Blakesley Hall

 Recently D and I visited Blakesley Hall in Yardley which is a timber framed Tudor house and one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham.

Blakesley Hall was built in 1590 by Richard Smallbroke in what was then a rural parish.  The house remained in the family until 1685 when it was sold to the Reverend Dr. Henry Greswolde, the Rector of Solihull.  For the next 200 years the Greswolde family continued to live at Malvern Hall, Solihull, and Blakesley Hall was let to a succession of tenant farmers.  In the 1880's, after a series of short tenancies, the hall and farm buildings became quite derelict and in need of repair.  The hall was sold in 1899 to Henry Donne who renovated the house and gardens.  In 1900 Donne sold the hall to Thomas Merry, a Paint and Varnish Manufacturer from Birmingham. He and his family lived in the house until Thomas died in 1932 when the Hall was sold to Birmingham Common House Trust who were acting on behalf of Birmingham Corporation.

The hall opened as a museum in 1935 although it was closed from 1941 to 1957 following extensive damage from a falling bomb during the Second World War.  Today the museum is run by Birmingham Museums.

There is a lovely mural in the Visitor Centre.

 

We had a wander round the gardens first. 

There are many apple trees in the orchard and

a herb garden laid out geometrically with a C18th sundial at the centre.  The herb gardens have been planted with lavender and herb species that would have been used by the Smallbrokes for cooking, brewing and medicines.

We then had a look round the interior of the hall.  You can wander around and explore at your leisure following a very interesting talk by a volunteer on the history of the house.

  

The hall is laid out to look like a medieval hall.  The table dates from 1620.  The original floor of the tudor house would have been made of beaten earth strewn with rushes, straw and herbs.

The Great Parlour was used for dining and entertaining.  The painted wall hangings depict the Old Testament Story of Joseph and his brothers.  Wall hangings were used for decoration and to keep out draughts.

By 1684 keeping caged birds was popular. Magpies were among the species kept as they could be taught to talk.  (It seems horribly cruel to keep a large bird like a magpie in a cage).

The Little Parlour would have been used by women of the household to sit and chat.

The Buttery contains a replica cider press based on a C17th woodcut.

The mistress of the house would dry herbs and spices and make medicines, perfumes etc in the still room.

The Boulting Room was used to store flour and make bread dough.  Boulting is a term used to describe the process of separating the flour from the bran.  In Tudor times bread was served with every meal.

The Kitchen

Upstairs the Long Gallery is quite unusual as smaller houses of this size usually had first floor rooms which led into each other.

The bedroom known as the "Painted Chamber" contains wall paintings dating back to when the house was built.  Wall paintings were frequently used as wall decorations from Roman times until the C17th when it became more fashionable to hang textiles.  Colours in paintings used in the C16th were derived from natural and mineral pigments.  The paintings at Blakesley Hall are worn but include pomegranates, lilies and an inscription.

The paintings were covered in plaster  in the C17th and were only rediscovered in the 1950's when the house was being repaired after bomb damage.

The attic room where servants slept.

The Far Chamber has painted cloths on the walls - the designs and colours are based on the C16th wall paintings in the Painted Chamber. The tester bed is a replica of one from the late C16th or early C17th.

Remains of an old chimney

The rock in the photo below is known as the Gilbertstone.  It is a glacial erratic boulder which would have been moved from its original location during the last Ice Age and as the ice melted it was left behind in its new location.

However, there are legends associated with the rock!  Hundreds of years ago a giant lived in North Wales who had heard tales from people who travelled to the Midlands of England about how wonderful it was there.  He decides to travel there to see if the stories are true.  In case he is homesick he puts a pebble from home in his pocket so that he can take it out and look at it.  He walked on and on and on and eventually arrived in Birmingham and here he finds an idyllic spot with gently sloping hills, woodlands and fields.  He takes the stone from his pocket and puts it down on the ground saying this will be the new home for me and my stone.

There have been sightings of a few ghosts at Blakesley  Hall - visitors have seen a woman in a bluish gown walking the grounds as though she is searching for something or someone.

During a party a few years ago a guest noticed that one of the guests a woman was talking to a strange looking man.  A short while later the woman became ill and almost fainted.  Apparently the man she had been speaking too suddenly vanished right before her eyes! The party host had recognised the strange looking man who appeared in an old family painting and who had died 150 years previously!

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Reference: Guidebook to Blakesley Hall

"West Midland Folk Tales" by Cath Edwards

Blakesley Hall, Old Yardley Village and a Trip to the Theatre

One afternoon last week I paid a visit to Blakesley Hall in the Yardley area of Birmingham. The Hall was built in 1590 by a Richard Smallbroke and it remained in the family until 1685 when it was sold to the Reverend Dr Henry Greswolde, the Rector of Solihull. For the next 200 years the Greswolde family continued to live at Malvern Hall in Solihull and Blakesley Hall was let to a succession of tenant farmers. In the 1880's, after a series of very short tenancies, the hall and farm buildings became quite derelict and in need of repair. The Hall was sold in 1899 to a Henry Donne who renovated the house and gardens. In 1900 Donne sold the Hall to Thomas Merry, a paint and varnish manufacturer. Merry and his family lived in the Hall until Thomas died in 1932 when the Hall was sold to the Birmingham Common Ground Trust who were acting on behalf of Birmingham Corporation.

The Hall opened as a museum in 1935 although it was closed from 1941 to 1957 following extensive damage from a falling bomb during the Second World War.

A replica cider press in the kitchen area.

The Boulting Room where flour was stored and bread made. You will notice the large amount of cobwebs - every room in the house was covered in them - created by staff to make the house look spooky for Halloween. Must admit I wouldn't fancy having to remove them all!

The Kitchen

The Hall

One of the rooms contained an interesting exhibition about the Merry family and events during World War 1 - it was a bit too dark for photos but I did get a photo of this poster in the Hall.

Great Parlour

Little Parlour

The Far Chamber

and a view of the geometric herb gardens from the bedroom window.

The bedroom known as the "Painted Chamber" contains wall paintings dating back to when the house was built. Wall paintings were frequently used as wall decorations from Roman times until the 17th century when it became more fashionable to hang textiles. Colours used in the 16th century paints were derived from natural and mineral pigments, for example, indigo, red and white lead, red and yellow ochre, umber and carbon black. The paintings included flowers, foliage, fruits, mythical beasts ad moral texts. The paintings at Blakesley were plastered over probably in the late 17th century and were only re-discovered in the 1950's when the house was being repaired after bomb damage. It was too dark to get photos of the Painted Chamber but there was a remnant of one of the wall paintings in another room.

The Long Gallery - this is quite unusual as smaller houses of this age normally had first floor rooms which opened directly into each other.

The Herb Garden

If you enlarge the photo you might be able to see a ghostly looking figure in the top window on the left. I assume (well hope!) that this had been put there by museum staff in recognition of fast approaching Halloween.

There are a few ghosts associated with Blakesley Hall - visitors have occasionally seen a woman in a bluish gown walking the grounds and looking as though she is searching for something or someone. During a party a few years ago a guest noticed that a member of the group was talking to a strange-looking man. A short while later the woman became ill and almost fainted. Apparently the man she had just been talking to had suddenly vanished right before her eyes. The party host had recognised the strange looking man - he appeared in an old family painting in the Hall and had died 150 years previously!


This rock is known as the Gilbertstone - it is a glacial erratic boulder that was moved from its original location and was carried by glaciers during the Ice Age. As it the ice melted it was left lying in its new location.

Legends tell of a giant called Gilbert who lived during the reign of King John. It was said he had moved the stone and deposited it so that it changed the boundary in a way that would be to his advantage.

Sadly, the auriculas looked in need of some tlc!

Before leaving I visited an exhibition showing photos etc. of more recent history at the Hall.

A water-colour of Blakesley Hall by Allen Edward Everitt - probably painted in the 1840's.

Blakesley Hall around 1865 - one of the first photographs taken of the Hall. At this time the Hall was rented out to tenant farmers.

1875 - A more prosperous time for the house when many modernisations took place when it was the residence of Alderman William Clements.

A photo taken around 1890 by George Wilkes from nearby Stechford - showing the rural setting which once surrounded the hall.

The next two photos were taken around 1890 and show the hall in serious need of repair and renovation even though it was still being used as a farm.

A photo from 1900 when the Hall had been renovated by Henry Donne

The Merry Family haymaking around 1910.

A Mural in the Visitor Centre

After leaving the Hall I paid a very brief visit to Old Yardley Village.

The Trust School at Yardley Parish Church. By AD 1260 there is evidence of a school existing in Yardley. The masters were monks from Maxstoke Priory. The building in the photos dates from the 15th century and would originally have been a Guild Hall. The school closed in 1908 and the building is now used as Parish Rooms with a Youth Club held on the first floor.

15th century St Edburgha's Church which wasn't open.

Since D changed jobs and no longer gets free tickets a trip to the theatre is now an occasional treat rather than a regular occurrence. Last night D and I went to Birmingham Rep to see "Dangerous Corner" - a play by JB Priestley. It was a really good night out and we both thoroughly enjoyed the play. It was well-performed with an excellent cast. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as "An Inspector Calls" but there again that was probably one of the best plays we have ever seen at the Rep - so a hard act to beat! :)

One final piece of news I've finally after a year of planning managed to acquire a Bridge Camera - well at least a half share of one! D is very keen on photography but up until now has made do with the occasional use of my dslr and the ancient 11 year old family Fuji Digital camera - which may have been a top of the range model when it came out but now appears exceedingly dated with very few features. I suggested to D that we go halves on a bridge camera so he can be far more creative with his photography and it will give him chance to decide if he wants to continue with this or make the more expensive purchase of a dslr. My share of the camera will be a Christmas/Birthday present from B albeit an early one!!! Hopefully, there won't be a problem with D and I both wanting to use it at the same time as when we go out for the day I will continue to use my own camera just using the Bridge Camera when I go to Nature Reserves when I am usually on my own any way. With any luck it will save me picking the wrong lens or lugging a bag of them round with me!