Aston Hall is one of the last Jacobean houses to be built. The hall was built by the famous Sir Thomas Holte, a man known for his intelligence and the land he owned in several parts of the country, including Warwickshire. As a child, Thomas Holte grew up in a wealthy family as his ancestors had owned land for several hundred years before him and he inherited it. He managed to attend college at Oxford and later attended Inns Court and it was there that he received the knowledge he needed to own land. His father died when he was only 21, but that didn't seem to stop him. When the king arrived in London from Edinburgh, Thomas Holte was one of the men who came to meet him and for this he received a knighthood. In 1611 he managed to buy himself a baronetcy from the king, which meant that his family had more status and power than others. Therefore, Sir Thomas Holte decided to build Aston Hall to show how rich he was. The hall was designed by a London land surveyor named John Thorpe. Construction of the hall began in 1618 and although it was incomplete, Sir Thomas Holte and his wife, with several of their sixteen children, moved in in 1631. Four years later, Aston Hall was completed. The Civil War The First English Civil War began in 1642 until 1651 and caused division in the country regarding which side they were on. The war was a battle between Parliament and King Charles I, who was the leader of the Royalists. The conflict between the two had always been present as Charles had never gotten along with Parliament since the beginning of his reign. The disagreement between the two began in 1621 when James chose to discuss his son, Charles, getting married... middle of paper... completely. During this attack, two Parliamentary soldiers were killed and this angered the Parliamentary troops even more. Many royalists were killed by the ferocious attacks on Parliament. After three more days in which the hall received cannonballs at its south end and more Royalists were killed, Sir Thomas Holte finally surrendered and was put in prison. As for Aston Hall, it was taken by Parliament but Sir Thomas Holte managed to get it back by paying a lot of money. Works Cited • http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/glossary /parliament-1625-29.htm• http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/charles1.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War• http://www .bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/making_history/makhist10_prog11a.shtml• http://www.historyonthenet.com/Civil_War/royalist_or_parliament .htm