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Aston Hall & Park  Download The Above Article
By
Peter Walker
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 Aston Hall and Park
This building was commenced by Sir Thomas Holte in April, 1618, and finished in April, 1635, Inigo Jones being accredited with the design. King Charles I., in his days of trouble, paid a short visit to the Hall, his host being punished afterwards by some of Cromwell's soldiers and the malcontents of Birmingham besieging the place in the week after Christmas, 1643. The brick wall round the park, nearly three miles long, but of which there are now few traces left, was put up by Sir Lister Holte about 1750, and tradition says it was paid for by some Staffordshire coal-masters, who, supposing that coal lay underneath, conditioned with Sir Lister that no mines should be sunk within it's boundary. The Hall and Park were held by the various generations of the family till the death of the late Dowager Lady Holte. (For an accurate and interesting description of the edifice see Davidson's "Holtes of Aston.") The Act authorising the sale of the Aston estates received the royal sanction on July 10, 1817, and the sale of the furniture and effects in the Hall was commenced by Messrs. J. and C. Robins on September 22. The sale lasted nine days, there being 1,144 lots, which realised £2,150; the farming stock, &c., being sold afterwards for £1,201. The Hall and Park was put up on April 15, 1818, and was bought by Messrs. Greenway, Greaves, and Whitehead, bankers, of Warwick, the estate of 1,530 acres being let off by them in suitable lots. The herd of deer, reduced to 150 head, was sold December 21. The Hall was rented by Mr. James Watt, son of the James Watt, and for many years it was closed to the public. At his death, in 1848, the changes which had been going on all round for years begin to make themselves seen in the shape of huge gaps in the old wall, houses springing up fast here and there, and a street being cut through the noble avenue of chestnut trees in 1852. By degrees, the park was reduced to 370 acres, which, with the Hall, were offered to the town in 1850 for the sum of £130,000; but the Town Council declined the bargain, though less than one-half of the Park (150 acres) was sold immediately after for more than all the money. In 1857 a "People's Park" Company was started to "Save Aston Hall" and the few acres close round it, an agreement being entered into for £35,000. Many of the 20s. shares were taken up, and Her Majesty the Queen performed the opening ceremony June 15, 1858. The speculation proved a failure, as out of about £18,000 raised one-half went in repairs, alterations, losses, &c., and it would have been lost to the town had not the Corporation bought it in February, 1864. They gave £33,000 (£7,000 being private subscriptions), and it was at last opened as a free park, September 22, 1864. The picture gallery is 136ft. long, by 18ft. wide and 16ft. high. In this and various other rooms, will be found a miscellaneous museum of curiosities, more or less rare, including stuffed birds and animals, ancient tapestry and furniture, &c. From Showells Dictionary of Birmingham 1888
The Hall It's a house but not a home this stately Aston Hall
It's majestic turrets standing upright and so tall
Foundations built on waste slag from Aston furnace
Gathered by workers with many a sweated face
Built by the Holtes on the high ground overlooking Aston
Erected to with stand any siege this red-bricked bastion
Lined with panelled oak and grand oak stairs
Still showing the scars from Cromwell's iron ware
Many owners have passed through these oaken doors
And trod the many rooms with it's polished floors
Queen Victoria as viewed and dined in its splendour
Now Birmingham City Council is it's latest defender
Steeped in history from its early days of Thomas Holte
Stories of secret tunnels, for when in danger they could bolt
It `s alleged one goes down to the old Aston parish church
But this as not been proved by many years of research
The other one went to the old lodge house in Park lane
And this, another tale that also turned out to be in vain
It stands today as a museum of its past glories and tradition
Still towering above Aston on its lofty hill top position
If you have no fear you can visit the tour candlelight
The twinkling candles through ancient windows is a sight
Aston Hall still holds many stories for us to with its history
Lots of things we have not proved remain to this day a mystery
John Houghton 2003
 Aston Hall is the most perfect example of a 17th centaury domestic house The architecture is unspoilt the great Jacobean House still stands as when it was built by Sir Thomas Holte, who was a staunch royalist, It does not take much imagination to picture it as it was when he first built it, work started in 1618 and he took up residence in 1631 but was not completed until 1635, In 1642 he entertained king Charles the 1Because of his loyalty to the King in 1643 The Parliamentarians took umbrage to his Royal patronage and besieged this fine building Sir Thomas made pleas to the Governor of Dudley Castle for help, he in turn sent a motley crew of forty musketeers who proved to be poorly trained and ill-equipped and did not have the stomach for a lengthy fight and after only three days packed their bags and surrendered the marks of the heavy canons can still be seen up on the walls and the smashed carving on the balusters of the Great Staircase. The City Museum are proud of their jewel in the crown and display it for all to see and with out fear of contradiction it is surly in keeping with its truly palatial proportions as when he entertained Kings and Heads of State. Its balustrade staircase sweeps right up to a second story of the house. The panelled long gallery is one of the best examples in the country. The City museums have splendidly refurnished it with the period furniture and paintings of the 17th century in celebration at the time it was encompassed by a park 2,000 acres where herds of deer grazed especially for hunting'
The park though today, perhaps a little incongruously, in its settings it is now a lot smaller but it is, as its always been, A park for
 children to romp and play games and for our elders to walk and enjoy the still spacious grounds even so it still remains an idyllic spot to say that it is in the heart of an industrial and heavy populated area of hundreds of dwellings Also baring in mind it is flanked by the Aston expressway and Aston Villa Football Club By
Bob Houghton
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Aston Hall
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Built by Sir Lister Holte in 1750 and demolished in 1959
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South West View 1868 With The Glass Pavilion
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North East 1847
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Long Gallery
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Great Hall
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Ariel View 1970's
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The Gateway Today
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Holte COA
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Aston Hall By Candlelight
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 Aston Hall
C1906 Postcard |
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Mary Ann Malpass, with her niece Brenda Young
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The Damaged Staircase   |
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The Staircase on the 1st Floor Damaged by Cannonfire
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 Front Entrance
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| Church Lodge My father, worked as a Switching Engineer for the Midlands
 Electricity Board, and was headquartered for a time at Chester Street. He monitored the electric power being used by many of the large factories in Aston and Erdington. He was mobile and visited factory substations all over that area. That fateful day when the outside perimeter walls adjoining the lodge collapsed he was driving by the junction of Trinity Road and Witton Lane just in time to see the wall fall on two passing women and kill them. He jumped out of his van but there was nothing he could do. It was adevastating tragedy and it took him a long time to recover from the shock of seeing such an awful thing happen. He had been called many times to switch off the power after fires and car accidents but this was much more traumatic. The year was l959 I believe.
Jenny Nicol
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The Queens visit to Birmingham The Queens Visit To Birmingham, Warwick Etc Aston Park - From Aston Hall, Birmingham In The Distance
We commence this week, according to promise, the series of Engravings of places of interest in Warwickshire - some of which will be honoured by the presence of our gracious Queen on the occasion of her Majesty's visit next week, to Birmingham. We give also a view of Aston Park, which according to present arrangements, the Queen will inaugurate on Tuesday next. The following particulars regarding the forth-coming Royal are from a Birmingham paper: -
The day fixed for the visit of her Majesty and the Prince Consort to Birmingham is Tuesday, the 15th inst.; and the preparations which are being made in the great industrial capital of the midland counties for this auspicious event are upon a scale of more than ordinary splendour. The Municipal authorities have voted £3000 towards the necessary expenditure, upwards of £1500 of which will be devoted to the decoration of the Townhall alone. The Queen and the Prince Consort will proceed to Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire, the seat of Lord Leigh, the Lord Lieutenant of the county, on Monday, the 14th inst, travelling by the London and North - Western Railway from the Euston square terminus. There they will remain over night, and make their entry into Birmingham on the following day at noon.
Stoneleigh Abbey is a distant from Birmingham about seventeen miles and three from Kenilworth, the nearest point of railway communication to Birmingham. From Kenilworth the royal visitors will travel by railway, and on arriving at the railway station at Birmingham they will be received by Mr Ratcliff, and the Mayor, accompanied by the Town Clerk. Thence they will proceed to the Town Hall, where an address of welcome will be presented from the Corporation, in the presence of about 5000 of the principal inhabitants and the neighbouring gentry. This ceremony over, her Majesty and the Prince Consort, attended by municipal authorities, will be escorted to Aston Hall, two miles distant from the centre of the town, a fine old baronial residence, at which Charles II. Halted two nights on his way to Worcester, where they will take luncheon. Aston Hall, with 35 acres of the adjacent land, as been recently purchased, at a cost of £35,000, raised by subscription among the inhabitants of Birmingham and it's immediate neighbourhood, with the view to the hall being dedicated to the purposes of a museum, library and a picture-gallery and the land for public recreation. The park will be opened by the Queen on the occasion of her visit, and thenceforth devoted to the public use.
From Aston Hall Royal visitors will return to Stoneleigh Abbey, where they will stay over Tuesday night and will proceed to town on the following day, paying a visit to Warwick Castle, the seat of the Earl of Warwick, on the way.
“The inhabitants of Birmingham are looking forward to the Royal visit with intense interest, and the occasion will be of great public rejoicing.
Thousands of the population from all directions for miles around will conveyed to the town by special trains. Upwards of £800 has been expended in restoring the fine peal of bells of the old parish church of St Martins, and will be rung for the first time in honour of her Majesty's visit. After departure of the august visitors a grand banquet will be given in the Town Hall in the evening, at the sole expense of Mr Ratcliff, the Mayor, to about 500 of the principal inhabitants.
 ASTON HALL WARWICKSHIRE
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