Great Barr Hall, August 2019

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waveydave

Out & About Exploration
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Location
Hinckley
In the mid-17th century, Richard Scott acquired the house then standing on the site and known as Nether House. In about 1777, Joseph scott (later Sir Joseph Scott, 1st baronet of great barr) replaced the old house with a two-storey, nine-bay mansion in the strawberry Hill gothic revival style. The house was much altered and extended about 1840 and in 1863, an adjacent chapel (which was never consecrated) was erected but became a games room.Outside the chapel are the burial plots of several of Lady Bateman Scott's pets, inscribed with poems she wrote for them.
Financial problems led the Scott Family to lease out the hall from about 1788 to Samuel Galton and for some years the Hall became a venue for meetings of the" Lunar society". It is said to be the 'favourite place of meeting' of this illustrious body.

In 1791, Sir Francis Scott, 3rd Baronet, inherited the manor of Great Barr from his maternal uncle. He died in 1863. His widow Mildred lived on in the Hall until her death in 1909.
In 1911, the estate was purchased by a local hospital board and, in 1918, became St Margaret's colony for the Mentally defective. Many detached hospital buildings were erected near the hall, and in the 1980s the grounds became a country park. The hall itself was abandoned in 1978 and, despite its 1971 Grade II* listing, was left to decay. The hospital began to close in phases from the late 1980s. The male department closed during 1992 but the female department closed in March 1997. The final residents, those with high dependency, left a newer part of the site in 2004.
Now there is no trace of the hospital as a new housing estate sits in it's place. The hall has changed hands several times, failed restoration attempts have left the hall a shell. Most timberwork has been removed due to extensive dry rot, and walls stripped of plaster before being left to thieves and vandals. Several later additions to the hall have been removed giving much of the hall a ruined appearance.
Standing inside I wonder about the conversations that took place here when the lunar society met. Some of the world's greatest minds were members. James Watt, JB Priestly, Lovell, and the father of Charles Darwin to name a few.
Dispite the state of the building it soon becomes clear that this place is all about the cellars. Easily the biggest system I've seen with various types of storage shelves for wine, meats, coal, etc. In one of the vaults a spring feeds a well which then drains via a gutter into the next chamber and then out through a culvert. Oddly these two vaults appear to still have the wooden timber formers in situ that were used in the vaults construction.
We left as darkness fell, and it fell quickly. With the only properties nearby shielded by trees there is little light pollution. And so the walk back to the car in pitch black with the sound of owls in the trees was certainly creepy.
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Thanks fer lookin
 
In the mid-17th century, Richard Scott acquired the house then standing on the site and known as Nether House. In about 1777, Joseph scott (later Sir Joseph Scott, 1st baronet of great barr) replaced the old house with a two-storey, nine-bay mansion in the strawberry Hill gothic revival style. The house was much altered and extended about 1840 and in 1863, an adjacent chapel (which was never consecrated) was erected but became a games room.Outside the chapel are the burial plots of several of Lady Bateman Scott's pets, inscribed with poems she wrote for them.
Financial problems led the Scott Family to lease out the hall from about 1788 to Samuel Galton and for some years the Hall became a venue for meetings of the" Lunar society". It is said to be the 'favourite place of meeting' of this illustrious body.

In 1791, Sir Francis Scott, 3rd Baronet, inherited the manor of Great Barr from his maternal uncle. He died in 1863. His widow Mildred lived on in the Hall until her death in 1909.
In 1911, the estate was purchased by a local hospital board and, in 1918, became St Margaret's colony for the Mentally defective. Many detached hospital buildings were erected near the hall, and in the 1980s the grounds became a country park. The hall itself was abandoned in 1978 and, despite its 1971 Grade II* listing, was left to decay. The hospital began to close in phases from the late 1980s. The male department closed during 1992 but the female department closed in March 1997. The final residents, those with high dependency, left a newer part of the site in 2004.
Now there is no trace of the hospital as a new housing estate sits in it's place. The hall has changed hands several times, failed restoration attempts have left the hall a shell. Most timberwork has been removed due to extensive dry rot, and walls stripped of plaster before being left to thieves and vandals. Several later additions to the hall have been removed giving much of the hall a ruined appearance.
Standing inside I wonder about the conversations that took place here when the lunar society met. Some of the world's greatest minds were members. James Watt, JB Priestly, Lovell, and the father of Charles Darwin to name a few.
Dispite the state of the building it soon becomes clear that this place is all about the cellars. Easily the biggest system I've seen with various types of storage shelves for wine, meats, coal, etc. In one of the vaults a spring feeds a well which then drains via a gutter into the next chamber and then out through a culvert. Oddly these two vaults appear to still have the wooden timber formers in situ that were used in the vaults construction.
We left as darkness fell, and it fell quickly. With the only properties nearby shielded by trees there is little light pollution. And so the walk back to the car in pitch black with the sound of owls in the trees was certainly creepy.View attachment 505603View attachment 505604View attachment 505605View attachment 505606View attachment 505607View attachment 505608View attachment 505609View attachment 505610View attachment 505611View attachment 505612View attachment 505613View attachment 505614View attachment 505615View attachment 505616View attachment 505617View attachment 505619View attachment 505620
Thanks fer lookin
Brilliant, thanks for that, especially the history.I lived in Great Barr as a kid/teenager from '62 - '75 & never knew about this place. Pity especially as I'm semi-retired Architectural/Interiors photographer now. I remember the original Scott Arms pub at the junction for Walsall Rd & Newton Rd. My future wife used to volunteer as a St John's Ambulance member to work odd weekends at St. Margarets Mental Hospital back in the '70's/ & I got married (for the 1st time) at St. Margarets church in '75. Wish I'd seen the Hall in it's heyday. Thanks again.
 
I grew up not far away and never knew about this place. So sad to see the neglect and decline — especially liked the positioning of the photograph of the hall and staircase as was, and your photograph of it now.
 
In the mid-17th century, Richard Scott acquired the house then standing on the site and known as Nether House. In about 1777, Joseph scott (later Sir Joseph Scott, 1st baronet of great barr) replaced the old house with a two-storey, nine-bay mansion in the strawberry Hill gothic revival style. The house was much altered and extended about 1840 and in 1863, an adjacent chapel (which was never consecrated) was erected but became a games room.Outside the chapel are the burial plots of several of Lady Bateman Scott's pets, inscribed with poems she wrote for them.
Financial problems led the Scott Family to lease out the hall from about 1788 to Samuel Galton and for some years the Hall became a venue for meetings of the" Lunar society". It is said to be the 'favourite place of meeting' of this illustrious body.

In 1791, Sir Francis Scott, 3rd Baronet, inherited the manor of Great Barr from his maternal uncle. He died in 1863. His widow Mildred lived on in the Hall until her death in 1909.
In 1911, the estate was purchased by a local hospital board and, in 1918, became St Margaret's colony for the Mentally defective. Many detached hospital buildings were erected near the hall, and in the 1980s the grounds became a country park. The hall itself was abandoned in 1978 and, despite its 1971 Grade II* listing, was left to decay. The hospital began to close in phases from the late 1980s. The male department closed during 1992 but the female department closed in March 1997. The final residents, those with high dependency, left a newer part of the site in 2004.
Now there is no trace of the hospital as a new housing estate sits in it's place. The hall has changed hands several times, failed restoration attempts have left the hall a shell. Most timberwork has been removed due to extensive dry rot, and walls stripped of plaster before being left to thieves and vandals. Several later additions to the hall have been removed giving much of the hall a ruined appearance.
Standing inside I wonder about the conversations that took place here when the lunar society met. Some of the world's greatest minds were members. James Watt, JB Priestly, Lovell, and the father of Charles Darwin to name a few.
Dispite the state of the building it soon becomes clear that this place is all about the cellars. Easily the biggest system I've seen with various types of storage shelves for wine, meats, coal, etc. In one of the vaults a spring feeds a well which then drains via a gutter into the next chamber and then out through a culvert. Oddly these two vaults appear to still have the wooden timber formers in situ that were used in the vaults construction.
We left as darkness fell, and it fell quickly. With the only properties nearby shielded by trees there is little light pollution. And so the walk back to the car in pitch black with the sound of owls in the trees was certainly creepy.View attachment 505603View attachment 505604View attachment 505605View attachment 505606View attachment 505607View attachment 505608View attachment 505609View attachment 505610View attachment 505611View attachment 505612View attachment 505613View attachment 505614View attachment 505615View attachment 505616View attachment 505617View attachment 505619View attachment 505620
Thanks fer lookin
Great little place this is, did you go to the two lakes he also made ? there are raised stepping stones across the one end of the first lake so people can still get across in the bad weather or if the lake floods.
plus there are other out building along the path where the servants lived.
Its also has the nick name of " Maggie's Asylum "
Nice photos bud
 
Great little place this is, did you go to the two lakes he also made ? there are raised stepping stones across the one end of the first lake so people can still get across in the bad weather or if the lake floods.
plus there are other out building along the path where the servants lived.
Its also has the nick name of " Maggie's Asylum "
Nice photos bud
Thanks for the compliment. We didnt see anything else as we ran out of daylight.
 

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