Sunday 7 February 2010

Aston Hall, Birmingham


Showing a complete ignorance of architectural style, I thought Aston Hall was a Victorian building until I tried to find out a little more about it.  Then I looked at it more closely.  In fact it is Jacobean and building started in 1618.  It wasn't finished for 17 years.  It is classified as Grade I listed, the most protected of historic buildings.

It has a number of other claims to fame:
  • King Charles stayed there just before the battle of Edgehill, the first battle of the civil war.
  • The staircase was damaged by a cannonball during the war and the damage can still be seen.
  • The elder son of James Watt lived there for a time.
  • It was became the first country house to be owned by a municipality when it was bought by Birmingham City Council in 1864.
  • Queen Victoria was not amused when a tightrope walker fell and was killed not long after the queen had visited to open the building officially.
The building has recently undergone a major renovation.  There are some pictures of the work on Flickr.

The card itself is clearly postmarked Birmingham and dated 8 May 1906.

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7 comments:

  1. Oh wow - perhaps that means the buildings at Kings College at Guys Hospital are Jacobean too as they have very similar styling. I would love to go to Aston to take some photos - it is stunning.

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  2. @Mike, thanks for visiting. :)

    @Emm, if you look carefully you can just about see some patterned brickwork, criss-cross, though the card doesn't show it up well. Apparently the place is totally surrounded by Birmingham now, a 50+ acre site. It must be a great place for the city.

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  3. Thanks for sharing this. I'd personally love to be able to recognize architectural styles or eras. The only one I can identify without fail is art deco, mostly because I'm not a fan, lol.

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  4. It was nice for find your postcard blog today and know that postcard collecting is alive and well.

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  5. Hii..Its so wonderful to read about your experiences....Looking forward to reading your future posts and nice to know a fellow expat blogger.
    I would also like to add a link to your blog in my resources section. Do let me know if it is alrite.

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  6. I have seen some Baroque structures that look like this. However, Jacobian does fit the appearance.

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Welcome to my postcard collection! I love hearing what you think of the cards - but spam WILL be deleted.

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