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Castle Bromwich Hall

How nice to have a tree named after you. Lady Bradford lived at Castle Bromwich Hall until the 1930s. She was a friend of Queen Mary. Viv.

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Good Afternoon Everyone
If you stand at the front gates you will the lines of trees right up to Chester Road that formed the driveway to the hall.

Best wishes
Gerald...Garden Gerald.
 
There were two threads on the subject of Castle Bromwich Hall so I have brought them both together. Sadly there are some missing images, so if anyone has replacements please post them here and I will happily repost them in the correct place. Many thanks Viv.
 
An interesting role taken on by the Hall in 1955. It was at that time home to 75 chosen youngsters being trained as engineers for GEC (Witton). They were former grammar school boys who were living at the Hall whilst in their first year of training on an engineering sandwich course.

See press snippet below (sorry, not a great quality image). Sounds idyllic ! Viv.

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According to the quote below from Solihull.gov.uk site, the Hall was also occupied by British troops during WW2

James Lees-Milne, Historic Buildings Secretary of the National Trust 1936-51, describes his visit to Castle Bromwich Hall in September 1945: 'The house ... vacated by the troops ... is in a filthy mess. Every window broken by several bombs dropped in the garden. All the heraldic glass has been destroyed. The most alarming threat is the dry-rot which is rampant.'

The 'bombs dropped in the garden' must have been intended for Castle Bromwich airfield and factory. Surprising the Hall survived WW2. Viv.
 
Some of the other buildings I saw yesterday. This was as close as I could get, as the garden beyond Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens is for guided tours only apparently.

Dovecote / Bakehouse



The Lodge



The Pigeon House seen from Chester Road.

 
In Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens.

Orangery



Summer House



Sphinx seen not far from door to outside of the garden walls.



The other Sphinx seen after the walk outside of the garden walls.

 
thanks ell the hall looks in good condition...must try and visit it one of the days

lyn
 
No problem. The hall is a hotel now, but you can visit the garden. A lot of leaves around on the grass at the moment. Also a maze in the middle of the Upper Wilderness. The route I went round was a dead end, but was an open gate near the start to the middle!
 
Also saw this map of what the hall and gardens looked like in the 18th century. Was in the school room greenhouse area.

 
The Hall has had many distinguished visitors as reported by the South Wales Daily News September 1894. A few details of the Hall/Gardens included. Viv.

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My Eldest son got married there and held his reception 28/12/2014 . A week or so prior to the wedding the families had to go for a trial practice , after practice the owner bought us all a drink Cheers.
 
try this

Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel
4.2 (302) · Hotel
Landscaped 1500s hall with period features, housing elegant rooms, an upscale restaurant & bistro.
Chester Rd
0121 748 0030
 
You can visit the gardens. Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens. I think you need to book a guided tour if you want to go into the old hall.
 
Vivienne14 said:
A few views to add to this thread. The photo refers to the Hall as ‘Bradford’ Hall, presumably named after the Earl of Bradford. Viv.

Hi Viv,

Lovely pictures - many thanks.
Several decades ago my son worked on the restoration of the gardens which were
at that time derelict.
This was referred to as the Dower House, being the residence of the Dowager
Lady Bradford, and when I lived locally was always referred to as 'Lady Bradford's.'
Apparently it was connected to the first telephone line in the area, to allow
communication between Queen Victoria and the prime minister of the day, who
frequently stayed there

Kind regards
Dave
Click to expand...
 
It was bought by BORIS homes and was empty for years. we as youngsters would go in the surrounding grounds.
But there was a watchman who thought he was a cowboy,of the old west. "That's all i am going to say about that"
 
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