Blakesley Hall
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Blakesley Hall (grid reference SP130861) (a Grade II* listed building) is a Tudor hall on Blakesley Road in Yardley, Birmingham, England. It is one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham and is a common example of Tudor architecture with the use of darkened timber and wattle-and-daub which is painted white.
The hall is a timber-framed farmhouse built in 1590 (when Yardley was in Worcestershire) by Richard Smalbroke, a man of local importance to Yardley. His family farmed at the hall and had other buildings in the surrounding area which were lost over time.
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.
It was last renovated in 2002 with the extension of a visitor centre and car park.
An adjacent barn (Grade II listed) to the east of the hall has been renovated and is used as an exhibition hall for a group of photographers where they display their photographs of Birmingham locations.
As a Community Museum, that is branch museum, of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery it is owned and run by Birmingham City Council and is open to the public (not Mondays, except Bank Holidays) without charge.
[edit] Sources
- By the Gains of Industry - Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery 1885-1985, Stuart Davies, ISBN 0-7093-0131-6
[edit] External links
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