Castle Bromwich Hall

Castle Bromwich Hall (grid reference SP142898) is a Jacobean Mansion in the village of Castle Bromwich, which is situated in the northern part of the Birmingham (county)|West Midlands]], England. It is a Grade I listed building.

The Hall was built between 1557 and 1585 by Sir Edward Devereux, MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire. It was single storey with a plain entrance. It was then bought by Sir John Bridgeman (son of Orlando Bridgeman, keeper of the Great Seal) in 1657. He extended and improved the property in 1672, adding the second floor and a large front porch. The porch projected out by ten feet from the main building. Above the twisted columns of grey stone of the porch are two figures in niches, called Peace and Plenty. The coat of arms and monogram of Sir John is carved into the stone above the doorway.

The Bridgemans were created Barons Bradford in 1792 and (Earls) in 1851. A marriage brought Weston Park into their possession after which the Castle Bromwich Hall was often rented out.

The Hall is famous for having twelve windows (one for each Apostle) and four dormers above (one for each Evangelist). The garden door passed through a grapevine which was always trimmed into the form of a cross. The Hall and Long Gallery were panelled with dark oak timber, and the dining room with pitch pine from the United States. The ceilings were adorned with designs of fruits and shells. In 1810 a tapestry of three sections made in Brussels was hung in the drawing room. One of the windows in the Long Gallery had the arms of Sir Edward Devereux and his wife Katherine. There were many secret doorways and hiding holes. Built into the high garden wall was a brick open air cold water bath dated 1733. The garden maze with 6 ft high holly hedges was a mirror image of that at Hampton Court. The North Garden has double iron gates which lead into the adjacent Church grounds.

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