Blakesley Hall

We continued to make the most of a fine weekend by visiting Blakesley Hall in Yardley this afternoon. Like Sarehole Mill which I blipped on Monday, the hall is owned and maintained by Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.

It was built in 1590 by Richard Smalbroke, a member of one of Birmingham's leading merchant families. It is one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham and is an excellent example of a Tudor timber-framed farmhouse. By 1899 the hall was in a dilapidated state but was bought by Henry Donne who renovated it. He soon sold it to Thomas Merry, a wealthy paint and varnish manufacturer. By the time Merry died in 1932 Yardley had been absorbed into the urban conurbation of Birmingham and the site was bought by the City Council.

It opened as a museum in 1935 but was badly bomb-damaged in 1941 and did not reopen until 1957.