Aston Hall’s red-brick exterior was typical of English domestic architecture during the Tudor and Jacobean era. The pleasing variety of heights and alterations draws attention to the mansion’s architectural beauty. For the past 400 years, the Jacobean house has been one of Birmingham, England’s most iconic buildings. Oscar Gonzalez Fuentes/Shutterstock
Situated in a park in Birmingham, England, Aston Hall’s magnificent 17th-century mansion was designed by English architect John Thorpe and built for Sir Thomas Holte between 1618 and 1635. The grand estate ranks among the last and the greatest Jacobean prodigy houses, an English country house built by courtiers for the monarch’s royal progress (tour of the kingdom).
Stretching over the Tudor, Elizabethan, and Jacobean periods, prodigy houses represent a unique English take on Renaissance architecture. Architectural historian John Summerson considered them “the most daring of all English buildings.” Stylistically, they introduced eclectic mixtures of classical, medieval, and local, traditional English elements.
Aston Hall exemplifies England’s late 16th-century Jacobean style, which emerged during the reign of King James I from 1603 to 1625. Like most Jacobean houses, Aston Hall reflects the landscape. It was constructed primarily with local red brick, timber, and stone. The country house’s broad outlines appear purely classical in their proportions and symmetry, while its exterior decorations are rooted in late medieval English styles—including gabled roofs, mullioned windows, and chimney pots.
Aston Hall’s interior features dark wood paneling, intricate woodwork, and decorative plaster ceilings—common elements of Jacobean architecture. During Aston Hall’s construction, classical Italian aesthetics gained popularity and colorful walls became prominent throughout the house. Decorative features, though not particularly diverse in any one room, are also an eclectic mix.
Now a Grade I listed (UK protected) Jacobean house, Aston Hall is steeped in history. The great country house was besieged during the English Civil War, received royalty, and later inspired American author Washington Irving.
Built in a public park, the prodigy house was intended to be both picturesque and peaceful. The south side of Aston Hall features Lady Holte’s garden. The walled garden and its symmetrical borders and patterns were designed to impress royal visitors, enticing their senses with alluring colors and fragrances. Tony Hisgett/CC BY 2.0
Aston Hall’s front entrance is a decorative highlight that showcases the house’s rich history and design. The stone fluted columns, capitals, rounded arch, and intricate sculpted decorations makes the main entrance the most classical part of the estate’s exterior. kudrik/Shutterstock
The Great Hall’s original 17th-century ceiling features exquisite plaster strap work, a common element of Jacobean architecture that can be seen throughout the house. The room also features intricate carved wood paneling, stone archways, and plastered monogram beasts—mythological and earthly—that adorn the cornices and ceiling. (Tony Hisgett/CC BY 2.0)
Almost unaltered since Aston Hall was built, the Long Gallery is its largest, best-preserved room. The 136-foot gallery features wood-carved, paneled walls; large, evenly spaced windows; and a decorative plaster ceiling. In the 17th century, the length of a house’s gallery directly correlated to the owner’s wealth and prestige. Oscar Gonzalez Fuentes/Shutterstock
With red walls, a sculpted fireplace, and unadorned ceiling, the Small Dining Room is now marked by a sober and understated elegance that resembles Georgian aesthetics more than Jacobean style. Between 1771 and 1848, the Small Dining Room was used as a breakfast room. Oscar Gonzalez Fuentes/Shutterstock
Aston Hall’s Great Dining Room was reserved for very special occasions, such as a visit from King Charles I. From the figures on top of the square columns to the ornate frieze (below the ceiling), the dining room is designed with classical sculptural elements. The Jacobean fireplace depicts the Holte coat of arms. Oscar Gonzalez Fuentes/Shutterstock
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James Baresel is a freelance writer who has contributed to periodicals as
varied as Fine Art Connoisseur, Military History, Claremont Review of Books,
and New Eastern Europe.
