The Visit of Queen Victoria to Aston
Hall |
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Queen Victoria came to Aston Hall on two occasions.
The first time as a princess on a tour of the country with
her mother. They were guests of James Watt Junior. The
second time Queen Victoria came to open Aston Hall as a
museum in 1858.
After James Watt died in 1848 the house was only
lived in as a home for one more year by a man called James
Shaw. Then its fate hung in the balance. Money was needed
to save the Hall from being pulled down and the site being
sold as building plots. |
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Local people were keen to save the
house and a portion of the park.
The Aston Hall and Park Company was set up. Its committee
was made up of some important people and a large number of
hard working artisans (skilled craftsmen). It was their commitment
to turning Aston Hall and the Park into a place of 'recreation'
for the working classes that persuaded Queen Victoria to
come to officially open the house and park in June 1858. |
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Queen Victoria was
accompanied by Prince Albert. They travelled from London
by steam train and were received at Birmingham Town Hall.
They were then taken by horse and carriage to Aston Hall.
It was a lovely, sunny day. The Queen had lunch in the Great
Dining Room. King Charles' Room was set aside for her private
boudoir. The royal party
then went into the Long Gallery. The Queen and Prince Albert
sat on special seats on a dais opposite the fireplace to
receive a loyal address from the Aston Hall and Park committee. |
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The Queen announced that:
'The improvement of the moral, intellectual and social conditions
of my people will always command my earnest attention, and in
opening this Hall and Park today I rejoice to have another opportunity
of promoting their comfort and innocent recreation.'
Then the royal party stepped out through a window on to a temporary balcony
and Victoria declared open the Hall and Park, to be 'a boon and comfort to
the people of Birmingham'. Two bands started to play the
National Anthem and the park was packed with folk all cheering the Queen. |
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Opposite is one of the two state
chairs made specially for the visit of Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert. It can still be seen in the Long Gallery. The chairs
were covered with crimson Genoa velvet 'enriched with gilt
metal Tudor studs' and stood on an Axminster carpet worked
with the Elizabethan royal arms. This carpet is now in the
Nursery. |
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Queen Victoria lent over 150 pictures
and objects to display at Aston Hall. The house was used as
a general museum with a great variety of different things.
A stuffed giraffe and rhinocerus stood in the Entrance Hall.
Some rooms were decked out to show Eskimo scenes and a Chinese
street, complete with barber shaving a customer's head. There
were stuffed birds, botanical (plant) specimens and weapons
from around the world. |
