Monday 25 February 2013

Sandwell Hall Staffordshire



The ‘new’ Sandwell Hall was (re)built from 1703 by the master builder William Smith of Warwick. He was the brother of the prolific master builder Francis who had recently completed Dudmaston Hall, a structurally similar building to Sandwell. The approach to the house was along a long straight driveway from the east across the open parkland. To the North was woodland also with a pond and to the west a substantial lake which still exists. The South entrance front shown here extended double width to the east at single level height after building work in 1840. The porch was added earlier in the C19th. The east front had twin double height bays which would have been an impressive sight to approaching visitors. By the early C19th the whole building had been stuccoed in white as was fashionable at the time. The hall’s latter years from around 1850 saw it used as religious school, mental asylum, borstal institution, and periodically, unoccupied. It was demolished in 1928. The site of the house is north of Sandwell Priory ruins, east of the M5 and north of Sandwell Park Golf Club.
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment