Aston Hall

Aston Hall is a manor house from the Jacobean period in the Aston district of Birmingham, England. The building spans three floors with richly carved wooden staircases, tall reception rooms, and chambers furnished with period pieces and artworks from different centuries.

Sir Thomas Holte commissioned the estate between 1618 and 1635, when wealthy merchants and gentry built elaborate country seats outside cities. During the English Civil War in 1643, Parliamentary forces attacked the building and left damage on the facade and interior.

The name comes from the medieval place name Aston, referring to its eastern location beyond the city walls. Visitors today walk through rooms furnished as wealthy families lived here over centuries, from the spacious drawing room to the bedchamber.

The house opens on weekends and Fridays, giving enough time to explore the rooms at a relaxed pace. Access is through a short staircase at the main entrance, and the upper floors are reached via the historic wooden stairs.

The oak staircase still shows marks left by a cannonball from the 1643 attack, a rare trace of military violence in an English country house. This detail reminds visitors of the time when political conflicts reached even private estates.

Location: Birmingham

Inception: April 1635

Architects: John Thorpe

Architectural style: Jacobean architecture, Elizabethan architecture

Operator: Birmingham City Council

Part of: Birmingham Museums Trust

Address: Trinity Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6JD

Website: http://birminghammuseums.org.uk/aston

GPS coordinates: 52.50630,-1.88436

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:26