Five centuries of Moorish design at Blakesley Hall in Yardley, Birmingham

Blakesley Hall, a grade II extsc{*} listed building, is a Tudor manor situated on Blakesley Road in Yardley, Birmingham, England. One of the oldest buildings in the city, it is a fine example of Tudor architecture. However, what marks Blakesley Hall out is the Moorish design adorning its Bedchamber. Other distinctive features include the jettied architecture on all sides and the brick kitchen block, built on the back of the chimney, that dates from around 1650.

Richard Smalbroke constructed Blakesley Hall in 1590, and after 1685, the house passed into the Greswolde family. Over the years, it was used as a private residence and underwent a renovation of its parlour in 1935. In the Bedchamber, paintings from 1590 were found hidden for centuries. When the chamber was cleaned up postwar, fragments of leather and painted plaster were revealed, showing the walls and timbers to be decorated in a Moorish design. A mock-up of how the 'painted chamber' might have looked can be seen in the back bedroom at Blakesley Hall.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons