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Aston Hall

A sketch from William Dugdale's 1656 "The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated". It's the view from the south-east side of the Park. Not a view you often see depicted of Aston Hall. Dugdale names the building as Aston House. Viv.

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Been collecting together a few more images of Aston Hall. The first image is dated 1894 and the second image is from a magic lantern side c1910. Afraid no dates for the other two. The third image is nice, showing the lawns set up for an outside concert.

As an aside, I understand there was an Asembly Room in the Lower Grounds which was used for events and entertainments whilst the Hall itself was, at that time, just a museum and gallery. Now it's used for all aspects. And good to see it used in that way too. Viv.
 

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I'm probably one of the few Brummies born in Aston who has never been to see Aston Hall. That said, I feel as if I know the place like the back of my hand as it was the playground of my mother and her two elder brothers. Because they were well behaved, there was never any problem with admittance, and she would tell us that her brothers would come up with all sorts of ghost stories in an effort to scare her. This was before World War I. I've also found a family tree member who was working & living there on the census.

Maurice
 
If it's 80,000 with the light's off, how much would it be with them on!

I've asked several times if I can investigate Aston Hall and got the same answer every time, a big fat NO.
 
Famous Brum Brewers Ansells were based in Aston,partly on the former grounds of Aston Hall
And taking as there logo a squirrel.
This was on the crest of Thomas,s Holte who Owned Aston Hall,
The Home end at Aston Villa,s ground is called the Holte End
 
This is from Look and learn.com

"A secret room in Aston Hall, Warwickshire, could only be discovered by chance, unless one knew the secret. A beautifully carved chair which seems to be standing against the wall is in fact fixed to it. Pressure on a certain part of the carved panelling above it releases a spring and the chair swings out. The chair is actually fixed to a door which leads into a minute room under the panelling".

Do we have a picture of it? Viv.
 
Hi viv
Many years ago as i was growing up a friend and neibour to us which incidently
We are still family friends even the sibbling today are still in contact
I did mention this room and chair over ten years ago at aston hall there parents
Told us and also my mother did also bring up at some time before when we asked about it
About the chair and room , and in those early years of the 1900s
They used to do the guided tours around the completely hall and there was a passage way
Behind that chair a panel and a passage way ,
And on the last occasion there was a lady murderedsome where along the passage
From that day what ever the date or year it was closed off and they never took people
Down there again and there was an concealed door down the back of grave yard
Where they say they would run from attack
I was a choir boy at the Aston parish church for years myself and the other lads within the choir
Always from time to time come out and investigate and found this very low in the ground
Black heavvy door way down the back of the grave yard with a very heavvy lock on it
When miss burrows and miss rice whom was connected to the Aston parish church
Came out and called us back andsaid never go down thete again also the one time vicar
At the time i beleive he became the first cannon of birmingham a couple of years ago
I have got alot of knowledge around Aston Hall on its hstory as well
And of an old Aggered old lady whom appeared in view on a grave stone
With a candlebra screaming and shouting police came with dogs and the fire brigade
With big search lights but she disapeared there was crowds whom wittnessed it
Also when queen victora came to visit i have info, from a statement she made
Thanks for your info viv i always watch your threads
Have a nice day best wishes Alan,,,,,Astonian,,,,
 
Aston Hall
Sir Thomas Holte began to build Aston Hall in 1618. And took up residence in 1631
Although it was not complete until 1635
The Holte family lived in Aston for Nearly 200 Years
By the Middle of the Fifteeth Century the Holtes Owned Mannors in
Aston and Duddeston
The Home end of nearbye Villa Park is known as the Holte End
Many of the the Holte Tombs are in Aston Parish Church.
Thomas Holte was Nighted in 1603.
In 1611 Sir Thomas was rich enough to buy the title of baronet, James 1.
Used the new baronets ,s Money to Raise an Army and Quel troubles in Ireland,
Royalist Holte saw his home besieged by parlimentarians in1643 and he appealed to the Govenor
Of Dudley Castle for forty musketeers to help him defend the House,
There is a hole in the grand stair case where a cannon ball went through a window,
An opendoor and into the Bannister,
Thomas Holte encouraged the Iron industry by having a forge on the river Tame, He also had the old medieval fields enclosed,
Sir Thomas disinherited his eldest Living son, Edward, for Marrying
The Bishop of London,s daughter, Elizabeth king,
The House remained in the family until 1817 when it was sold and leased by James Watt Jnr,
Son of the worlds famous industreal Pioneer James Watt,
It was Bought by the city in1864 becoming the first historic country house
To Pass into the municipal Ownership
Best wishes Astonian,,,,,,,,
 
Astonian said:
Aston Hall
Sir Thomas Holte began to build Aston Hall in 1618. And took up residence in 1631
Although it was not complete until 1635
The Holte family lived in Aston for Nearly 200 Years
By the Middle of the Fifteeth Century the Holtes Owned Mannors in
Aston and Duddeston
The Home end of nearbye Villa Park is known as the Holte End
Many of the the Holte Tombs are in Aston Parish Church.
Thomas Holte was Nighted in 1603.
In 1611 Sir Thomas was rich enough to buy the title of baronet, James 1.
Used the new baronets ,s Money to Raise an Army and Quel troubles in Ireland,
Royalist Holte saw his home besieged by parlimentarians in1643 and he appealed to the Govenor
Of Dudley Castle for forty musketeers to help him defend the House,
There is a hole in the grand stair case where a cannon ball went through a window,
An opendoor and into the Bannister,
Thomas Holte encouraged the Iron industry by having a forge on the river Tame, He also had the old medieval fields enclosed,
Sir Thomas disinherited his eldest Living son, Edward, for Marrying
The Bishop of London,s daughter, Elizabeth king,
The House remained in the family until 1817 when it was sold and leased by James Watt Jnr,
Son of the worlds famous industreal Pioneer James Watt,
It was Bought by the city in1864 becoming the first historic country house
To Pass into the municipal Ownership
Best wishes Astonian,,,,,,,,
Click to expand...


This is all very well, but did you dare to go on the tour? 14 Sept 2016

"Hero, villain, murderer, or simply misunderstood? Who is the man behind the myths? Aston Hall, a stunning Jacobean Mansion was built for Sir Thomas Holte, the man with an incredible reputation, find out his side of the story as he takes you on a guided tour. Are you brave enough to ask if he chopped his cook’s head in two, or if he locked his daughter away in the attic?"

https://birminghamheritageweek.co.uk/14-sept/meet-sir-thomas-holte/
 
Hi pedro
No I did not go on the september tour i missed it owing to personal matters
But what i will tell you i have been on many ,many tours over the years of my life
Way back in the fifties and the candle lights visions
I am a born and bred Astonian, lived almost about a mile from it all my life virtually
And regarding info, i have learnt and heard the stories from birth of childhood
I have spent many thousands of hours in and around the building and the grounds
Even the rear sections of the gardens and the one time series of multigarden steps
That are no longer there long before the alterations that will bring you from the rear
Of the park at the top end and around to the arch way
My mother and father took me many times regular to the Aston hall and told us of the rooms and virtualy the history of the place and the stories behind the scenes
I have spent thousands of hours after school hours in the winter months instead of going home from school
Upper Thomas Street straight there till dusk
Regarding asking a man of his knowledge you cannot beat the personal knowledge of a native
,a local person whom lived the periods of time from your elders
An out sider from a person information is what they have read
And the people whom i refer to as local people are those who were my elders of aston before my time
So i say the mystry man as learnt is knowledge from where
mine is first hand from the older generations whom was born long before me
Best wishes Astonian,,,,Alan,,,
 
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Astonian said:
Hi pedro
No I did not go on the september tour i missed it owing to personal matters
But what i will tell you i have been on many ,many tours over the years of my life
Way back in the fifties and the candle lights visions
I am a born and bred Astonian, lived almost about a mile from it all my life virtually
And regarding info, i have learnt and heard the stories from birth of childhood
I have spent many thousands of hours in and around the building and the grounds
Even the rear sections of the gardens and the one time series of multigarden steps
That are no longer there long before the alterations that will bring you from the rear
Of the park at the top end and around to the arch way
My mother and father took me many times regular to the Aston hall and told us of the rooms and virtualy the history of the place and the stories behind the scenes
I have spent thousands of hours after school hours in the winter months instead of going home from school
Upper Thomas Street straight there till dusk
Regarding asking a man of his knowledge you cannot beat the personal knowledge of a native
,a local person whom lived the periods of time from your elders
An out sider from a person information is what they have read
And the people whom i refer to as local people are those who were my elders of aston before my time
So i say the mystry man as learnt is knowledge from where
mine is first hand from the older generations whom was born long before me
Best wishes Astonian,,,,Alan,,,
Click to expand...

Alan I would trust you before Wikipedia!

The picture above was taken during a pea souper of the 1960s by my late uncle. I was born in Park Road, my father in Cheshire road, and my mother in Holte Road.

However my mother would have said that you have to be a "bit" sceptical about some stories handed down by oral history from so long ago.

So did he chop the cook's head in two, and lock up his daughter?
 
Hi pedro
Many thanks for repying to my thread
Yes i entire agree in what you have said you have to work out what is fiction and factor
Or could i say sort out the chaff from straw
It could be the case of what our ancesters was told during those years of that period
During the reign of the Holte family
I can fecall the moment we was all walking to the front entrance
And where there was an opening by thearch way on theright handside of the approach
My father with my mother and us kids pointed to the up stairs window where they reconned she was kept
Under lock and key and as we ventured further around he told us of the story of the chair
And of the tunnel or should i say the passage way where once they done the guided tour
And the disapearing lady was found dead
And from that day tneynever openend that room asgain for tourist
When i got older in my life i used to go regular to aston hall and the tours
I really love that place and always do and i shall be for ever going there
On the gardens there are a series of steps coming down the lawns from peter pan
I will show you a picture of years ago whith gentlmen at the bottom of some steps
And when you see the steps and if they walked to tnere left along that path there was a series of steps going down a level to the top end of the hill of the park
I will do my best to get this picture put on by 7/30 to night
Thanks pedro for your reply and i hope you have a nice day
I have just come back from run down kidderminster it was very depressing
Best wishes Astonian,,,Alan,,,,,,
I
 
Hi All
Today i drove around some parts of brum of the inner city areas
came off at the motorway for minworh,and found it quite reasonably and respectable looking
and travelled towards tyburn road which i found it about yukki and turned towards the aston resser
i found they have openend up the roads and made them wider and pleaseant, and glance towards the Resser
and i emediately thought of my days fishing there as a nipper and many sundays with my old man and going on the bikes
any way i travelled on and heading and looking for the kingedward pub,but i was surprized they finaly destroyed it and removed it
traveling up the Aston hall road the oldouses have gone wide half building sites as you progressed along
heading to the aston parish church it looked great as it as always in my life of growing up and being apart of that church
from birth to my youth and being a choir boy there and being baptise and my family being married there for generation
aunts and uncles and cousins
then i turned right to the big parks, meaning Aston park and of course the shrine of a park Aston villa ground
it looked good,as i was looking to aston park passing slowly
i could see up the hill where the siding of Aston Hall gardns used to be there there was alot of renovations and extensions going on
does any body know what they are doing and creating because that side i recall the garden steps
which was a seies of wide and steep one with shrubs and foilage was there now they have all been torn out

i did not driving up from there to the villa cross section ,what i was happy to see that the very old stork pub is still standng
could that become a grade building owing to its age from the beginning it wa built
got to Hockley brook and springhill drove up carver street and down the sand pitts it was drab and dirty
and it was tottally drab envoiroment my old school is still standing Ickneild street on the brook
i had alot of memories of old brum and no matter what great memos it gave me
i do not think i would ever come back to stay
i surpose i should get myself down there and visit and see for myself what they are doing to my beloved
Aston, and Aston Hall Astonian;;;;
 
I have been reading this thread with great interest. Almost everything mentioned by one poster, can be found in the many publications that have appeared over the years. Most of them however, as the writers will point out, have no proper basis in fact, and should be treated as such. Old and dubious stories, are the making of urban myths, growing ever more fanciful with each telling. I may have missed something in my education here, for how can you claim to have " first hand knowledge ", when the tale you are relating, is already several generations old. Just because you were born, or lived in an area, doesn't make you an expert on the subject. I wouldn't dream of quoting my relatives stories as the sole source, and consequently, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Sir Thomas Holte was undoubtedly a complex character, ruthless at times, as the period he lived in, could indeed be described as a brutal one. Did he really lock away his Daughter for years, or hack his Cook to death? He was unlikely to have got away with a murder, titled man or not, for the Law at this time was quite clear on the matter. I would however believe, that he locked up his daughter for a while, (there are many others in his position who did the same) to prevent a marriage that he dis-approved of, and would bring no advantage to the family fortunes. On the whole, I would heed Pedro's mother's advice, and take the lot with a very large pinch of salt.
 
Hi Pedro
i beleive the version of old Holtie locking his daughter up in the bedroom for what ever reason,s
but i do not beleive they killed the cook, at some point in history times there was a murder of a lady
whilst on a tour there through what was a secret passage way but that would have been in the late 1800,s / 190O,s
when they first years of doing these walks arounds ,and for that reason they boarded up the passage which was once behind a chair
what chair i do not know but it was a pannelled wall which was in the main drawing room
which used to be off the left of the main entrance
they opened up the old kitchen years ago you could go in and get a cup of tea or coffee and you would have seen the old
Cooks untensils and huge old mixing bowls it was very cold in there i can tell you that
you could also walk around the huge back gardens and there garden beddings
eventulay you would come to a sreies of wide and open steep suporting giant urns on them
and you would walk through some bushes which was on the very high ground of the park
and there was a little narrow trek trail to follow arond the park which would lead you to the side entrance
of the house high up and the door way would have been the central pathe concreted,
which ran all the way down to the main gates directly in front of the Aston parish church
there was a story of asking people whom are brave enough to sleep in the bed room above the house for one hundred pounds
but never published if there was any takers
as i said i was passing yesterday it loked like alot of extension was going on around the side entrances
i will wait go and look when the weather pickes up
best wishes Alan,,,Astonian,,,
 
Hi Pedrocut
I have to say thank you for putting this spectacual picture of Aston hall
i have to say i have not seen this one before, and i have to down load it for myself
If you do not mind,
i would imagine it was very ghostly living there in isolatation in the middle of no where
mind you saying that ,its the sort of situation i would dearly like to live
Away from the hustle and bustle of the human race
I wonder if there was to drives into that place in those days
I know it would have been the main gates from the church and i can recall the big railings around the frontage as a lad with
the arch and double gated
but i wonder whether or not a drive in from albert road all the way down to the house in those days
could it been introduced for the public use after the council took it over
some one mentioned the big huge drinking cup introduced on a thick heavvy chain on that exit
if heading out that way to albert road and i can recall them removing it and returfing that section
As that section of the drive or should i sayhe foot pathe walking down was not lawned in those days
It was all shrubs and trees lining the way down to the house
as we was in there virtualy every day of the week after school and most definately we was with our parents
and after school times on our own as we all went to upper thomas street
yes there was a side exit as i said in previuos threads that take yo around those trees you see
at the top right hand of the picture , it went right around to the right
it was a narrow pathe and you would then come to bedding beds for shrubs of huge plants
and there was a series of wide victorian stepps with a a walling either side as you walked up
there was about five seres of sections you would walk up with a bend on each section so in fact you would have walked
Up on a bend bearing right all the time to higher ground level
and then was the view of the back of the house over loking peter pan playing his flute
it was a statue of him on a fountain right down the middle of the lawns
you would of course come to the servants entrace which in later years became the publice tea room as it was then
as they openened it in the very years of taking over all you could get was a slice of cake and a good old fashionioned
cup of tean and kids got a fizzy soda pops only oh a packet of crisp
good old smiths crisp with the little blue bag of salt in it
once again perdrocut thanks a million,, Astonian,,,,,
 
IMG_1247.jpg
Pedrocut said:
View attachment 110572 An old illustration...
Click to expand...

The illustration shown comes from the book The Making Of Birmingham (Robert Dent, 1894). In this chapter he is describing the first quarter of the 1800s, as always it seems with Birmingham, a time of change. He quotes a ballad written by a Mr Dodds..."I can't find Brummagem."

This is one of the Brummagem Ballads featured on the CD by The Farriers and Kempton. I have uploaded the page, but it may need to be zoomed.
 
Hi, I don't remember that bandstand at all as I grew up playing in Aston Park from early 60's onwards.

I seem to remember in more or less in the same position a statute of Peter Pan with a flute .....I think!?
 
Chances are there was a bandstand out of shot when this photo was taken. The postcard shows seating arranged for a concert. But afraid there's no date for the image. Possibly 1920s ? Viv.

image.jpeg
 
The Historic England site tells us. Viv.

"The garden south of the Hall became a flower garden and shrubbery in the late C18. A Victorian bandstand was removed in 1924".
 
Might show on an early large scale map - mikejee - unfortunately all my mother's side of the family are gone - they grew up playing there before the First World War!

Maurice
 
Yes Maurice. Surprised it was removed at that time. Thought it was one of the many popular activities visitors would have enjoyed. A further extract from Historic England gives us some hints. Viv.

From the mid 1920s considerable changes were made to the grounds, following a park scheme proposed in 1924 by Birmingham Civic Society. These changes were designed to cope better with the heavy use they sustained, and to create gardens whose layout and planting would reflect the C17 character of the Hall.
 
So wasn't there for very long. Thanks Mike. Although it's a pity it was removed, at least the reasons for removing it were understandable if it was to restore the gardens to their 17th century character. Viv.
 
AstonB6, Peter Pan is a little further away from the hall. He's in the circle shown on the left of Mike's map. You go down some steps from the hall itself.
I seem to remember some pictures showing a conservatory on Pan's side of the hall running along what is now a flat area. I think it was where stuffed animals and other artefacts were kept.
 
Thanks, Mike, and now the full story is confirmed. I'm sure maintenance was a factor - the wooden decking is expensive to replace and doesn't have a very long life.

Maurice
 
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