Aston Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aston Hall |
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Aston Hall is a beautiful old house in Aston, Birmingham, England. It's a "Grade I listed" building, which means it's super important and protected. It was designed by John Thorpe and built a long, long time ago, between 1618 and 1635. This makes it a great example of Jacobean architecture, which was popular during the time of King James I.
In 1864, Birmingham Corporation bought the house. It was the first historic country house ever bought by a city council! Today, Birmingham City Council still owns it. Aston Hall is now a public museum run by the Birmingham Museums Trust. After a big makeover that finished in 2009, it's open for everyone to visit.
Contents
History of Aston Hall
Building the Hall
Work on Aston Hall started in April 1618. It was built for Sir Thomas Holte. He finally moved into his new home in 1631, and the whole house was finished in April 1635. The design for this amazing building came from John Thorpe.
Aston Hall sits in a large park. Part of this park is now Villa Park, which is the home stadium for the Aston Villa football club. The park itself is also very important, listed as Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens.
Damage and New Owners
During the English Civil War in 1643, Aston Hall was badly damaged by Parliamentary troops. You can still see some of this damage today! There's even a hole in the staircase where 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., whose father was the famous inventor James Watt. In 1858, a private company bought the house to turn it into a public park and museum. But they ran into money problems. So, in 1864, the Birmingham Corporation stepped in and bought it. This made Aston Hall the first historic country house to be owned by a city!
Famous Visitors and Christmas Fun
The American writer Washington Irving visited Aston Hall. He wrote about it in his book Bracebridge Hall. He even got the name "Bracebridge" from Abraham Bracebridge, who was married to the last Holte family member to live there.
In his book The Sketch Book, Irving described the warm and happy English Christmas parties he experienced at Aston Hall. These kinds of celebrations had mostly stopped by then. An old custom from Aston Hall was even mentioned in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1795. It said that on Christmas Eve, the servants could "drink, dance, sing, and go to bed when they please." Sounds like fun!
Art and Gardens
For a few years starting in 1879, Birmingham's art collections and Museum of Arms were moved to Aston Hall. This happened after a fire damaged the city's main library and another building nearby. The art stayed at Aston Hall until a new art gallery was built.
In the 1920s, the Birmingham Corporation faced money problems. They had to choose between saving Aston Hall or another nearby park. Luckily, Aston Hall was saved! In 1927, the Birmingham Civic Society designed beautiful formal gardens for the hall. The city built these gardens, hiring people who were out of work and using money from government grants.
The new gardens included fountains, terraces, and stone urns. There was also a statue of Pan by William Bloye, which the Civic Society paid for themselves. In 1934, the finished gardens were officially given to the city. Years later, in 2011, the city council worked to fix the Pan statue, which had lost its head! They even asked for old photos to help rebuild it.
In 1938, a huge event called the Pageant of Birmingham took place in the grounds. About 10,000 performers were part of it! This event celebrated 100 years since Birmingham became a borough (a type of town).
Aston Hall Today
Aston Hall is now a community museum. It's managed by Birmingham Museums Trust, which took over from Birmingham City Council in 2012. The hall is open to visitors during the spring, summer, and autumn months. It had a big renovation from 2006 to 2009 to make it even better for visitors.
Inside, you can explore many period rooms. These rooms are filled with furniture, paintings, textiles, and metalwork from the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery collections. If you look out from the house, you can see the Aston Villa Football Club stadium, which is less than 200 yards away! In 2019, nearly 29,000 people visited the hall.
Part of the eastern grounds of Aston Hall was used to build the A38(M) motorway, also known as the Aston Expressway. This road opened in 1972 and gives the city centre a direct link to the M6 motorway.
In October 2019, Aston Hall was named the UK's top haunted heritage site! This was according to Spectrum Paranormal Investigations and the National Lottery.
Images for kids
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The Long Gallery inside Aston Hall.
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The beautiful gardens at Aston Hall.
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William Bloye's statue of Pan in 1989.
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Aston Hall and the Church of SS Peter & Paul in 1775, when they were surrounded by countryside.
