About
Blakesley Hall is one of Birmingham's most significant surviving Tudor timber-framed buildings, dating from 1590. This remarkable merchant's farmhouse offers visitors an authentic glimpse into domestic life during the Tudor and Stuart periods. The hall was originally built for Richard Smalbroke, a prosperous yeoman farmer, and has been meticulously preserved to showcase the architectural and social history of 16th and 17th century England.
The building features outstanding examples of timber-frame construction, including exposed oak beams, wattle-and-daub panels, and a magnificent great hall with original features. Visitors can explore carefully restored period rooms furnished with authentic artifacts from the Tudor, Stuart, and Georgian eras, including rare furniture, domestic items, and historical textiles. The hall's rooms include the Great Hall, parlour, kitchen with working hearth, chambers, and service areas.
Set within tranquil gardens in the Yardley area of Birmingham, Blakesley Hall provides an atmospheric setting for understanding how wealthy merchant families lived during Shakespeare's era. The museum is managed by Birmingham Museums Trust and offers regular historical interpretation events, including Tudor cooking demonstrations, period music performances, and hands-on history sessions for families and school groups.
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Highlights
Tudor Great Hall
The magnificent Great Hall represents the heart of the Tudor household, featuring spectacular exposed oak timber framing and original architectural details from 1590. This impressive room showcases the wealth and status of the Smalbroke family, with authentic period furnishings including a long oak refectory table, carved chairs, and wall hangings.
The high-ceilinged space retains its original timber roof structure, demonstrating the exceptional craftsmanship of Elizabethan builders.
Visitors can see rare wattle-and-daub wall panels between the timber frames, constructed using traditional methods of woven hazel rods and clay.
The hall also features a magnificent fireplace and period wall decorations that transport visitors back to Shakespeare's England.
Tudor Kitchen with Working Hearth
The authentic Tudor kitchen offers a fascinating glimpse into 16th-century domestic life, complete with a large working fireplace that was the centre of household activity. The room is equipped with period-appropriate cooking equipment including iron pots, cauldrons, spits, and utensils that would have been used to prepare meals for the merchant family and their servants.
The open hearth demonstrates how all cooking was done over open flames, requiring considerable skill and labour.
Original features include bread ovens, storage areas for provisions, and shelving displaying pewter and ceramic vessels. During special events, costumed interpreters demonstrate Tudor cooking techniques, allowing visitors to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of a working 16th-century kitchen.
Period Room Displays
Blakesley Hall features meticulously restored rooms spanning three centuries, from Tudor through Stuart to Georgian periods. Each chamber is authentically furnished with period-appropriate furniture, textiles, and household items that illustrate changing domestic fashions and social customs. The parlour showcases fine oak furniture and decorative items that demonstrate the family's wealth and taste.
Bedchambers contain rare four-poster beds with period hangings, demonstrating sleeping arrangements for both family members and servants. The hall's collection includes significant examples of oak furniture, brass and pewter ware, ceramics, and textiles that provide valuable insights into domestic life across different social classes.
Information panels explain the function of each room and the daily routines of the household.
Original Tudor Architecture
The building itself is a masterclass in timber-frame construction, showcasing the sophisticated building techniques used in Elizabethan England.
Visitors can examine close-up the exposed oak frame structure, including massive timber posts, beams, and braces joined with traditional carpentry methods using wooden pegs rather than nails.
The wattle-and-daub infill panels between timbers demonstrate ancient building techniques still visible after over 400 years.
Original features include leaded glass windows, low doorways, uneven oak floors worn smooth by centuries of footsteps, and steep enclosed staircases typical of the period. The roof structure reveals traditional peg-and-mortise joinery and hand-split oak laths. The building's survival as one of Birmingham's oldest structures makes it an invaluable example of Tudor domestic architecture.
Collections
Period Room Displays
Authentically furnished rooms spanning Tudor, Stuart, and Georgian periods
Tudor Domestic Life
Original architectural features and domestic artifacts illustrating 16th-century living
Social History Collections
Furniture, textiles, ceramics, and household items from the 16th-19th centuries
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.