Aston Hall is an early Jacobean red-brick mansion designed by John Thorpe; it was built on high ground above the village of Aston by Sir Thomas Holte in 1618-1635.

The main body of the house faces east and is flanked by projecting wings which enclose the forecourt.

There are two square turrets on the wings and an axial tower behind the slightly-protruding main facade. All three towers are capped by a dome & spire.

The design is essentially baroque, but also features typically northern European characteristics such as the stepped Dutch gables and large bay windows that contrast with the flat horizontal roofs, open parapets and balustrades.

Aston Hall remained in the Holte family until 1817 when Abraham Bracebridge, the husband of heiress Mary Holte, sold it to James Watt Junior, the son of the Scottish inventor. After his death, it became a private museum and park which was opened by Queen Victoria.

The park subsequently gained a reputation for bawdy behaviour whereupon the Queen, embarrassed by the connection, complained to the Mayor of Birmingham who arranged for the Corporation to buy the hall and grounds as a municipal museum so that they could be properly supervised.

Balsall Heath Public Baths on Moseley Road were built onto the south side of Balsall Heath Library in 1905-07.

The main facade features a niched gable flanked by octagonal towers capped by terracotta cupolas, lanterns and spires. There is a polychrome sculpture of the city arms above the main entrance and a boiler house chimney on the north side.

The interior, which features steel-basket roof arches and tessellated flooring, is illuminated by clerestories. It contains 1st-class and 2nd-class mens' pools and three sets of slipper baths for 1st-class men, 2nd-class men and women. Edwardian women were not allowed in the pools.

Only the 2nd-class pool remains in use; class/gender distinctions no longer apply.

In December 2009, there was some discussion about whether the baths should be fully restored at a cost of £30 million or whether the money would be better spent on the construction of a new modern leisure and sports centre (News Archive 31/12/09)

In January 2011, the council provided £75,000 emergency funding to repair a defective lintel supporting a wall and emergency exit at the baths (News Archive 01/01/11).

Balsall Heath Library on Moseley Road consists of a Great Hall and north entrance tower designed by Cossins & Peacock and built in red-brick with terracotta dressings in 1891-95.

The Great Hall features 3 window arches crowned by terracotta niched gables. The interior contains a 3-bay aisle with granite columns and a high-level frieze depicting young people reading.

The corners and upper reaches of the entrance tower are faced in terracotta. The short spire is topped by a miniature cupola. There is a gabled terracotta pediment crowned by a relief plaque of the city arms above the main entrance.

Balsall Heath Baths were built onto the south wall in 1905-07.

Blakesley Hall is on Blakesley Road in Yardley. It is a timber-framed farmhouse with a wattle-and-daub infill faced with lime that was built by Richard Smallbroke in 1590.

The vertical timber studding on the ground floor & the herring-bone patterns on the first floor distinguish Blakesley Hall as a high-status residence.

A brick kitchen was added to the rear in the mid-17th century and a brick extension was built on the right side in the 18th century.

The hall was inherited by Richard Smallbroke's 3rd wife, Barbara, who was only 16 when he died in 1613. She lived in the house until her death in 1679 when it was inherited by the sons of her 2nd marriage to Henry Devereux.

They sold the house to Henry Greswolde, the Rector of Solihull, in 1685. It was then leased by a succession of tenant farmers until 1932 when it was acquired by Birmingham City Council and converted into a museum.