Aston Hall

It's hard to believe this beautiful, serene place is only an eight minute train ride from Birmingham New Street. Its a great historical building; each of the rooms look stunning and the gardens are well cultivated and maintained. I was here on a hot summer Saturday afternoon (the last weekend of June)., and was surprised it wasn't very busy. Yes, there were other visitors around, but it never felt crowded. Maybe the £10 admission fee is off-putting to some? The visit here was definitely worthwhile and felt like a tranquil oasis from the crowded Birmingham city centre. The volunteers are very knowledgably of the building's history and the gardens are a great place to relax after touring the rooms withing the grand hall.

Aston Hall was our wedding venue. It's a fantastic building, full of character and wonderful spaces. While booking was a bit of a faff, the staff on the day were excellent and did everything to make the event run smoothly while still being great fun, including accommodating a harpist and two bands. We had canapes on site that were also superb. If you're looking for somewhere a little different, Aston Hall is highly recommended.

A really great night out at the candlelight tour. The guide led us round with a suitably dark tone for Halloween. A very beautiful architectural venue. I'll be returning in daylight.

Remarbly quiet for a historic visitor attraction. A nice property to take your time exploring the rooms and it's potted history.

A really lovely place to visit lots of history and lots of info of the back story of the house the staff were very polite and helpful definitely a must if you love back storys especially liked the broken banister from the civil war defently recommend

Excellent tour guide for Aston Hall by candlelight and beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

Visited mid-morning on the first Saturday of half-term. Spectacular site, easy to get to using public transport. Entry price was reasonable, leaving you on a self-guided tour of the rooms. Best part was easily the volunteers, they were keen to answer any questions you had, and will take you on tours of parts of the building not accessible to the public without a guide - the attic spaces were particularly interesting, lots of ghost stories! Great for anyone from history geeks (like myself) to casual tourists to families. Can't believe a gem like this is just in the middle of the city!

We had the best time at Aston Hall. We didn’t really know what to expect but ended up having an informative and engaging private tour of the entire hall filled with detailed knowledge, anecdotes and even ghost stories. Would thoroughly recommend. Thanks Matthew!

I spent 2 weeks in the UK on business. During that time, I wasn't able to do nearly the amount of exploring that I'd hoped I would. I took a train from Bedford to London and spent the entire day walking around and exploring. I spent a lot of time traveling back and forth between Bedford and Birmingham, and exploring all I could between. Aston Hall was the only place I visited that I knew I would never forget. I was lucky to be here on the off season, on a bright sunny day. I had the property to myself, but was unfortunately unable to poke around inside. Aston Hall is overwhelming. The house had so much personality. The patches of lime green and crazy slippery algae in the corners of near the front door, the big beautiful gardens on either side of the property that smell of roses even before they bloom and the sound of children playing on the lawn *That on it's own blew me away, thinking of kids back home (in America) playing in just regular parks with a swing set while these children run around playing tag in the gardens of Aston Hall.*. The towering and cracking door leading into the front hall. I could go on forever. I don't know what it is about this property, but I felt immediately attached to it. I just sat on the front lawn and stared, knowing that when I left I would miss it immediately. If I had the chance to go back to the UK for just one hour, I'd spend it at Aston Hall.

I have spotted the Aston Hall for the first time some years ago, in my first visit to Birmingham, when I was crossing the Aston Park to reach by Aston Villa's pitch. I can't describe how impressed was to see this stunning mansion's garden and I never would think this location would hide such an exuberant building. So I have decided to visit inside this historical Hall properly. What a fascinating experience! Built in 1635, The Aston Hall is considered almost like a treasure of Midlands and it was residence of The Holte Family for several years. The house also suffered a damaged during the English Civil War, in 1643. Nowadays, the Aston Hall is open to the public as a museum and what can be seen inside this Jacobean construction is a really interesting heritage collection of furniture and rooms that express well that atmosphere in Britain, in the period covering from 17th to 19th centuries. The details of the walls and the kitchen supplies of this impressive building are really lovely and visiting Aston Hall is a synonymous of a good day out with family. The admission to Aston Hall is £ 4 (adults) with free admission to children under 16, but every first Sunday of each month it`s free for visiting. The site is usually open from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 12 pm to 4 pm. Take a note: The Headless Statue is an interesting and sad part of Aston Hall history. Look for more information about it before visiting the place.

I will be honest, Aston as a town leaves little to the imagination. Between its run-down buildings and overcrowded communities, there isn't really much that would attract you to the area unless you were a die-hard Villa fan! So when I was invited to a day time event at Aston Hall, I wasn't expecting much. However to my surprise it was a truly stunning venue that has managed to retain what looks like all of its original characteristics. We took a stroll through the building and it was like going back in time. There's also a gift shop on site which sells a number of Birmingham heritage related gifts, not just Aston Hall which I was thought was good. Normally at these kinds of places the gifts can be brand overkill so it was nice to be offered a variety of purchase options.

My earliest memories of Aston Hall were of standing in a candlelit hallway on my 11th Birthday, with a pair of piercing dark eyes staring at me from the wall above the stairs. I was aware that they still offered bi-annual "Aston Hall By Candlelight" tours, yet until 2012, I didn't realise that you could go and visit from April to October (not sure how I missed that one!). Being a fan of old building, in particular, those from the Jacobean period, Aston Hall is a delight for me. As well as wonderful grounds and park land (great for dog walks) it boasts a delightful kitchen garden, pleasant little cafe and of course, the hall itself. The place oozes atmosphere, and the eyes on portraits of residents past, still follow you as you wonder through its ancient halls. The staff are friendly and well informed, and, in my experience, highly enthusiastic about this historic gem. With an entrance fee of less than £5, and free entry to all on the first Sunday of the month (April - October) it really is worth a visit. There is parking outside (and even driving up the long driveway is a delight) and they even host outdoor plays during the summer months. I'm a fan of Aston Hall, so much so that I became a friend of Birmingham Museam & Art Gallery so that I could go more often and enjoy staring at the gorgeous ceiling in the long gallery. There's so much to see (if you appreciate history) and as well as the hall, there is also a small museum which shows the development of Aston over the years, so entertaining for kids as well as adults.

Along with the Frankfurt Markets and the procession of barges on the city's canals, Aston Hall by candlelight forms one of Birmingham's central Christmas treats. The stunning Jacobean Hall built in 1618, and one of old Warwickshire's largest country homes, shimmers and glistens as hundreds of candles make this the embodiment of the Birmingham Christmas. However, history tells us that Aston Hall had long been used for Christmas and corporate events as long ago as the 1850s when the Birmingham Corporation were attempting to raise funds to buy the hall. One such event, which involved the tawdry death of a female tightrope walker, led to the intervention of Queen Victoria who was not amused at the gaudy goings on at the property. She put it to the council that a city of Birmingham's wealth should be able to afford the Hall for the people. They heeded her words and bought the Hall and grounds for Birmingham in 1864, where it has been enjoyed by Brummies ever since. Victoria's intervention was based on personal experience, as she dined here as a young Princess in 1830 after a visit to the local factories. Pay a visit too, and see just why this glorious building was endorsed by the most powerful woman in the world.

I've been to this museum once in my life and to be honest it scared the living lights out of me! However, the Hall consists of the usual things like bedrooms, living rooms, kitchen etc but the best thing about it is the history that surrounds it, the ghost story of the girl that was locked up by her fatherit is quite the haunted mansion! Don't let that fool you, Aston Hall is known for its beauty and not to mention all the great activities that go on each year. The Hall provides excellent workshops for variety of things like Art, Jewellery making, History etc it's ideal for a family day out and somewhere to go on halloween.

This is a hidden gem of a place near to Villa Park. The grounds and Hall are both lovely, and there is a welcome lack of swarming tourists although it gets busier in November/December on nights when it is lit by candlelight. Recommended.

I dressed as a maid when I went here..I was only around 12/13! Memories of the place are vague but its a fun place for children to go to, they have a few interactive sessions, such as making mince pies - yum!

Beware I have just been to Aston hall and I am sorry to announce that Aston Hall is closed throughout 2007 for a £10 million make over. Opening to the public again early 2008.

A great day out for all the family, especially Dad and considering Villa Park is a stones throw away and the surroundings are is beautiful. The nearby café is perfect for a cheap lunch and town centre is a busable distance away. Check out the website or paper for weekend events.

I really enjoyed my visit to Aston hall - it's great for a family day out. It was my first visit to that area of Birmingham and I was pleasantly surprised to find such a beautiful historic house in the middle of Aston. It was fairly quiet when we went so we were really able to experience the atmosphere of the place and the staff were very helpful and friendly.

Having worked as a Security officer / Museum guide myself at Aston Hall museum back in 1989 to 1995 I was VERY DISAPPONTED with my recent visit with my family to Aston Hall in September 2015. Not only have Birmingham City council started charging visitors to the hall a entrance fee of £8 for adults and I think it was £5 for a child to the museum - ( entrance to the museum used to be FREE back in the time I worked at Aston hall ), But I found the so called guided tour of the hall to be RUSHED ( tour only took 20 minutes if that to complete -- one used to be able to spend at least 2 to 3 hours looking around the hall back in the 1900's, what with talking to the various different members of staff back then about the history of the hall and asking them questions about the different artefacts on display in the various different rooms !! ) and the staff working there in 2015 were little informed and did not seem to know much about the history of the hall and the various rooms. Plus many of the rooms that were once open for the visitors to see back in the 1990,s were now closed off ( such as the nursery, the house keepers room, the Chinese room, library, small bed chamber etc were all closed off and no longer open to view ) -- When I worked at the hall these rooms ALL used to be open to the public, plus you used to be able to walk around the museum at your OWN leisure - - museum security staff / guides used to be posted on duty in various different areas / rooms of the hall, who visitors could approach should they wish and ask questions of about the history of the hall and about the various rooms etc in the museum, - ( and im sorry to say this but all us security staff / museum guides had a lot more pride in jobs back then, and knew a lot more of the history of the hall and the various rooms etc than what the present staff of 2015 did ).... THE £8 ADDMISSON FEE one has to pay now a days to visit this once wonderful museum IS CERTAINLY NOT WORTH IT in comparison to how things used to be at Aston hall back in 1989 to 1995 when I worked there .. ( me and my family's experience and feelings we got from our visit to Aston hall that day we visited in September 2015 was one of --- take their money off them , quickly as possible show them around the hall, complete the so called guided tour of the museum, get you out the door quick, then get the next lot of visitors in and out as quick as possible --- that's how we was made to feel on our visit ) ---- we will not be visiting again !! m.brookes former Aston hall museum member of staff