
Castle Bromwich Hall is a
Jacobean mansion in the
Castle Bromwich area of
Solihull
Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
History
The Hall was built between 1557 and 1585 by
Sir Edward Devereux, 1st Baronet of Castle Bromwich,
MP for
Tamworth in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
. It was a single-story with a plain entrance. It was then bought by Sir John Bridgeman (son of
Orlando Bridgeman, keeper of the
Great Seal
A great seal is a seal used by a head of state, or someone authorised to do so on their behalf, to confirm formal documents, such as laws, treaties, appointments and letters of dispatch. It was and is used as a guarantee of the authenticity of ...
) 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 1794 and
Earls of Bradford in 1813. A marriage brought
Weston Park into their possession after which the Castle Bromwich Hall was often rented out.
Features

The Hall is famous for having twelve windows (one for each
Apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
) 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 paneled with dark oak timber and the dining room was 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
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
was hung in the drawing room. One of the windows in the Long Gallery had the arms of Sir Edward Devereux and his wife Catherine. 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
Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...
. The North Garden has double iron gates which lead into the adjacent Church grounds.
The family
The Hall has had many famous visitors including
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
(while Prime Minister) The
Duke of Connaught, The
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and
Duchess of Teck, The Duke and Duchess of York,
Prince and Princess Christian,
Queen Mary and
William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...
.
The last family member to live in the Hall until her death in 1935 was
Ida Bridgeman, Countess of Bradford. She loved this home and the village, holding the garden fete in the Hall grounds and mingling with the villagers.
Modern times

It was then used for storage during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war, it was leased out as a Hall of Residence for graduate, student and craft apprentices of
General Electric Company
The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering.
It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...
, and then used as building company offices while the outbuildings were used by other small companies.
The Hall was sold in 2007 to Theodore Alexander, a furniture designer and manufacturer who planned to restore the property and open their European showroom there in 2008. In 2009, Castle Bromwich Hall was put up for sale, with the estate agents Knight Frank, with an asking price of £5 million. It was sold for £1.75 million, then underwent extensive restoration and was opened as a hotel in October 2013.
The Hall is usually open to the public for hotel accommodation only. The surrounding
Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens are one of the last examples of Formal English Gardens in the country and have been restored by Castle Bromwich Gardens Trust (established 1985), which holds a long lease from the City of Birmingham. These gardens are a popular tourist attraction and are open to the public.
The conservation area of
Castle Bromwich is centered on the Hall.
References
External links
Gardens Trust Website
{{Authority control
Country houses in the West Midlands (county)
Grade I listed buildings in the West Midlands (county)
Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
Bridgeman family
Thomas Rickman buildings