There has been a hall on this site for many centuries, but the Georgian structure we see today is down principally to George Heron, who purchased the hall from John Daniell circa 1756.
What he purchased at this time is now not entirely certain; it had been previously thought that Heron had the entirety of the existing building constructed, but the will of John Daniell from 1737 describes an “old hall” and a partially constructed “new hall”, and the will of his brother Edward Daniell from 1741 describes again describes an “old hall” and a “new hall”, albeit now described as “newly erected”. Burkes Commoners from the late Victorian period describes the hall as “erected about the reign of Queen Ann, and the Daniell Crest was on some of the building in 1836”.
Heron certainly completed or refurbished the hall, moving into it in circa 1767 with his wife and children. On his death, it passed to his eldest son, Rev George Heron, to his nephew, General Peter Heron.
Circa 1841, the hall was sold to Samuel Chadwick, a wealthy corn merchant of Sutton who was in partnership with the Pickerings of Sutton Mill in Frodsham.
Following sudden death of his son in 1856, the hall was put out to lease and saw the occupation of Edward Gaskell Davies and Robert Iorwerth Wynne-Jones.
The hall and estates were purchased by Sir Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury circa 1892 but not lived in by him, and further occupants over the years include James Tinsley and his family (of William Long and Sons tannery in Grappenhall), John Abraham Tinnes (politician and partner in Sandbach, Tinne and Company) and a presently-unidentified “Mr Shepherd-Cross”
The hall was sold again after the first world war and came into the ownership of Cyril Francis Hill (of the Goodlass Wall and Lead Company) who, at the outbreak of the second world war, offered the hall to the “full use of the country” and it became an annexe to the Warrington Infirmary, opening its doors to patients on the 15th March 1941.
The hall worked as an annexe hospital for 4 years, treating a total of 812 patients who stayed an average of 22 days.
In 1952 the building was formally given Grade 2 heritage listing, which means that it is considered ‘a particularly important building of more than special interest’.
In 1955 the hall was sold to SCOPE and converted into residential home for sufferers of disease such as cerebral palsy. Initially opened for the care of up to 21 young men with severe learning difficulties, it was expanded to accommodate both genders and people who were able to lead independent lives in the small homes built in the grounds.
In 1978 there were celebrations with the marriage of 2 of residents, Leslie Bull and Lynne Wilcock.
After Scope closed the facility, the Hall passed into private ownership circa 1995 but was left empty after plans to restore it fell through.
It was used as for zombie survival games for a time but in 2015, police were called to the site and discovered a cannabis farm with over 600 plants and a street value of £750,000.
The following year the hall suffered an arson attack and was extensively damaged, with the structure now supported by scaffolding.
There have been repeated plans to develop the hall and its ground into a housing development, but these have not materialised to date and the fate of this fine old building remains uncertain
