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Aston Hall

I remember that back in the day my friends and I used to walk through the grounds of Aston Hall and on into the city centre following games at Villa Park, it took us around 20 or 25 minutes to walk to the Ben Johnson by the old Fire Station (those were the days!). It was a really nice walk and I also played Sunday league cricket several times in the park, with Aston Hall to our right. Those photographs above @ #325 & #328, take me right back there, thanks for posting them. :)
 
From my home on Little Oaks Road, Aston Park was just a short way to walk and it was my playground every day.

Aston Hall was my pretend second home. Lovely memories that no one can take away from me.

I now live in Spain (Mallorca) and after 3 years I'm finally back in Brum just to visit and pay my respects at Witton cemetery to my Jean, my Mom & Dad and brother, That was a lot of flowers I left but well worth every pound I spent to honour them all.

And yes, of course, I am visiting our Aston Hall today!

You all take care............. Derek.
 
mikejee said:
In Oliver Fairclough's book "The Grand Old Mansion", he states that in the 1779s the gardener at the House ranked immediately below the Steward, and that, like his predecessor, he lived in the South lodge. I assume that that was the building on the left in the drawing
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In this 1851 newspaper article it claims one tower was occupied by the gardener, the other by the falconer (!) Every home should have one ! Viv.
 

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G G Jean said:
I can't believe I was born just down the road from here in Holte road , and someone doing my ancestry found we are members of the Holte family from Aston Hall
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crikey jean...how exactly are you connected to the famous holte family

lyn
 
G G Jean said:
:) I bet I'm the only person on the forum to be kicked out of Aston Hall?. I went with friends to the candelight evening. One of them said "let's see how many we can blow out" Guess who got caught and sharply evicted?. :rolleyes: TTFN. Jean.
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what a way to treat a member of the Holte family,bet will you be changing your avita now
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:grinning::grinning:
 
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Until I saw this watercolour of Aston Hall Lodge Gate by Elijah Walton I hadn't fully appreciated the impression of a high level of security being implied by the gateway. Firstly the double gates below the arch are substantial in themselves, but the gates also have serrated, metal prongs along the top edges of the gates.

The perimeter walls however look less substantial. Therefore my guess is the gates were made that way to send a message to ward off possible trespassers.

Viv

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Aston Hall has certainly been a popular subject of paintings, drawings and photographs over time. This 1833 drawing is attributed to T. H. Clarke
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This one is by Alan E Everitt, it was posted earlier in post #186 but without any details. It would have been painted by Everitt before 1882
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This is entitled Study of a Fallen Statue, Aston Hall in pen and ink dated May 1967. Neville Hickman was a Birmingham based collector and artist

At first I thought the drawing was of the head of Pan, the statue in the garden, which at one point lost its head, and was subsequently replaced with a new head. But the features are different. (We had a discussion about Pan's head on this thread here https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/pan-statue-aston-hall.37200/page-2#post-589842)


Perhaps it was a study from a statue that was part of the Aston Hall collection. There were once a number of statues in the glasshouse - see post #182.

It appears to me to be lying on the ground, surrounded by debris.

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mw0njm. said:
i dont go in i am scared of ghosts:)
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I was born to immigrant parents and grew up in Aston. The history of my country of birth has always fascinated me. I can recall the stories about Aston Hall, especially about the Blue Room. Spirits haunting and causing the temperature to dip were common amongst my friends in the 80s. I've visited several times as a kid. A great experience it is. :)
 
We went last Sunday as we have museum memberships and like to pop in for a browse, coffee and perhaps buy something from the shop for our granddaughter. What a disappointment. The girl on the desk, said there was no shop except for a few books by the desk and some secondhand paperbacks for sale, there were no guides (although we didn't need one - the girl on the desk said she could tell us a little about the hall - and the cafe was closed until further notice. I know Birmingham Council is in a mess but the hall is only open for a few hours once a week so surely they could provide a little more for people's entry money than this. I definitely would be a little put out if I was a first time visitor.
 
A peaceful view painted by Keith Ashmore in 1891and called "Aston Hall from the Park". I think the buildings behind the trees on the left-hand side might be Aston Church and the park/hall gateway. And in the centre distance I think there's a steam train passing by. Screenshot_20240911_134241_Chrome.jpg
 
Hi Viv, the gateway faces the front of the hall but the building on the left looks as though it's to the side. Have I got my bearings wrong? I wondered if it could be the Grammar School? Unless it's a bit of artistic licence.
 
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