Walton Hall

The Walton Estate was bought in 1812 by Edward Greenall, and passed in 1835 to his son Gilbert. The following year Gilbert married Mary Claughton and began building the present hall; the work took two years, from 1836 to 1838. An older hall stood to the north-east of the new house and has since been demolished. Warrington Borough Council's website attributes the design to the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe, though this is not confirmed by any authoritative source.

Gilbert Greenall (1806–1894) was a partner with his brothers in the family brewing firm of Greenall Whitley & Company, made a large fortune, and invested it in land. He sat as Member of Parliament for Warrington from 1847 to 1892, served as High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1873 and as a Justice of the Peace, and was created a Baronet in 1876 on the recommendation of Benjamin Disraeli. He collected paintings, was a friend of Lewis Carroll — whose father was vicar at nearby Daresbury, and who photographed the hall in 1859 — and in 1885 he built St John the Evangelist Church close by, commissioning Paley and Austin at enormous expense. His first wife Mary died in 1861; the couple had no children. In 1864 he married Susannah Rapp, and they had three children.

In 1869–70 Paley and Austin extended the house with a new wing and tower containing a billiards room and guest rooms, and added a new entrance on the east front. The baronet's son, Gilbert Greenall, later 1st Baron Daresbury (1867–1938), inherited in 1894, developed one of the most famous horse studs in England, was Master of the Belvoir Hunt from 1896 to 1912 and President of the Royal Agricultural Society. His son Edward sold the hall to Warrington Corporation in 1941; the gardens opened to the public in 1945.

The gardens and grounds are open to the public, with formal gardens near the hall and, further out, pitch and putt, crazy golf, bowls and a children's zoo. The Friends of Walton Estate help care for and manage the estate, and the Warrington Disability Partnership holds its annual Disability Awareness Day in the grounds. In the Old Laundry Rooms, close to the main hall, you will find a Cycle Museum, owned and run by cycling enthusiast Paul Adams. Film-spotters may recognise the exteriors from the BBC drama series Our Zoo.

Inside, function rooms and a concert room are available for hire, the Friends of Walton Hall Music Society runs a series of chamber music concerts in the concert room, and the hall is available for weddings. Organised public ghost hunts are also held at the venue, for those curious about the building after dark. Outside, look for the Grade II listed retaining wall, balustrades and steps between the lawns east of the hall, and the former lodge with its gates, gatepiers and screens.