. It is open to visitors during spring, summer, and autumn. The house had a big renovation from 2006 to 2009.
Inside, you can see many rooms set up as they would have been long ago. They have furniture, paintings, and other items from the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. You can even see the Aston Villa Football Club stadium from the house. In 2019, over 28,000 people visited Aston Hall.
Changes to the Grounds
The eastern part of Aston Hall's grounds changed in 1972. This area became part of the A38(M) motorway, also known as the Aston Expressway. This road helps connect the city center directly to the M6 motorway.
Haunted Tales and Parkrun
In October 2019, Aston Hall was named the UK's top haunted heritage site. This was based on a study by Spectrum Paranormal Investigations and the National Lottery.
In October 2023, Aston Hall started hosting a parkrun. This is a free, weekly 5-kilometer run. It took place every Saturday morning at 9 AM. The parkrun stopped running in August 2024. However, people hope it will start again in the future.
Images for kids
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This 1775 painting shows Aston Hall and the Church of SS Peter & Paul in open countryside.
