Blakesley Hall
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2010) ) |
Blakesley Hall | ||
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OS grid reference SP 13042 86185 | | |
Area | Birmingham | |
Built | 1590 | |
Architectural style(s) | Tudor | |
Governing body | Birmingham Museums Trust | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | ||
Official name | Blakesley Hall | |
Designated | 29 April 1952 | |
Reference no. | 1075711 | |
Blakesley Hall, a grade II*
The hall is a
The hall became a museum in 1935 after centuries of use as a private home and its parlour was renovated. Its purpose was to display the history of the local medieval manors which comprise Birmingham. The Hall was damaged by a bomb in November 1941 causing extensive damage and the museum did not open again until 1957. After research in the 1970s, the Hall was restored to an authentic period appearance and refurbished using furnishings drawn from the 1684 inventory of the contents.
It was last renovated in 2002 with the extension of a visitor centre and car park. Some structural work was also carried out in the hall and modern intrusive features such as the toilet block and the boiler room were removed, the former being relocated into the new visitor centre. This allowed the second smaller parlour to be placed on the ground floor next to the Great Parlour.
Many of the original architectural features of the hall remain such as the herringbone floor. Among the artefacts discovered at the hall are candlesticks and pewter goblets. In the Bedchamber, paintings on the wall from 1590 were discovered after being hidden for centuries, their rediscovery partly in thanks of the bomb damage that loosened a significant amount of plaster in the hall. When renovations took place postwar, inspection of the bedchamber revealed fragments of leather and painted plaster. When the chamber was cleaned up, the walls and timbers were shown to be decorated in a Moorish design. A mock up of how the 'painted chamber' would have looked can be seen in the back bedroom at Blakesley hall.
As a Community Museum, that is a branch museum, of the
The Gilbertstone, moved in local folklore by the Giant named Gilbert (which gave its name to the area of Gilbertstone on the border of Yardley and South Yardley), is displayed in the grounds of the museum.
References
- ^ Historic England. "Blakesley Hall (1075711)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
Sources
- By the Gains of Industry - Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery 1885-1985, Stuart Davies, 1985, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (ISBN 0-7093-0131-6)
- Frommer's England 2005, Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince, 2004 , Frommer's (ISBN 0764568965)
- The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History, Douglas V. Jones, 1994, Westwood Press (ISBN 0-9502636-7-2)
- Blakesley Hall, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, 2006 (leaflet)
- "Medieval Yardley", Victor Skipp, 1970, Phillimore.
External links
- Blakesley Hall Official website
- Blakesley Hall - Service for schools - Educational teaching sessions and resources at Blakesley Hall
- Blakesley Hall for Kids - fun and games for children based on Blakesley Hall
- Architecture of Blakesley Hall- article on the restoration of Blakesley Hall