Hello all, this is my first post but it is an old explore. I will hopefully be exploring more soon, just searching now for some good ones in Birmingham.
Brief History: Summarised from Wikipedia and Birmingham Conservation Trust
Great Barr Hall is an 18th Century mansion based in Pheasey and on the border with Great Barr, it is listed as a Grade II*. It was originally known as Nether House, until Sir Joseph Scott rebuilt and extended the house into a two-storey mansion in the Strawberry Hill Gothic Revival Style, along with the later addition of a chapel. Financial problems, from the extensive upgrades, led the Scott Family to lease the hall which became a meeting place for the Lunar Society - their most notable members included Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and Joseph Priestley. The hall is also said to have links with the Bronte family due to an affair with Branwell Bronte and Lydia Scott, while he worked in the household of her first husband. After Joseph Scott returned to the hall, the site was developed further and the Scott family lived there until Lady Mildred Bateman-Scott died in 1909.
It was brought in 1911 and reopened in 1918 as St Margaret's Mental Hospital. Many detached buildings for the hospital were built and there was quite a lot of damage done to the original buildings since it had to be redeveloped for institutional use. In 1955, much of the old east wing was demolished, and in the 1960s, the gothic inspired windows were replaced with standard casement windows.
By 1978, the building had deteriorated further because the lack of maintenance work done and lack of funding, it was the abandoned for hospital use. It was not secured well so arson and vandalism caused more damage to the hall. In 1989, it was transferred to a financial and property developer - who managed to do nothing with the hall other than stripping the plaster. Over the 1990s and 2000s, there have been multiple discussions about what to do with the hall.
If you want any further information there are articles and a more detailed history, click here.
Photos:
The main entrance:
Behind the main door:
Left side of the building:
Main hallway:
View attachment 807770
What I love about the next photo is that I stumbled across an old interior photo taken from the same side but higher up:
This is the interior photo:
Also main hallway with a view of a basement which I didn't get photos of:
A side room:
Another room:
Last picture:
The second floor had caved in in most places, I couldn't get any decent pictures of the chapel as I didn't want to spend too long there since so many people were walking past as I had got in. I will hopefully be able to visit this spot once more before it is completely demolished or inaccessible, it was a beautiful hall and a great piece of history.
Brief History: Summarised from Wikipedia and Birmingham Conservation Trust
Great Barr Hall is an 18th Century mansion based in Pheasey and on the border with Great Barr, it is listed as a Grade II*. It was originally known as Nether House, until Sir Joseph Scott rebuilt and extended the house into a two-storey mansion in the Strawberry Hill Gothic Revival Style, along with the later addition of a chapel. Financial problems, from the extensive upgrades, led the Scott Family to lease the hall which became a meeting place for the Lunar Society - their most notable members included Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and Joseph Priestley. The hall is also said to have links with the Bronte family due to an affair with Branwell Bronte and Lydia Scott, while he worked in the household of her first husband. After Joseph Scott returned to the hall, the site was developed further and the Scott family lived there until Lady Mildred Bateman-Scott died in 1909.
It was brought in 1911 and reopened in 1918 as St Margaret's Mental Hospital. Many detached buildings for the hospital were built and there was quite a lot of damage done to the original buildings since it had to be redeveloped for institutional use. In 1955, much of the old east wing was demolished, and in the 1960s, the gothic inspired windows were replaced with standard casement windows.
By 1978, the building had deteriorated further because the lack of maintenance work done and lack of funding, it was the abandoned for hospital use. It was not secured well so arson and vandalism caused more damage to the hall. In 1989, it was transferred to a financial and property developer - who managed to do nothing with the hall other than stripping the plaster. Over the 1990s and 2000s, there have been multiple discussions about what to do with the hall.
If you want any further information there are articles and a more detailed history, click here.
Photos:
The main entrance:
Behind the main door:
Left side of the building:
Main hallway:
View attachment 807770
What I love about the next photo is that I stumbled across an old interior photo taken from the same side but higher up:
This is the interior photo:
Also main hallway with a view of a basement which I didn't get photos of:
A side room:
Another room:
Last picture:
The second floor had caved in in most places, I couldn't get any decent pictures of the chapel as I didn't want to spend too long there since so many people were walking past as I had got in. I will hopefully be able to visit this spot once more before it is completely demolished or inaccessible, it was a beautiful hall and a great piece of history.
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