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Aston Hall

Hi Ladypenlope
You have beaten me to it regarding peter pan on the fountain , as i was going to suggest last evening
but it was late i think it was mike and myself on late night for that spur of a moment
I decide to call it a day and wait until today and just logged in and lord behold me you beat me to the post ha ha
yes my lady ,i know the probverb ,the early worm catches the worm , ha ha again,
And yes it was on the rear side of the Hll and yes you went down two flights of steps
when you came out of the hall you would walk towards the green lawns
and they went down in two tier levels and peter pan on the fountain playing is flute was on the lowe level
the first lawn you approached was actualy the crown bowling crown bowling green for championship
leauges competitions
yes you did go down the steps for that one for player there was large wooden benches
postioned high on ground level for team members to sit and watch and wait for there time
and for spectators and family members
You would walk across that green on the far left and there would be another series of steps about six wide
steps to step on that green which was well mowed to high stannard and peter pan was in the middle of that green
the parker keeper alway kept an eye on those greens and no one was allowed at any time to trespas
on any of those greens if he seen you he would shout at the top of his voice get off there
and depend on what side he is on he would collar you
but years later they brought horris a big man with his expolice bike to patrol ASTON park
And he was a fast pedaler around that sight no one dare shout back abuse as they did with other parkies
Horris was an expolice officer from digbeth how i knew is name my mother knew him from new cannal street
house partys they used to enterain alot with the police
sadest thing i seen regarding peter pan i think it was mid sixties i went to aston hall and the park
and seen how bad it was run down and peter pan had is arm broken off
As an true Astonian and thorough bred i feel Aston hall is in my heart and soul and blood
have a good day my Lady best wishes to you all , Astonian Alan ,,,
 
A few interior views. The first is King Charles' chamber, the second and third are drawing rooms. Personally could do without all that polishing! Viv.

image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
 
I don't know what other members views are but I could not feel comfortable living in rooms like that, I enjoy walking round admiring the furnishings and works of art, but actually living there - NO. Eric
 
same here eric...enjoy walking round admiring but as a girl born in a back to back house i would feel like a fish out of water:D

lyn
 
Me too. Went there as a youngster and remember feeling in awe of it all. Bears no relation to the average person's life. At that time on visits we simply trasped from room to room. But today, young visitors are encouraged to engage more with these places and I imagine their school trips are much more fun as they get to try on clothes of the period, taste the food etc. The most fun we would have had during a 1950s visit would be to sneak a quick sit on a chair you weren't supposed to sit on! Viv.
 
Tonight AH is hosting a Murder Mystery event. So all your sleuths out there, keep your eyes peeled for future events. May not be everyone's cup of tea but these events all work towards keeping these places viable. Viv.

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Spot on, Eric. Those high ceilings are the killer as heat rises and it's like throwing money down the drain. Some of the rooms in our house here in Crete have ceilings 14 feet high and I rue the day I put up spotlights when I was much younger. Climbing ladders to change bulbs is not much fun when you reach the age of 80 !!

Maurice
 
A couple more slightly 'cosier' photos about the event tonight. Wouldn't want to be the one who gets up in the morning to light that fire. Viv
 

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Lyn,

I don't take chances. We have an electrician coming in, probably next week, to do some other work, so I will probably get him to mount the spots on a plank of wood and then suspend the plank on chains so that the spots are much lower. We have three spots - one focussed on Jan's computer, one on mine, and one on the printer ,which is on a table between us. All three lamps have blown, so we are currently using clip-on table lamps!

To bring this back on topic, and looking at Viv's last picture, I would fancy changing the bulbs in that chandelier fitting either! :-)

Maurice
 
Hi Viv, post #145 murder mystery. What a perfect setting for one of these evenings. We went to one but it was in a modern hotel and although we enjoyed ourselves the venue lacked atmosphere - Aston Hall has that in buckets. Hope it went well and they do more of them.
Aston Hall often has open days and as it's only up the road we try to go to support them. I think I mentioned before that we have a season ticket to Birmingham Museums - cost £42 for both of us for 12 months and we've certainly got our money's worth.
Last year we went to a history day at the hall and met Queen Victoria. Also there was a dressing up box which nobody seemed interested in so we had a go with the props. Soon people were queuing up to do the same. Funny how you can start things off isn't it?
I bet you haven't seen Charles II with glasses before.
 

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Viv, if only his hair was that colour now, it was when we met and nearly as long....

I'll have a look at the vases too when I go.
 
Astonian said:
Hi Ladypenlope
You have beaten me to it regarding peter pan on the fountain , as i was going to suggest last evening
but it was late i think it was mike and myself on late night for that spur of a moment
I decide to call it a day and wait until today and just logged in and lord behold me you beat me to the post ha ha
yes my lady ,i know the probverb ,the early worm catches the worm , ha ha again,
And yes it was on the rear side of the Hll and yes you went down two flights of steps
when you came out of the hall you would walk towards the green lawns
and they went down in two tier levels and peter pan on the fountain playing is flute was on the lowe level
the first lawn you approached was actualy the crown bowling crown bowling green for championship
leauges competitions
yes you did go down the steps for that one for player there was large wooden benches
postioned high on ground level for team members to sit and watch and wait for there time
and for spectators and family members
You would walk across that green on the far left and there would be another series of steps about six wide
steps to step on that green which was well mowed to high stannard and peter pan was in the middle of that green
the parker keeper alway kept an eye on those greens and no one was allowed at any time to trespas
on any of those greens if he seen you he would shout at the top of his voice get off there
and depend on what side he is on he would collar you
but years later they brought horris a big man with his expolice bike to patrol ASTON park
And he was a fast pedaler around that sight no one dare shout back abuse as they did with other parkies
Horris was an expolice officer from digbeth how i knew is name my mother knew him from new cannal street
house partys they used to enterain alot with the police
sadest thing i seen regarding peter pan i think it was mid sixties i went to aston hall and the park
and seen how bad it was run down and peter pan had is arm broken off
As an true Astonian and thorough bred i feel Aston hall is in my heart and soul and blood
have a good day my Lady best wishes to you all , Astonian Alan ,,,
Click to expand...
Hi Astonian, I wonder if you know how I can find out who worked in Aston HALL? Are there any records kept do you know? Thanks, CHINCH.
 
Hi Chinch
Just picked up your em at this precise moment how far back are you going
if you bear with me a dayor two i will come back to you as i know the person
there will be records kept for sure okay Astonian,,,,
 
Astonian said:
Hi Chinch
Just picked up your em at this precise moment how far back are you going
if you bear with me a dayor two i will come back to you as i know the person
there will be records kept for sure okay Astonian,,,,[/QUOTE
Oh, thanks for that, Astonian. I think I am looking at 1930's, perhaps 1934/1935. I will wait to hear from you. Thanks again, CHINCH
Click to expand...
 
Oh, thanks for that, Astonian. I think I am looking at the early 1930's, possibly, 1934/35. I will wait to hear from you. Thanks again, CHINCH.
 
This is a charming image of Aston Hall. It's a lithograph of 1858 and is by E.A. Everitt. Those towers bear a striking similarity to the Tower of London towers. Viv.

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Hi viv
We are getting great pictures at the moment on here by our great members , but i would like to see the old garden
steps that was down the side of the hall ,i dont think anybody as produced one yet
i say that because of those big vases was on the stair case many years ago on each landing of the series of steps you
walked down , i think there was about five in series the two was at the stop of the garden steps
At that period i was with my father and mother being shown around and i was fasiated by the giant size of them
But of course i do not know now whether or not that side tracks is still there neither the steps going down
to lower grounds , may be one day i will try and get to the park and try and trace them
the steps i knew of then , this of course was in the late forty and very early fiftys
still its great stuff being done by our members , i am very passiate about Aston Hall and its interios and
knowing the history and of course the grounds , plus being Aston park with thousands of hours of memories
i had there as a nipper best wishes Alan ,, Astonian,,,
 
Still looking for your steps Alan, but not found anything yet.

Meanwhile here's a photo of the door (behind the seat) leading to the secret chamber mentioned earlier on this thread. Viv.

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Hi viv,
I do beleive it was behind a chair passage that they used to go in the early 1900 on tour through it
i am not saying it was that particular chair but a study room was mentioned with a hugh wall wich was full of books
and people could stand up in it as they was being guided through , but after that incident it was never used or showed again
As part of the tour , and i can recall in the mid fiftys the ground floor on the entrance
on your left hand side of the building when you walk up to the main entrance
there is two or three rooms and they was being renovated then
Viv on the subject of those hugh Series of garden pathe steps i have mentionioned i would it would be the north end of the rear
of the hall ,if i haave got my naughticals correctly they would be up high and facing the golden ground of the villa
one day this week i will make my way down to the Hall and walk the ground i did to see if they are still there
I surpose they may have gone or altered buy i will be taking my camera and the picture of the are i mean for the stepping
which was of granduer at the time but i will add , i have seen some pictures on here showing alot of alterations
over the years have gone on , still i will see hoping for one sunny day this week best wishes viv,, Alan,,,,Astonian,,,,
 
This 1888 etching by Oliver Baker shows deer in the grounds of Aston Hall. This would have been a romantic view of the deer alongside the Hall as, after Watt junior's death in 1848, the deer herd was dispersed. All the same a nice Christmas etching (entitled "when the snow lay round about deep and crisp and even"). Viv.

image.jpeg
 
Vivienne14 said:
This 1888 etching by Oliver Baker shows deer in the grounds of Aston Hall. This would have been a romantic view of the deer alongside the Hall as, after Watt junior's death in 1848, the deer herd was dispersed. All the same a nice Christmas etching (entitled "when the snow lay round about deep and crisp and even"). Viv.

View attachment 114748
Click to expand...

I took a photo in 2010 from a similar position, looking across Lady Holte's Garden.

https://www.ipernity.com/doc/2254674/44867718
 
Sorry to say that I don't believe in a secret passage within Aston Hall, the chair on posting 176, was in front of a Hidey Hole and nothing else, I have myself been lucky enough to enter the hide in 1968 when we given a guided tour of the hall in my last year at school, the school I attended was only a stone throw away .....(Upper Thomas Street), we were told at that time
 
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