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Blakesley
Hall in July 2001
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'The Space
by the Hall'
This is the office which we think
was originally known as 'the space
by the hall'. In 1684 it had two
old rakes and a spinning wheel stored
in it! There is a mystery here. Look
for the wooden timbers under the
window. They are very old. But in
Victorian times this part of the
room was extended to make a big breakfast
room. In the 1950s, the extension
was removed. So, how did these old
timbers survive? Perhaps they were
used more than once? |
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The Parlour
Wing
The little parlour
is being recreated in its original
space.
Notice the metal pole. This supports
one of the heavy ceiling beams.
The architect wants to remove the
metal pole! But the beam must have
help in supporting the wall of
the room above. A metal girder
must be inserted through the original
oak so that it will not spoil the
look of the old beam, yet still
allow it to support the upsatirs
wall safely.
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The Little Parlour
The space you can see through the doorway is where Richard Smalbroke's little
parlour was in 1590. The wooden panelling to the right of the picture was placed
there in the 19th century when the newel stairs were mended. Until this year
the little parlour space was where the public toilets were!
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The Newel Staircase
The newel stairs originally turned around the post again and did not come down into the great hall. The original stair treads can be seen here turning to the right after the first section leading up from floor level. The walls for this first section were built in Victorian times when the stairs were repaired.
Look for the window space which has been boarded-over. The window was necessary to light the original stairs. |
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The Painted Chamber
This is the bedroom that is thought
to be Richard Smalbroke's. The name
we give to it is because of the painted
pattern on the walls. These patterns
were painted in the 1590s when the
house was built and are quite rare
in a house of the size of Blakesley
Hall. It is a sign of Richard's success
and wealth that he could afford to
have his walls painted in this manner.
The paintings would have been very
bright and colourful when they were
new.
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This picture shows
evidence of where the bed was placed
in this room. The marks on the wood
show where a candle has been burning
and damaged the wall. The candle
would have been placed near to the
bed.
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This picture gives
useful evidence about who used this
room. Look at the painted panel below
and see if you can find any letters
in it. Remember the house was built
for Richard Smalbroke and his wife,
Elizabeth.
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The Parlour Chamber
The parlour chamber is the room above
the great parlour. It was originally
an important bedchamber, possibly
for visitors. The fireplace is evidence
of it's status as a room.
The window to the left of the
fireplace still has it's original
frame - the oldest window frame
at Blakesley Hall. The upright
pieces of wood in the window frame
are called mullions, the cross
pieces, transoms.
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Look at this picture
of the outside of Blakesley Hall.
Notice how the middle floor of the
Hall sticks out over the ground floor.
This is known as a jetty.
The jetty needed extra support, and
there are big strong uprights (dragon
posts) at each corner with a holder
called a corbel bracing the jetty.
Inside the parlour chamber, a dragon
beam helps to support the floor where
the two jetties meet at a corner.
The floorboards under the old window
frame are lifted so that visitors
can see the dragon beam.
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Where is the door?
This is a picture of the room next
to the parlour chamber. When the
house was first built it was possibly
used as a wool room, where fleeces
were carded, spun and woven into
cloth, then dyed. Very soon after
the house was built, this room was
divided into two. A new door was
put in, and two other doorways made
for the new smaller room and the
parlour chamber. The old doorway
to the parlour chamber was blocked
in. Can you work out, from the evidence
in the picture, where the old parlour
chamber doorway was?
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The Long Gallery
In a grand house - such as
Aston Hall - the long gallery was
used
for exercise, particularly if the
weather was bad, and a place for
activities and entertainments. Richard
Smalbroke was copying the fashions
of the rich in high society, but
his long gallery is quite small in
comparison.
There are two alcoves on the outer wall of the gallery, both with windows. Evidence in the framework around one of the alcoves shows that it was used as a separate room, and as we know Richard had a 'closet', or study, at Blakesley Hall where he kept his important papers, we think that this was his closet. |
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The Bed Chamber
This bedchamber was furnished as
the little parlour, as the proper
room downstairs was in use as modern
toilets! Now, the little parlour
will return to its correct space,
and this room will become a bedchamber
again. When the room was emptied
an exciting discovery was made. The
walls had been painted with a similar
pattern to Richard's bedchamber next
door! Samples of plaster were carefully
removed and underneath was the evidence!
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| Scrapings of the paint
have been taken by experts who will
analyse it to find out when the walls
were decorated and what colours were
used.
Evidence was also found which
makes us think that the wooden
beams in this room were painted
white.
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The Children's Bedchamber
The room has been emptied and some
repairs are being carried out on
the walls. Notice the herringbone
pattern under one of the windows.
It is being repaired in the same
way as in the parlour chamber. The
radiator under the other window is
being replaced and a beautiful new
painted cloth is being made to hang
over the walls.
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This blocked doorway
was once an entrance to the bedroom,
but nobody knows when it was in use,
or when it was blocked up. The doorway
now used is thought to be the original
one.
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Inside the Attics!
The two attics at
Blakesley Hall were used as servant's
sleeping quarters and for stores.
The left-hand side attic has a strange
lath structure near the window. No
one is quite sure what it was for!
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Crouching down and
looking through where the roof slopes
down to meet the building (through
the eaves), you can see where the
plaster and infill have been stripped
away. The diamond shape is part of
the pattern decorating the top floor
of the Hall, which is called, quadrant
bracing, or star.
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| You can see the rafters
of the roof very clearly here. Notice
how snugly the brace fits into the
surrounding timbers. 'A snug fit'
is a saying we still use today and
comes from carpenter's technical
language. |
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| The right-hand attic
has a window at both ends of the
room.
You can see the braced wood in
the top section of the window and
underneath the same method has
been used to make the quadrant
pattern.
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This picture shows
you what is under the floorboards
of the attic. The piece of wood crossing
under the floorboards is called a
joist.
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Service Rooms and
Cross Passage
This is the wall of
the cross passageway on your right
as you walk into Blakesley Hall.
It shows how the gaps between the
tall upright timbers were filled
in with thin lathes, then limewashed.
The ground floor timbers made a pattern
called close studding. It was very
expensive to have upright timbers
placed so closely together, and was
a sign of Richard Smalbroke's wealth.
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This picture shows
close studding on the ground floor,
and herringbone on the middle floor.
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The service room area
was made into one room - a dining
room - during Victorian times, with
all the internal walls being removed.
The three rooms were restored in
the early 1980s. The buttery was
used by Richard Smalbroke's household
for making and storing drinks. Notice
the repairs on the timbers, and where
they have had to be replaced.
How can you tell the replacement
timbers from the old ones? Why do
you think the bottom of the old timbers
might need repairing, rather than
the top?
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Outside the Hall
This is where the
new classroom will be! The stone
flags have been lifted to show evidence
of the original floor underneath.
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Looking from the barn
door towards the house, where the
outside wall of the service area
has been bricked over and whitewashed.
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The kitchen extension
at the back of the Hall was added
as the 'new building' in the late
17th century. It was built of brick
and replaced a timber built kitchen
that was set slightly apart from
the main house. Not far from its
back door is the herb garden, created
specially for Blakesley Hall, and
now looking sadly neglected. A new
herb garden has been designed to
take its place.
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The view from the
lawn at the other side of Blakesley
Hall, shows the scaffolding going
right up to the chimneys. A great
deal of work is being done to this
section of the house, with the replacement
of the little parlour.
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