The expansive Aston Hall may be found in the neighbourhood of Aston in Birmingham, England. A Grade I listed building is what you have here. The building, which is owned by the Birmingham City Council and functions as both a museum and an art gallery, may be found here. Sir Thomas Holte was the one who constructed the home around the turn of the 17th century. The English football team known as Aston Villa was named after the winger.
John Thorpe was the architect behind the construction of the home, which took place between the years 1618 and 1635. It has a long and illustrious history that has been handed down through the generations, and it is a perfect illustration of a Jacobean wonder home. Tradition has it that Sir Thomas Holte, a rich country gentleman who had become a baronet in 1611, commissioned the construction of the home in question. Sir Thomas was a man of expensive tastes, and he wished for his new house to be as magnificent and lovely as it was possible to make it. It was created in the Jacobean style, which at the time was mostly utilised by aristocratic households. This style was utilised in the construction of the building. There were several peculiar aspects to the house, such as a hall that was the same height as the rest of the house and a spiral staircase that extended all the way to the top of the house. When Sir Thomas passed away in 1634, the mansion was left to his son, Sir Edward Holte, as an inheritance. Sir Edward did not inherit his father’s unusual preferences, and as a result, the mansion was shrunk and made more straightforward under Sir Edward’s direction. Additionally, Sir Edward was the first person to use the colour red in interior design, a hue that is still used widely in modern interior design.
The structure takes the form of a U, with two side wings and a centre body that is significantly higher. The building’s south side is adorned with a portico that has three arches and is supported by stone columns. A sizable staircase can be seen on the building’s north face, and it leads to the porch. Two of the most breathtaking rooms in Aston Hall are known as the Blue Room and the Red Room. Both of these rooms can be found on the first floor along the central corridor. The Blue Room is furnished in the baroque style and features a substantial quantity of plasterwork in addition to three enormous windows that look out over the park. The Red Room has a rococo-inspired design and features a wide variety of prints and drawings from the era.
In 1643, forces loyal to the Parliament attacked Aston Hall, causing it to sustain significant damage. There is still evidence of some of the damage, including a gaping hole in the staircase that was caused by a cannonball that went through an open window and door before striking the bannister.
Visit Aston Hall
In addition to that, the extensive collection of old furniture that is housed in Aston Hall is well-known. The vast majority of the components are authentic and date back to the time when the building was first erected. There are also several priceless pieces of art, including a portrait by Sir Thomas Holte and a picture by Sir John Ashby, both of whom are renowned artists in their fields.
Before 2012, the Birmingham City Council was in charge of managing Aston Hall; since then, it has been turned into a community museum that is run by the Birmingham Museums Trust. After undergoing substantial renovations between 2006 and 2009, Aston Hall is now accessible to the general public throughout the months of spring, summer, and fall. The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has generously loaned their collections of furniture, paintings, textiles, and metalwork to be shown in a number of the museum’s period rooms. The stadium of Aston Villa Football Club is located less than 200 metres to the north of the home, and it is visible from there.
There are several spectres that haunt Aston Hall.
Numerous witnesses have reported seeing at least a few of the spirits that are said to haunt Aston Hall. A lady took photographs of what appeared to be a ghost in the park in the year 2012. The photograph was uploaded on the internet, where it garnered the attention of thousands of viewers almost instantly. A guy filmed what seems to be a ghost wandering around in one of the rooms of the house in 2013, and the footage was later released online as part of a viral movie. The video was uploaded to the website of the BBC, where it quickly racked up thousands of views.
