A tour of Highbury Hall, the home of Joseph Chamberlain from 1880 until 1914
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While Highbury Hall is closed now during the pandemic, you can still go for walks around Highbury Park, and get up and close to the back of the hall from the gardens. I last went inside during the September 2018 open day, and then went around Chamberlain's Gardens before leaving the park. Designed by J H Chamberlain (no relation to Joe) and built in 1879. The hall is on Yew Tree Road.
Highbury Hall
Highbury Hall is located on Yew Tree Road in Moseley (the Moor Green area), and was built as the home of Joseph Chamberlain between 1878 and 1879. Old Joe moved in during 1880 and lived here until his death in 1914. It took it's name from the Highbury area of London where he lived as a child. The architect was John Henry Chamberlain (who was of no relation). The house is a Grade II* listed building, and now run by the Chamberlain Highbury Trust (who took over from Birmingham City Council).
While Highbury Hall is closed during the lockdown / pandemic, they are restoring the house, and there is scaffolding inside, and I saw some to the right from the back of the house.
Previous Highbury Hall and Chamberlain family posts here:
Various views of Highbury Hall over the years.
My first full visit to Highbury Park was during December 2009 when the park was covered with snow. I was given advice on Flickr of where to find Highbury Hall from the back.
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For some reason I only took the photos from the bottom of the hill, so got these big bushes in the way.
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I also can't remember if there was a path leading all the way up to the hall or not like there is now.
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The snow was in patches on the hill up to Highbury Hall. Was quite impressive, but didn't see this view in person again for another 9 years (from the back).
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View of Highbury Hall from Yew Tree Road during April 2011. At the time it was still being managed by Birmingham City Council. This is the left hand side view of the house. The main entrance is to the right of here.
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There is a gate on this side of Highbury Hall but it does not lead to the car park. Usually used for service vehicles and vans.
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This is the main gated entrance to Highbury Hall. On this visit the gate was locked.
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At the time the Council ran the hall so all the signs here had Birmingham City Council on them.
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About a month before the Open Day at Highbury Hall in August 2018, had a walk around Highbury Park, then checked out the hall from Yew Tree Road. The gate was open, so I walked up for some views from the car park.
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View of Highbury Hall from the car park, about a month before the Open Day. There is a blue plaque on he left hand side of the house.
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The blue plaque unveiled in 1990 by the Birmingham Civic Society reads:
HIGHBURY
Home of
Joseph Chamberlain
Distinguished Statesman and
Civic Leader
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That day in August 2018, it was a bit cloudy, but it does look impressive from the car park side.
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This view of Highbury Hall from Yew Tree Road, as a green City Council van was parked outside to the left.
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From the back of Highbury Hall during the September 2018 open day. There was a small tent up relating to the Open Day to the right.
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Views of Highbury Hall during May 2020. Chamberlain's Gardens are still open to the public, as is the paths to the back of the hall. At the time was some men sunbathing on the lawn.
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This is probably the best photo I have taken of Highbury Hall from the garden, with a blue sky and not obscured by any other object.
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Got a nice shadow on the side of Highbury Hall.
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This view and the light and shadows hitting the hall looked especially nice from the car park. The gate was closed on Yew Tree Road.
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Also zoomed up to this date stone with the year 1879, the year the building was completed.
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Now for a look around the inside of the hall. These views were during the September 2018 open day.
The Main entrance doors. Volunteers inside to welcome you on your visit to the open day.
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You can tell immediately that this is a late Victorian house with all the details around the double doors as you head in. Highbury Hall was also used for Weddings.
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This room had been set up for a presentation by History West Midlands. You could exit the house through the French Windows into the garden at the back. Weddings would also take place in this room (not on the open day of course).
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The main staircase leading up from the main hall area up to the first floor landing.
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The first floor landing area
View of the chandellier from the ground floor hall, looking up to the first floor landing.
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On the first floor landing, which leads to all the bedrooms. On the Open Day, the Trench Choir was preparing for a performance later (that I missed as I left early and headed on to the Birmingham Museum Collection Centre that day).
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On the left was The Remembrance Altar Cloth. Portraits of the male members of the Chamberlain family around the landing. Open doors leads to the bedrooms.
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On the left hand side of the wall (to the right) was a portrait of Joseph Chamberlain MP by Nestor Cambier.
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To the right was a portrait of Neville Chamberlain MP as Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1933 (he later served as Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940).
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The West Room
This room had good views over the formal garden. Was later used as a ward for ten beds and then as a bedroom of the Superintendent in charge of the home for the elderly.
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There was a pair of chairs and a table in the West Room near the window. Somewhere to sit, or a good spot for looking out of the window at the garden and park.
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Mr Joe's Room
This room was Joseph Chamberlain's bedroom after he married his second wife Mary. Known as Mr Joe's Room, it was connected to Miss Hilda's Room. It later became a sitting room for Beatrice, the daughter of Joseph.
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Miss Hilda's Room
This was initially Joseph Chamberlain's bedroom but following his marriage to Mary Endicott, it became the bedroom of Beatrice Chamberlain, Joseph's eldest daughter. It was connected to Mr Joe's room, which became Beatrice's sitting room.
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I had earlier seen ladies in period WW1 costumes, preparing. They were probably playing Suffragettes. 100 years since women got the vote. World War 1 ended in November 1918 and women got to vote for the first time in a General Election (during December 1918 after the Armistice the month before).
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The Carnegie Room
This room was designed as the principal master bedroom at Highbury, and was initially occupied by Beatrice Chamberlain, Joseph Chamberlain's eldest daughter. When Joseph Chamberlain married his second wife in 1888, Mary Endicott, this room became Mary's bedroom.
At this end was a table and chairs, the room was refurbished in 1984, so not necessarily the original furniture.
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When Highbury was used as a hospital, The Carnegie Room was used as a ward with ten beds, and later became a committee room for the managers of the home for the elderly.
A typical Carnegie style bed to the far left hand side of the bedroom. But this was part of the furniture purchased by the Council in 1984 for this room.
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I hope you have enjoyed this tour of Highbury Hall. Next time we could have a look around Chamberlain's Gardens.
For more views from Highbury Park in late May 2020, go to this post here: A sunny day in May at Highbury Park and Highbury Hall.
Photos taken by Elliott Brown.
Follow me on Twitter here ellrbrown. Thanks for all the followers.