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Aston Hall

Stokkie said:
Like many older men I don't have much of a sense of smell. This is often a blessing. I have smelled tallow candles, so if Aston Hall used these for authenticity, then they do smell horribly.
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If they used tallow candles in the distant past, the smell should linger. The small of historic building that Lyn refers to could be a blend of candles, fireplace smoke and rot or dampness. The candles smell is basically a gas that would permeate fabrics and wood for that matter.
 
lmr3103 said:
I went to one Candlelight evening in December about 15 years ago. It was magical but also the coldest night of the year brrrrr! Luckily I’d taken some whisky miniatures…. Purely for medicinal reasons of course…. !
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yes of course it was Lynn we believe you;):D
 
Stokkie said:
Like many older men I don't have much of a sense of smell. This is often a blessing. I have smelled tallow candles, so if Aston Hall used these for authenticity, then they do smell horribly.
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i have a fantastic sence of smell :eek:my mom always said my nose was too near my :grinning:
 
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As pointed out above by Viv (HERE) the Great Vases on the upper terrace of Aston Hall are still in reasonable shape. They were designed by The Birmingham Civic Society (BCS) and carved by a master and students of the School of Art (Birmingham) and were placed in position in 1927:

great vasesA.jpg Vases on the West Terrace of Aston Hall in 1927

In 1927 the BCS had designed the formal layout of the gardens which the City built using government grants and a workforce recruited from local unemployed and residents but these grants were not available to fund a fountain and so the BCS contributed £250 (equivalent spending power today of about £20,000) towards erecting a fountain of Pan as a central feature of the gardens west of the Hall. Designed by the BCS it was carved in Portland stone by William Bloye and unveiled by Sir Gilbert Barling (Vice President of the Civic Society) on May 26th 1934. It was vandalised in 2005 and Pan's head lost.

1790974800018.png BCS sketch design for the fountain

1790974857161.pngxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 1790974896719.png

xxxxxxxPan Fountain in 1934xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDigital images made from the original photograph (right as if seen in Portland Stone)

Ref: Hayward, W. The Work of the Birmingham Civic Society from June 1918 to June 1946, pp 67-8
 
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